REMEMBERING MR. HOCKEY GORDIE HOWE
Jun 17, 2016A TRIBUTE TO “MR. HOCKEY”
By Joe O'Donnell - @wildjoeradio
On June 10th, 2016, the sport of ice hockey lost an icon, as Gordon “Gordie” Howe passed away. He was 88.
Howe’s career spanned several decades, and his impact on the game was far-reaching. It wasn’t just the 1,850 National Hockey League points he recorded on the ice, his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, or the generations of younger players he influenced, it was much more than that. Because when you talk to those who knew “Mr. Hockey”, or even spent a moment in his presence, you can immediately tell why he was so revered. If there was a Mount Rushmore of hockey, or even pro sports for that matter, you better believe that Howe’s hockey-hardened face would be sculpted.
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Quickly, I’ll reminisce back to the night I had a chance to meet the fourth ranked scorer in NHL history, before sharing some insight from those who knew him much better than I.
It was 2011, and the Houston Aeros (Minnesota’s AHL affiliate prior to relocating to Des Moines) had Howe and his family out to a regular season game. It was a natural fit for a “promotion” since Howe played for the World Hockey Association’s (WHA) Aeros back in the mid-70’s. Actually, played might be the wrong word. How about dominated? At age 46, and following a brief retirement from the NHL, Howe racked up 369 points in 285 games in an Aeros sweater, while playing alongside two of his sons, Mark (a Hall of Famer as well) and Marty (a stalwart in the WHA and NHL over a 12-year span).
I remember heading down to the Aeros locker room after the game that night, just hoping for a chance to meet this legendary figure - one of the game’s all-time greats.
Luckily, I was able to spend a few minutes with him. And, it was something I’ll never forget….
The way the Aeros players, coaches, and staff flocked towards him to shake his hand told you all you needed to know: this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In the few minutes I chatted with him, posed for a photo and got a few things signed, Howe was genuine, engaging and personable. He shared some quick stories as I stood in awe. At this point, Howe was in his 80’s. But after hours of greeting season ticket holders prior to the game, and the two-plus hour contest that played out on the ice, here he was, “Mr. Hockey”, spending time in the locker room probably 30 minutes after the game. What a thrill!
Terry Ruskowski, currently the head coach for the ECHL’s Quad City Mallards (Minnesota’s “Double A” affiliate) began his professional career with the Aeros in 1974, which was Howe’s second season back on the ice after a two-year retirement from the game (Howe left the Detroit Red Wings following the 1970-1971 season at the age of 42).
The first time Ruskowski met Howe was just as training camp was winding down, and the Aeros were getting set to play an exhibition game against the Michigan Stags at Cobo Arena in Detroit. Ruskowksi and his linemate Don Larway were in the hotel elevator headed up to the pre-game meal, when the elevator doors opened and there was Aeros head coach Bill Dineen, who Ruskowski called “The Fox”, and standing next to Dineen was none other than “Mr. Hockey.”
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“Whoa…whoa”, said Ruskowski of his reaction to seeing Howe enter the elevator. He recalled that he and Larway didn’t say a word. It was Howe who broke the silence, and introduced himself, insisting that Ruskowski and Larway call him “Gordie” as opposed to “Mr. Howe” or “sir”, which Ruskowki had led with during their elevator introduction.
“They were the best years of my life, hockey-wise”, Ruskowski told me, reflecting back to his time playing with Howe in Houston. “We had such a good team – we always had first place wrapped up. Me, being with an idol of mine, a hero and idol. He was my idol when I watched him [play in the NHL] and he became my hero when I played with him.”
Just hearing Ruskowki’s cadence – the way he was looking for the right words to use, the glowing sound in his voice as he channeled back to four decades ago, I could tell just how much Howe meant to him. Honestly though, I wasn’t surprised. After all, Gordie Howe’s place as an ambassador of the game is well known. The stories that have been told since his passing all have the same message. He was a true pillar of the sport, both on, and off the ice.
