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Show GORDIE HOWE: 9 T ts Sp JJUIlg o Star est-Las- nn The Detroit Red Wings' great is starting his 25th year in lordie Howe was just 15 years old when he was introduced to the world of profesg sional hockey. A protege from the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan, he had been invited to try out at the New York Rangers training camp in Winnipeg in 1943. speed-skatin- The Ranger club was composed of tough professionals, and when they saw the shy, slim youngster for the first time at the training table, they showered him with ridicule and invited him to go "home to mama." Howe did go home a week later, and the Rangers have been kicking themselves ever since. Howe not only became one of the hockey superstars, but as he begins his 25th year in the National Hockey League, all with the Detroit Red Wings, he has established himself as the most durable star in the history of all professional sports. The Howe is the only the NHL has ever had, and he has played more league games (1,624) than any other player. He holds the records for goals, assists, and points scored (763, 994, 1,757, respectively). He is not strictly unique as a in major sports Eddie Collins, baseball's Hall of Fame second baseman, played 25 years in the American League, and James (Deacon) McGuire played for a record 26 years, appearing in his final game at 49. all-ti- me 43-year-- old an an Neither Collins, nor McGuire nor Ty Cobb, who put in 24 years can match Howe as an iron man, however, for these baseball players played only spasmodically in their final seasons. Howe is still a star for Detroit and sees as much time on ice as he did in his earlier years with the team. The 73 points he scored last season extended to 22 the string of consecutive years in which he has finished among the league's top 20 scorers. Hockey is also a more taxing game than baseball and much more dangerous. It's a game in which participants wear "knives" on their feet and carry "clubs" in their hands, and it requires so much speed, skill, and stamina that the average career span in the NHL is only seven years. Howe's record for longevity has been achieved despite injuries and ailments that would have crushed an ordinary man. He has had two knee operations, and had his nose and cheekbones broken several times. He has doggedly played even when suffering from concussions, dislocated shoulders, smashed teeth, and blackened eyes. His face and scalp have been sewed up many times. "One year I had 50 stitches in my face," he recalls. "That was a bad year. A good year is when I have 10 or less." Sid Abel, Detroit's general manager, estimates that Howe's total stitches number over 300. Gordie Howe, 43, drives In a god while crowd cheers him on. Howe is beginning 25th year in National Hockey League. 4. , " f U f . "' - ' hockey e (t. ffj . . C - ZZttLZJi , ' jrT- -' Howe's most, harrowing experience on ice came in March, 1950, in the first round of the game of the semi-finStanley Cup playoffs, hockey's World Series. The Red Wings were battling the Toronto Maple Leafs in a typically bruising game, and Howe was skating toward the enemy goal with the puck when a Toronto player came straight at him. Howe swerved, and accidentally plummeted into the wooden sideboards at full speed. He was knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital where debtors found him the emergency-roo- ,J vT r-- big-tim- r . Jt , M . ' (f al m to be near death. A brain surgeon performed an operation to relieve the pressure on the brain. The player lingered near death for several days but finally survived the crisis. He was advised to take a respite from hockey, but he went right back to the ice the next seaxn and won the first of his six scoring championships more than any other player has earned. Howe has also been voted the NHL's "Most Valuable Player" six times another record and has occasionally received mail addressed simply to "Mr. Hockey, U.S.A." His success is due. in part to the fact that he has the "perfect body for hockey." His shoulders slope so sharply they blend right into his huge biceps, which flare out into huge fore-- arms, wrists, and hands. His legs are very strong. I conserve them by sitting down at places where I don't have to stand," he says. "Otherwise, I don't do anything for them except to eat moderately and keep in general good health." In the violent world of hockey, Howe gives as good as he gets. He's mauled many an opponent in close-u- p contacts. "A superstar like Gordie can't allow sp . himself to get beaten up by anyone," Abel points out. "His right to the rank of No. One is at stake at all times.'' Howe always has been known for his pugnacity on the ice. When he joined the Red Wings ia 1946 three years after the Rangers dropped him he got into a scrape in nearly every game he played. Gordie was one of nine children born to Ab and Catherine Howe. He was nine days old when his family moved into Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, from Floral, a town nine miles to the east. Floral was, and is, a grain elevator railway stop. Ab Howe took various odd jobs during the difficult Depression times to provide for his large family. "I remember Gordie's first skates," recalls Katherine Howe. "He was about five years old. A woman brought a grain sack full of clothes and things to our door, offering to sell them for a dollar. We dumped the things on the floor, and there was a pair of skates. Gordie grabbed them right away." Family Weekly LEONARD MORTON 1 m DAVIDOW ." "' '.' ? v, .'. Howe began playing "sandlot" hockey when he was six. Oddly enough, he couldn't skate well as a youngster so he started as a goalie. In 'winter in Saskatchewan the temperature goes down as far as 50 degrees below zero, and the young goalie nearly became frozen several times waiting for the action to come to his net. "I got smarter, learned to skate better and faster and became a forward so I could keep moving around," he recalls. Gordie now makes his home in Lathrup Village, a suburb of Detroit, with his lovely, blonde wife of 17 years, the former Colleen Joffa, and their four children Marty, 16; Mark, 15; Cathy, 11, and Murray, 10. Many people facetiously point out that Howe may still be playing in the NHL when all three of his sons are playing there. "I don't know about that," he says, "but I do know that if I find myself playing against them, Til be just as tough on them as any players ot opposing teams!" The Newspaper Magazi n Prttident NEAL ASHBY November i, 1970 Managing Editor N. TRINQUE Art Director ABREVAYA ROZ Women's Feature Editor MEIANIE DE PRCPT Food Editor Associate Editors: Hal London, Milton Lovntberry, Terry Schaertel; Peer J. Oppnhelmer, West Coast Atsistant Art Director: George Ramos MARCUS HK PubliMher W. PAGE THOMPSON Advertising Director Advertising Mgr Donald M. Hwfferd; Marketing Director: Sid laytJiky; New York Sales Mgr.: Gerald ; S. Regional Sale Marj Robert J. Christian; We tern Adv. Mgr.: RwtMil I. Sparta; Chicago Sale Mgrj Jo front, Jr.; Detroit Sals Mgrj William E. ' AntJtrman, Jr.; Southern Adv. Mgr.: Sttvon J. JUinwry Newspaper Services: Promotion, Erk Publisher Relations: Robert D. Carney, U VA'n, Robert Goltier; Merchandising, Carole Yilor K. Marriott, Thomas H. O'Neil Production Director: Martin Steinhandler Editorial A Advertising Headquarters: 641 Lexington Ave., New York N.Y. 19022 Wi-m- memo" are invited to mail your questions or comments about any article or advertisement that appears in Family Weekly. Your letter will receive i prompt answer. Write to Service Editor, 1970, FAMILY WEEKLY, IMC All Rfehts You Family Weekly, 641 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022. I |