Taking a closer look at Gordie Howe bridge namesake
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While the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit has not been smooth sailing , or anything close to that, the bridge’s namesake shouldn’t be caught in the negativity.
As the bridge is scheduled to open on Monday, we take a closer look at the man behind the name.
Who was Gordie Howe? What were his accomplishments?
Gordie Howe was born in Floral, Sask., on March 31, 1928. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Saskatoon. He is best known as a professional hockey player, having made his National Hockey League debut on Oct. 16, 1946, at the Detroit Olympia. In that game, he had a goal for the Detroit Red Wings in their 3-3 tie against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Howe went on to dominate the NHL, both in terms of scoring and longevity.
He played 25 seasons for the Red Wings, six more seasons in the World Hockey Association (with sons Mark and Marty as teammates), and one final NHL season when his WHA team, the Hartford Whalers, joined the NHL in 1979-80. Do the math: He was 52 years old when he played his final NHL game.
He won the Stanley Cup four times, was the NHL’s leading scorer six times, and was the NHL’s Hart Memorial Trophy winner (as the player most valuable to his team) six times.
When his playing career ended, his NHL career statistics of 801 goals, 1049 assists, and 1850 points were league records, eventually broken by Wayne Gretzky.
Howe died on June 10, 2016. His ashes are interred at the base of a Howe statue in front of SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon .
What do others say of him?
Son Mark Howe says the characteristics his father brought to the ice were “his physical presence, along with his overall skill set, anticipation, hockey IQ and his fierce competitiveness.”
One of the nicknames Howe earned during his playing career was “Mr. Elbows” for his tough, physical style of play. As a result, players were hesitant to get physical with him.
“If I got checked liked he did (with everyone scared to go near him), I’d have scored as much as he did,” said Paul Henderson, who was a teammate of Howe’s with Detroit for parts of six seasons before joining the Maple Leafs in a trade.
What was Howe like off the ice?
“Gordie was quite the opposite off the ice as compared to being on the ice,” according to Mark Howe. “A gentle man with huge hands, and a enormous heart filled with kindness for all that he met. A loving and caring husband and father.
“He had the innate ability of being able to make the experience of people meeting their hero/legend feel like he was their best friend and they had known him their entire lives. Gordie was a great player and hero to millions, but he was a better person than he was a hockey player.”
How would Howe feel about having this bridge named after him?
“He would be as he always was, humble, quiet, respectful, and he would want to share this experience with the people he loved,” according to Mark Howe. “Then probably look forward to hanging with his grandkids or go fishing the following day once the ribbon cutting ceremony was over.”
How has Howe been honoured previously?
This isn’t the first time that a bridge has been named after Gordie Howe.
The Gordie Howe Bridge is one of 10 bridges which cross the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon. The bridge, supporting a six-lane highway, opened in 2013, and was named for Howe in 2016, shortly after his death.
Saskatoon is also home to the Gordie Howe Sports Complex , which includes a football field, a track and field complex, many baseball and softball fields, an indoor training centre, and more.
A large statue of Howe sits in front of the entrance to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Howe was inducted into the Hall in 1972, when it originally appeared that his playing career had ended.
A Howe statue is also at Little Caesars Arena, the current home of the Red Wings. The arena also contains a three-storey portrait of Howe by artist Tom Mosser.
Among his civilian honours, Howe was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 1971, and received honorary degrees from the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan.
Wasn’t he on TV and in a movie?
Not really, but Gordie Howe has been referenced in popular culture.
In a third-season episode of The Simpsons , mischievous Bart Simpson cuts out a photo of Gordie Howe to use in a romance-related prank on his teacher, Mrs. Krabappel.
In the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , the character Cameron Frye wears a Gordie Howe Red Wings jersey for most of the film.
– With files from Lance Hornby