50 Fun Facts About Gordie Howe

What was Gordie Howe's famous nickname?

Both Mr. Hockey and his wife's nickname, Mrs. Hockey, are registered trademarks.

With which NHL team did Howe spend his first 25 seasons?

His 26th and final NHL season came with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80.

In which Canadian province was Gordie Howe born?

The family moved to Saskatoon when he was nine days old.

Which jersey number did Howe wear for almost his entire career?

He wore 17 as a rookie; he accepted the switch because number 9 came with a lower Pullman berth on train trips.

Which perk persuaded Howe to accept the number 9 sweater in 1947?

The number had belonged to Roy Conacher, who left for Chicago.

How many goals did Howe score in his NHL career?

Adding six WHA seasons, he scored 975 regular-season goals as a professional.

Which player eventually broke Howe's NHL records for goals, assists and points?

Gretzky wore 99 as a direct tribute to Howe because 9 was taken early in his career.

What three things make up a 'Gordie Howe hat trick'?

Rick Tocchet leads with 18; Howe managed his two in 1953 and 1954.

How many times did Howe record his namesake hat trick in his own career?

Few players dared fight him after he beat Rangers enforcer Lou Fontinato at Madison Square Garden in 1959.

Which two linemates joined Howe on Detroit's 'Production Line'?

In 1949-50 the trio finished one-two-three in NHL scoring.

Which Maple Leafs captain was Howe trying to check when he fractured his skull in 1950?

He needed emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, yet Detroit still won the Cup.

How many consecutive scoring titles did Howe win starting in 1950-51?

Only Esposito, Jágr and Gretzky have matched four in a row since.

How many Art Ross Trophies did Howe win in total?

He ranked in the NHL's top ten in scoring for 21 consecutive years.

How many Hart Trophies as league MVP did Howe win in the NHL?

Only Gretzky, with nine, has more.

How many Stanley Cups did Howe win with Detroit?

Detroit also finished first in the regular season seven straight years from 1948-49 to 1954-55, still unmatched.

How many goals did Howe score in his record 95-point season of 1952-53?

He fell one short of Maurice Richard's record of 50, though Richard's came in a 50-game season.

Against which team did Howe record his 1,000th NHL point in November 1960?

It came in his 938th game; the next season he became the first to play 1,000 games.

Which Montreal right winger, also wearing 9, was Howe's great rival in the 1950s?

Béliveau wrote that muscling Howe off the puck was like wrestling a telephone pole.

Who described playing against Howe as 'strong as a bull and tougher than a night in jail'?

The two finished their careers as Hartford Whalers teammates in 1980.

At what age did Howe record his only 100-point NHL season, with 103 points in 1968-69?

He is still the only player in his forties to score 40 goals and 100 points in an NHL season.

Which discovery after his 103-point season caused a rift with the Red Wings?

Owner Bruce Norris raised him to $100,000 but blamed Howe's wife Colleen for the demand.

Which chronic problem forced Howe's first retirement after the 1970-71 season?

He later had wrist surgery specifically so he could return to play in the WHA.

Which new franchise offered Howe its first head-coaching job in 1972, which he declined?

His number 9 was retired by Detroit on 12 March 1972.

Which WHA team did Howe join in 1973 to play alongside his sons?

His wife Colleen negotiated the deal that brought him out of retirement.

What are the names of the two Howe sons who played with their father in the WHA?

Mark became a Hall of Fame defenceman; a third son, Murray, is a radiologist.

Which award did Howe win as WHA MVP in 1974, at age 46?

He remains the oldest MVP in NHL or WHA history.

How many consecutive WHA championships did Howe win with his sons in the WHA?

He said winning with his sons probably meant more than his Stanley Cups.

Against which WHA team did Howe score his 1,000th professional goal in December 1977?

The city of Birmingham presented him with a trophy for the milestone.

Which Whalers milestone did Howe reach during the 1978 WHA playoffs at age 50?

He also became the first to play a professional game at 50 that season.

Which opponent did Howe cross-check in the face after he broke son Marty's cheekbone?

Mark protested that Ftorek was a friend and mentor; Gordie believed in prairie justice.

Which country did Howe and his sons face in the 1974 Summit Series?

At 46 he contributed seven points in seven games; the Soviets won four games to one with three ties.

Which teenager centred a line with Gordie and Mark Howe at the 1979 WHA All-Star Games?

The WHA All-Stars swept Dynamo Moscow in the three-game series.

Which NHL team did Howe play his final season for in 1979-80?

Detroit still held his NHL rights but agreed not to reclaim him.

How many games did the 51-year-old Howe play in his final NHL season?

Late in the year the Whalers put him on a line with Bobby Hull and Dave Keon.

Whose record as the oldest player in an NHL game did Howe pass in October 1979?

He played his final game at 52 years and 10 days, on 11 April 1980.

Against which team did Howe score his 801st and final NHL goal in April 1980?

Montreal then eliminated Hartford in the preliminary round five days later.

For which IHL team did Howe play one shift in 1997 to reach a sixth professional decade?

He remains the only player to compete professionally in six different decades.

Which teammate's campaign for a players' association was sparked by Howe's low pay?

Howe had scored more than 600 goals before Detroit reluctantly offered him over $40,000.

On which CBS game show did Howe appear as himself in March 1967?

Panellist Peggy Cass, a hockey fan, recognised him and disqualified herself from voting.

Which waterway does the Gordie Howe International Bridge cross?

It links Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit and opened to traffic in July 2026.

Which actor played Howe in the 2013 CBC television film about his life?

It aired on CBC in Canada and the Hallmark Channel in the United States.

Which younger brother of Gordie's played 33 NHL games for the New York Rangers?

Gordie himself had turned down a Rangers training-camp offer at 15.

Where were Gordie and Colleen Howe's ashes interred in September 2016?

His public visitation at Joe Louis Arena ran from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in honour of his number.

Which distinction did Mark Howe earn at 16 at the 1972 Sapporo Games?

Mark followed his father into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

Gordie Howe was born in a farmhouse in which tiny Saskatchewan community?

He was one of nine siblings; the family moved to Saskatoon when he was nine days old.

Which Red Wings scout spotted Howe in 1944 and invited him to camp in Windsor, Ontario?

Detroit signed him to a 'C' form and sent him to the junior Galt Red Wings, where an eligibility rule limited him to one game.

For which USHL minor-league team did a 17-year-old Howe score 48 points in 51 games?

Toronto's Frank Selke noticed Howe was not properly listed as Detroit property, but tipped off Jack Adams rather than poaching him.

What was unusual about how Howe shot the puck?

With the straight sticks of his era, he was one of only a few skaters able to shoot either left- or right-handed.

Where did Howe meet his future wife Colleen, whom he married in 1953?

She was 17 at the time; they wed four years later, and she went on to manage both Gordie's and son Mark's finances.

Where did The Hockey News rank Howe on its 1998 list of the top 100 NHL players of all time?

Only Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr were placed above him, and both said they regarded Howe as the greatest.