“As a person and as a player, I’ve always said that when they called him a superstar, they’re still degrading him,” Ruskowski gushed, putting Howe on the pedestal he deserves. “There’s got to be another word higher than a ‘superstar’ for the category of player and person that Gordie was. When the game was on the line, we all kind of turned around and looked at Gordie, and he’d jump over the bench and either score a goal, make a play to set up the goal to win or tie...he’d block a shot, whatever he had to do to save the game. We’re talking a guy almost 50 years old, blocking a shot to make sure the puck didn’t go through to save the game for us. This is the kind of person, this is the kind of player he was.”
Ruskowski said Howe showed up every offseason to be around the rink with his teammates, even though that sort of commitment wasn’t mandated for veteran players. And given that Howe was in his 40’s, had already won four Stanley Cups (plus countless other accolades) and was already enshrined in the Hockey Hall Of Fame, he obviously had “veteran status” and could have skipped the offseason training.
“He was an ultimate team guy”, Ruskowski commented. “He just loved the game”.
Ruskowski then went on to tell one of his favorite “Mr. Hockey” stories.
The Aeros had 10 days off during a portion of the 1974-1975 season, and during a practice over that hiatus, Ruskowski recalled putting the puck between Howe’s legs, a fancy stickhandling move to say the least.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Ruskowski noted. “I kind of had that feeling that I shouldn’t have done that. The next time I tried it again, as I was going behind him, he hit me with his stick over the eye – cut me, and he said ‘whoops, sorry kid’. I was coming off the ice with a towel on my head with the trainer, and he kind of patted me on the butt and said ‘don’t ever make me look bad’. And I turned around and said ‘sorry Gordie, I’ll never do that again, I promise, I’ll never do that again’”.
Lesson learned for Ruskowski, a 19-year-old at the time, who went on to play about 1,000 games between the WHA and NHL.
Jerry Trupiano, who served as the “Voice of the Houston Aeros” during Howe’s four seasons there, also raved about Howe’s stature, as a person and a player, when I spoke with him.
Trupiano called Howe “the most humble superstar I’ve ever been around”, and this is coming from a guy who’s met the late Muhammed Ali, and countless other Hall of Famers over his long broadcasting career.
“He was the total package when you think about it, as far as his skating ability, his awareness on the ice….he had great anticipation, he was as tough as nails, he was durable…it was just a pleasure to watch him play the game because he seemed to be playing at a different level than those around him,” Trupiano lauded.
And remember, this was following Howe’s 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and two-year stint away from the game!
Trupiano also noted Howe’s sense of humor as one of his great personality traits.
“One of the few charters we took had to stop in Saskatoon [Saskatchewan, Canada] in the middle of February, with ice and snow everywhere, for refueling. And for some reason, we had to have the hockey equipment taken out of a compartment to refuel the plane. Well, it’s probably sub-zero temperatures [outside], snow falling, our equipment manager is out there pulling bags off the plane and who goes out there to help him? Gordie Howe,” Trupiano exclaimed.
“He gets on the plane and sits down next to me and says ‘Troop, you know they have a great snow removal system here’, and I said ‘yeah, well they must’, and he said ‘yeah, it’s called August!’”.
Over the last week, there have been many positive adjectives and superlatives used to describe Howe, and most of what I’ve read or heard hasn’t been so much about the great player on the ice, but about the caring nature he showed off the ice.
The anecdotes about his pristine signature, which was legible on every autograph he signed. The stories about his passion for people and his almost immeasurable presence when entering a room. The tales about his well-documented love for the game, the fans who followed the sport, and the media who covered it.
Those are the types of qualities that transform a great athlete into an icon, into a legend, into the sort of person whose legacy will carry on regardless of the records they hold, or the championships they earn.
“He never wanted to lose. Anything that he tried, anything he did, he didn’t want to lose,” Ruskowski said of his former teammate.
Unfortunately, the hockey world lost him instead. Rest in Peace, “Mr. Hockey”.
- Wild Joe Radio