In Detroit and beyond, hockey fans and even some without a passion for the sport are thinking and talking about Gordie Howe as his health reportedly declines. The 86-year-old legend of the rink recently suffered his second stroke since Oct. 26.
Earlier last month, a few weeks before the first word of distress from Howe's family, longtime Detroit sportswriter Bill Dow blogged about how "the best gift ever given to Gordie Howe brought the Detroit legend to tears," as his headline says.
"It just broke me up,” Howe recalled years after his 1955 surprise.
Here's an excerpt from the Detroit Athletic Co. sportswear site, where Dow -- also a Free Press freelancer -- is a content provider:
On March 3, 1959, Howe displayed a soft side on the ice . . . while receiving what turned out to be the greatest gift ever given to him.The occasion was “Gordie Howe Night” at Olympia Stadium as the Red Wings recognized the team’s greatest player between the first and second periods in a game against the Boston Bruins. . . .
The Red Wings showered him with numerous gifts estimated at $10,000 that included a Miami vacation, clothing, luggage, a barbecue grill, a television, and a new white station wagon bearing Michigan license plate GH-9000.
The car was driven onto the ice wrapped in cellophane. As the wrapping was being removed, Howe reached to open the driver’s door and suddenly doubled over in shock and tears because his parents -- Ab and Katherine Howe, who still lived in Gordie’s hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan -- were sitting in the car. . . .
As his parents stepped out of the car, Howe broke down completely as his mother hugged him in front of the cheering crowd. . . .
Years later Howe told a reporter: “You’re supposed to be a tough guy, and it broke me up. It just broke me up.”
