Gordie Howe -RIP

[upthecreek]

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2016/06/10/gordie-howe-dies-according-to-numerous-reports/

[MutuelClerk]

Met the man a few times. A sad day. Respected him, his family and the way he played. God Bless Gordon Howe. Condolences to the family.

[JustRalph]

26 seasons!!!

Amazing

[Rookies]

When I was growing up in Canada, as a kid in the 50s & 60s, there were TWO sports athletes- Rocket Richard & Gordie Howe.

Simply, two remarkable superstar athletes, who were a credit to their sport!

RIP- Mr. Howe- Mr. Hockey. :ThmbUp:

[PaceAdvantage]

26 seasons!!!

AmazingYou can say that again.

[Tor Ekman]

Great player, great man . . . "Mr. Hockey" a/k/a "Mr. Elbows" . . . one talented and tough player although he should never be defined by "the Gordie Howe Trick" (goal, assist & fight) since he himself only registered a couple during his long career, although he could indeed fight with the best of them

[Valuist]

He may be the only athlete in one of the four major sports to play into his 50s.

[Greyfox]

Mr. Hockey was a powerful man.
He'd hold out one arm to fend players off and sweep the puck in with his other arm.
Early in his career, Lou Fontinato picked a fight with him.
Gordie hit him so hard that Fontinato's bloodied face was put on the cover of Police Gazette.
From then on nobody wanted to fight Gordie.
Gordie of course, usually never retaliated immediately to someone's high stick or whatever.
He'd wait, sometimes a year or so, and then extract his revenge in spades.
RIP Gordie! :ThmbUp:

[johnhannibalsmith]

Too bad that the US didn't know Hower as well as Ali because he deserves the same 24/7 coverage for days on end.

[Capper Al]

He was the great one in his day.

[ElKabong]

I got his autograph in the spring of '74. I was playing for the Ft Worth Juniors, we were playing in a tournament in Houston. That morning we were at the Town & Country mall / ice rink if I recall (and I'm pretty sure that was the place...not the old HYHO rink)

I was in my sock feet walking towards the concession stand after our game, we saw Howe speaking with a dude you could only describe as a "businessman". This was a Sat or Sunday morning. I went back to my gear and grabbed my AHA card and borrowed a pen.

(a) i was amazed he was even there.
(b) he had the biggest biceps I'd ever seen on a normal sized man.
(c) his traps / shoulders were solid as could be. Almost abnormal
(d) I was almost pissing my pants when I asked him, meekly, for an autograph. Didn't want to be rude and interrupt his discussion

He was true class. I stood about 15 ft away so I wasn't a bother to the discussion, he looked my way and nodded as if to say "it's ok". He signed the back of my AHA card, handed it back to me. Very polite, none of the "go away" stuff some stars throw at kids.

Kept that AHA card with all my other hockey stuff at my mom's house after I left for Austin... My mom moved in '76, and all those boxes were missing. Man I was sick for weeks over that.

RIP, Gordie. That don't make em like you anymore, that's for sure.

[Ocala Mike]

I was a big hockey fan back in the day when there were only six teams. Howe was a giant in the game, and achieved legendary status. RIP, #9!

[summersquall]

In the early 70's the local paper, Detroit News, published a full page black and white photo of #9, in the sports section of the paper. RIP legend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD3fD6VX0uc#t=141

[Overlay]

Right after I got out of college and was still living at home in Indianapolis, one of a succession of odd jobs that I held was working as a telephone solicitor selling tickets to local businesses for the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association. As such, I got in free to all their home games. Attendance was always highest when the Houston Aeros, with Gordie (at age 48) as well as his sons Mark and Marty, came to town. The crowd ragged him about his age every game whenever he was on the ice.

[rastajenk]

That's about when I saw him play the Cincinnati Stingers.

[Overlay]

That's about when I saw him play the Cincinnati Stingers.
Dale Smedsmo of the Stingers was another favorite target for the Racer fans when Cincinnati came up to Indianapolis to play.