Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Prime2]

Gordie retired from the Wings in 1971 so I never saw him play but did follow him in the WHA & the 1 season he had back in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers in 1980 at age 51 or 52.


He still sits number two on the NHL's all-time goals list at 801, surpassed only by Wayne Gretzky, the man who grew up idolizing Howe and wore No. 99 to honour the man who wore No. 9.

The Great One said via Twitter that Howe was "the greatest hockey player ever," and "the nicest man I have ever met."

"Sending our thoughts and prayers to the Howe family and to the millions of hockey fans who like me loved Gordie Howe," Gretzky added. "RIP Mr. Hockey."

[WingsFan]

Poor Lou needed surgery to fix the damage in 1959. Many say the League's worst beating.

My Dad wasn't much of a Hockey fan, but he remembered this well. Told me Gordie didn't ask for the fight, but beat him so bad he almost killed him.

[Prime2]

Here's the recap in great detail, apparently Fontinato finished the game before heading to the hospital for surgery.

http://thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com/2012/02/1958-59-new-york-rangers-lou-fontinato.html

During the Rangers game against the Red Wings on this date in 1959, rookie Eddie Shack had been riling up the Red Wings as the Rangers built a 4-1 lead over Detroit. Tiring of his antics, Shack was cut by Howe to the tune of three stitches, which caused Fontinato to warn Howe to "lay off Shack and keep your stick to yourself." Howe and Fontinato already had a history together, as Fontinato had already split Howe's lip and taunted him in a previous game after which Fontinato nearly had his ear taken off by Howe in retaliation later on, as Howe had a reputation for never forgetting and always settling the score no matter how long the wait for the right opportunity.

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.

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.

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."

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.

[WingsFan]

Thanks for that OP


His impact on the Red Wings laid the foundation to the franchise's becoming one of the most storied and successful franchises in all of sports. His 786 goals with the Red Wings remains the franchise record. So does his 1,808 points. Only Bob Probert and Joe Kocur compiled more than Howe's 1,643 penalty minutes with the Red Wings.

"When you look at the history of the Detroit Red Wings, they started in 1926. There are three players who are distinctly at the top, and then there is a mammoth drop-off," said Red Wings senior vice president and Hall of Famer Jimmy Devellano. "The first one is Gordie Howe, the second one is Steve Yzerman and the third one is Nicklas Lidstrom. They all won Cups. They were all captains. They were all the best players. In Howe's case, for many, many years he was the best player in the entire league. Who plays for one team for a quarter century? That's how good he was.

[Prime2]

Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman are two of the Detroit Red Wings' most iconic figures.

Though generations apart, both shared similar success on and off the ice in Motown, and Yzerman - now general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning - issued a statement Friday in the wake of Howe's death.

"It was very saddening to hear the news of Gordie's passing this morning," Yzerman wrote. "He has been an icon not only in Detroit, but throughout the entire hockey world for as long as I can remember. As one of the greatest players to ever play in the NHL, the majority of his career being in Detroit, it was an honor to wear the same uniform, spend time with, laugh, joke, and seek advice from him. Gordie's humility and kindness left a permanent impression on me, greatly influencing how I tried to conduct myself throughout my career.

"His impact on the Red Wings organization is still evident today. I travel the world and constantly hear stories from people who love the Wings and share memories of the glory days when Gordie and his teammates ruled the NHL. For all players fortunate enough to play for the Wings, we should take time to thank and honor Gordie, for he is a significant reason why Detroit is such a special place to play."

[WingsFan]

Jim Harbaugh said, adapting one of his trademark phrases to the late legends.

“Gordie infused a toughness unknown to mankind.”

[hodgkal]

I watched Gordie play a few times back in the late 40s when I was in h.s. and the Wings played at the Olympia on Grand River Ave. Those were great days in Detroit. The Freep had a memorable profile on Gordie where he became known as the "Bashful Basher". He seemed to command every ones' attention whenever he was on the ice. And of course he with Abel and Lindsay were known as the "production line".

In those days the Canadiens were our chief rival with Rocket Richard, and the two teams were dominating the Stanley Cup competition. Later a guy named Bobby Hull emerged and brought the Black Hawks into prominence. Those were the years when the NHL consisted of only 6 teams. And three of those: the Bruins, Rnagers, and Maple Leafs were almost irrelevant.

As a kid I flooded our back yard every winter and held neighborhood pickup games.
I was passionate about hockey in those days but the game has lost its luster for me. Same with baseball, once considered the national sport. And I never did care about basketball until I got to U of M when we had some pretty good teams and I knew some of the players. The fact I was only 5'6" may have had something to do with it.

And speaking of passing of legends we are certainly re-living the heady days of boxing when Ali, aka Cassius Clay, was gaining headlines. I remember the old Joe Louis days in the 1940s when a title fight would be broadcast on radio (no TV back then). Those were the days when boxing was huge. It is almost irrelevantl today.

And hearing you guys discussing how you've lost interest in TV sports, I can go along with this. CFB still tops the list for me but only important B10 games and of course whenever the Wolverins are playing. I used to live and die with the Lions but did not watch a single game last year. Ditto the Red Wings. I quit the Pistons several years ago but I'll be back if they get back into contention. As for the Tigers I just can't get there. Baseball is so slow it is boring. But back in my youth we had some great
teams and I spent many an afternoon in the bleachers at Briggs Stadium.

Now I'm just an old fart basking in memories. :-)

[WingsFan]

Excellent post Doc, college football has always been king with me. Red Wings close second. I suffered a lot with the Lions as a kid.

[lineygoblue]

Good post, Doc.

I used to be a bigger Tiger fan than I am now. Years ago, when I worked 2nd shift, first thing I'd do when leaving the job was tune in WJR to hear how the Tigers were doing, especially on west coast trips. Loved Ernie and Paul.

Nowadays, I fall asleep watching Tiger games.

I liked watching the "Bad Boys" and I really loved the way they'd defend their home court. But, the NBA decided to put in the pro-Jordan rules. They wanted Michael to "fly" unfettered, so they changed the rules so nobody was allowed to play defense against him. I guess it was a success for the NBA, because Jordan won 6 uncontested NBA titles. Nowadays, I can't name a single Piston player.

I gave up on the LyDowns in the 70's. As long as the Ford family has anything to do with them they are a lost cause. Their mission is to be a profitable company, which they are. They have no motivation whatsoever to participate in the Super Bowl.

[WingsFan]

Is anyone watching this? How can Kunis not score by simply shooting the puck into an empty net? By the way, classic simply 'classic' way of how NOT to defend a 2 on 1 by Brenden Dillon! Didn't even try to take away the shooter or the pass! Just swirled around like a ballerina, dude is the worst player on the ice.

[Mike]

Pens could be up 7-1 in this game.

[froot loops]

This is awful.

[WingsFan]

About 80 days till kickoff, have a good summer :-)

[Prime2]

Greatest Player in the World Wins the Stanley Cup in 6 games and the Conn Smythe Trophy has the NHL Playoff MVP.

Bravo, Captain!

[Mike]

Crosby winning the Connn Smythe is a joke. Zero goals in six finals games. Coming into Game 6 he had 17 points and was a -4. Carl Hagelin had 16 points and was +9. But yeah, floater Crosby was their best player despite his disappearance in the finals.