OT breaking news: Gordie Howe has passed away
Thanks for everything.
Two of the greatest sports figures in their respective sports in one week. All the best to the Howe family on their loss.
Like Ali, he dominated for decades in a sport where even legends are lucky to dominate for a decade. Like Ali, he was edgy as all get-out. Howe was nowhere near the social presence of Ali, of course, but within their respective sports they were both arguably the best to ever play.
Who's next? Willey Mays in baseball?
What terrible news. The Red Wings wouldn't be who they are today if Howe never suited up in the winged wheel.
well done. Rest in peace.
WDIV is going with it...
BREAKING: Hockey legend Gordie Howe dies at age 88 https://t.co/cYR0SEuBli pic.twitter.com/74UaUVH0Wy
— Local 4 WDIV Detroit (@Local4News) June 10, 2016
RIP, Mr. Hockey
at half mast today. R.I.P Mr. Hockey.
But I can respect the hell out of any professional athlete that plays into his 50's!
Gordie is a legend in this town. I'm glad they're naming the new bridge after him, although the new arena would have been better.
RIP.
Goddamnit...
find anybody less of a hockey fan than me and this news still resonated strongly with me. I think that speaks to his cultural significance right there.
Best Red Wings hockey player of all time. Second best player of all time.
gordie is and was the best player of all time. nobody, and i mean nobody, had his strength, vision, hands, guts, toughness or leadership ability. ever. i have seen them all since then and played lots of hockey. i totally respect many players and call them great, but nobody was better than gordie.
the Hanson bros come in a close second
from all windows and sharp objects
the greatest hockey player of all time, and an exceptional man. taught me a lot about hockey. he and my father were contemporaries and good friends starting back when both were in their 20's and starting out in detroit.
last time i saw gordie was at the final game at tiger stadium, sept of '99. i was with my father and brothers, and gordie was walking in that first aisle way at the old stadium that parallels the first base line. we were about 10 rows up and my dad sees him and yells, 'howe! hey, gordie!' and of course gordie came up and visited for a while. it was a mob scene, as usual, but very good to see him.
may he rest in peace. he and my dad, once again together in that great Olympia club in the sky.
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"That evening at Madison Square Garden, Fontinato took a break from reading his press clippings to charge into a fracas involving Red Kelly and Eddie Shack behind New York’s net. Howe, who had intervened on Kelly’s behalf, noticed the blur rushing towards him, recognized it as Fontinato, and ducked a punch aimed at his head. Then, as Howe later described it, “that honker of his was right there, and I drilled it. That first punch was what did it. It broke his nose a little bit.”
Observers recalled Howe grabbing Fontinato’s jersey with his left hand, then using his right hand to deliver a stream of vicious uppercuts–”whop, whop, whop, just like someone chopping wood,” said one player quoted in Life magazine, which devoted three pages to Fontinato’s dismantling. Millions of readers were treated to photos of the humbled Fontinato swathed in bandages. In as violent a half-minute as ever seen inside a prize ring, Howe had broken Fontinato’s nose, dislocated his jaw, and destroyed his ego and reputation."
Read the whole story here:
https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2014/11/01/gordies-greatest-hits-t…
Gadsby was famous for having a mug that was criss-crossed with over 600 stitches acquired in the course of playing 20 years in the NHL, all without a helmet, mask, or shield of any sort. He was one of my sports heroes along with Howe, Delvecchio, and Sawchuk.
Here's another account of the Howe-Fontinato fight:
"When later in the game Shack was in a scrap with Detroit's Red Kelly, Howe joined the fight to help out his teammate Kelly and put Shack in his place when Fontinato came looking for him. Fontinato wasted no time in unleashing a fury of punches on Howe.
Unfortunately for Fontinato, Howe remained conscious and was now incensed. He grabbed Fontinato's sweater with one hand and fired back repeatedly with the other. Howe connected with his first punch, which stopped Fontinato in his tracks.
Howe's arm was described as "working like a piston" and the sound of his fist hitting Fontinato face again and again in rapid fire made a permanent impression on those who heard it - as well as Fontinato's face - with most descriptions of the blows comparing it to the sound of an axe chopping wood.
Detroit's Lefty Wilson was quoted as saying "With every blow you could hear something break - squish, squish. Finally (the Rangers) Andy Bathgate jumped in and stopped it."
Howe described the incident in his own understated way, "He was coming like a madman. It took me a while to get the gloves off and then things were busy."
Fontinato was left with a severely broken nose, now located a fair distance from it's original location. One of the linesmen described it as the worst beating he had ever seen anyone take, which came as a shock to all, as Fontinato had reportedly yet to have lost a fight, including having defeated Rocket Richard and Fern Flaman.
Fontinato actually finished the game, but needed surgery to get his face back in working order, while Howe had actually dislocated a finger against Fontinato's skull while suffering a cut over one eye."
http://thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com/2012/02/1958-59-new-york-rangers-…
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They should name the arena after Gordie.
Gordie will be missed.
As far as I know Gordie Howe was the only athlete my granfather ever respected... He kept a picture of my father, my uncle, and himself in the living room.
Cameron Frye and I salute you.
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I gotta think Harbaugh has someone out right now looking for a Howe sweater for him to wear at SMSB...
Been to his restaurant, and I'd put him in the conversation for "greatest" for sure (as a goalie, I'm partial to agruments in favor of Glenn Hall, especially when we talk longevity...)
But if we think about measures of greatness, the fact that a "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" is a thing is right up there with the best "fake" stats we've got. (Personal fav? The Maddux)
With respect to Gretzky, there's a reason Gordie Howe was known as Mr. Hockey. GOAT
Rip Mr. Hockey. I never had the oppertunity to see him play, but I know he was and still is the greatest. Hes will forever the Mayor of Hockeytown.
RIP, Mr Hockey. And thanks for the memories.
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