We lost one of my childhood heroes last week. Gordie Howe died at age eighty-eight. His body was laid in state in the Joe Louis
Arena in Detroit, the city where he is still adored. Ironic that while most of the attention was
on the passing of Muhammad Ali, the death of the hockey icon was almost an
afterthought. I noticed. To be honest, I was never a big fan of
Muhammad Ali, but Gordy Howe was my idol as boy. In my mind those were the glory days of
hockey. There were only six teams; The
Canadians, Maple Leafs, Rangers, Bruins, Black Hawks and The Detroit Red Wings. The rivalries were fierce, the quality of
play high. No helmets or goalie
masks. Terry Sawchuk was the Detroit
goalie. If he lost a tooth or needed
stitches, he skated to the bench where he got patched up and then skated back
in place. When you talk about toughness,
hockey players in the “golden age” of the sport might be at the top of the
list.
Cassius Clay took the sporting world by storm, primarily
because he was so good a promoting himself.
I do not recall another athlete ever being audacious enough to state “I
am the greatest” when their career had barely started. It always bothered me that he thumbed his
nose at the government and avoided the draft.
It also troubled me that he converted to Islam and became so radically outspoken
on the racial issue, the exact opposite of Martin Luther King. True, he settled down later in life,
especially after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Prior to that, his personal life was a mess;
numerous marriages and many public affairs.
Not someone I want to emulate or who I would point to as a role model for kids.
Gordie Howe might have been the antithesis. He continued to play professional hockey into
his fifties, playing on the same team as his sons. He was only married to one woman and I do not
recall any negative rumors circulating regarding “Mr. Hockey.” Until his wife died in 2009, they lived, and
were very involved in the Detroit community.
He was also a devote Catholic and his funeral was held in one on of the
great cathedrals in the Motor City. I
actually met Gordie Howe once. He was the
featured speaker at a men’s sports banquet at our church. My dad and I arrived early in order to get a
good seat and were surprised to see Mr. Hockey casually standing around talking
with the kids. As I recall he was very
friendly and gracious, and almost blended in with the crowd.
It has always troubled me when we put people with
questionable lifestyle on a pedestal.
One of the key traits I look for is a sense of Christian values and some
semblance of a faith life. You learn
more about a person by observing them away from the spotlight. I definitely
have little use for someone who wants to tell me how great they are, or what
they have done for me lately. Mr. Hockey never needed to tell people he was
the greatest.
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