Happy BirthEaster Day, Mr. Hockey!

Happy Easter to everyone reading (and not reading although you wouldn't know that I said that)!!

And what kind of hockey fan would I be if I didn't wish Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe, a happy 85th birthday.

Howe came into the league in 1946 and quickly became one of the most dominant players in the history of the NHL.  Don't believe me?  The guy finished in the top five in scoring for 20 straight seasons.  20 straight seasons.  Yes, that's not a typo.  20 STRAIGHT SEASONS!  To put that in perspective, he was leading the NHL for a longer period of time than most of the rookies from the last three years have been alive.

Howe could play and he proved it night in and night out.  He was like the "ironman" of hockey.  Even a fractured skull couldn't keep him away from the game.  In 1960, he scored his 1,000th point in less than 1,000 games (938 to be exact) and was the first player ever to do so.  He was a 14 year veteran in the league at that point and it took eight years before someone else duplicated that feat (Jean Beliveau).  Three years later, he notched his 600th goal, again being the first player in NHL history to do so (Bobby Hull would do it too, seven years later.)

Despite retiring to join the Red Wings front office, his love of the game and the chance to play with his sons took him into the WHA to play for both the Houston Aeros and the New England Whalers.  His final season after the Whalers joined the NHL in 1979-80 was somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of Wayne Gretzky into the league but he still managed to put up 15 more goals to end his professional career with 975 (801 in the NHL) at the age of 50.

His final all-time stats rank him #1 in games played, #2 in goals, #3 in points, and #8 in assists. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Hockey!  There will never be another like you.

Random Steeler Card Monday

I can't believe it has been an entire week since I last posted.  My free time is getting few and far between lately.

2003 Bowman Ike Taylor (Rookie)

This week, on May 5th, it is current Steeler corner-back Ike Taylor's birthday.  So to celebrate, I thought I would make Ike the focus of the random weekly Steeler card.  Look at Ivan up there in all his rookie practice jersey glory.  Ain't he sweet?  So full of concentration.

2006 Topps Heritage Ike Taylor

In looking through my collection, there aren't many Ike's to choose from.  I checked the lists online and found that he has less than 40 cards from all the sets since coming into the league in 2003.  Maybe I can find all of his cards...or maybe I won't.

That's the joy of collecting defensive players.  Unless they are the superstars of the league, they rarely get featured except in the "monster" sets that come out each year.  Now the Upper Deck is out of the game, there might not be anymore sets bigger than a couple hundred cards.  Unless, of course, Panini resurrects Score with a larger release.  They should do Pinnacle instead...wait I'm getting off track here.

2006 Upper Deck Super Bowl XL Ike Taylor

Happy Birthday, Mr. Hockey

I would hardly consider myself a Howe collector by any means.  In fact, pulling Gordie cards out of product over the last few years has been rather amusing considering Upper Deck has forgotten his name completely and has gone with Mr. Hockey.  So on this day, I thought I would take this opportunity to show off my meek Gordo collection.

On this day in 1928, Gordon "Gordie" Howe was born in a farmhouse in Floral, Saskatchewan.  Anyone that doesn't know of Gordie's achievements on the ice has either lived under a rock their entire lives or never once watched a hockey game (or even heard of hockey for that matter).  Howe is a pioneer in the sport and has been compared to the likes of Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth in their achievements in baseball (although that might be insulting to Howe).

Mr. Hockey, as he became known later in life, is the only player in NHL history to have a playing career that has touched on five decades.  FIVE!!  He was 52 when he retired from the game he loved.  Gordie helped the Detroit Red Wings win four Stanley Cups in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1955.  He won both the Hart and Art Ross trophies 6 times each and played in 23 All-Star games.  You can wiki/google/whatever you want to know about him so I won't bore you with statistics.

Here are some of the most notable things that I remember and that you may or may not know about Mr. Howe...:

---He has the honor of having his name attached to a rare feat, especially in today's game.  A Gordie Howe Hat Trick is when you score a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game.  Awesome!

 (I wish there was a better way to scan "shiny")

---I am not sure as to the validity of this but I was always told that he chose to wear #9 because that meant he got a better choice in the sleeping car on the train ride to away games.  I guess lower numbers chose first.  He started his career wearing #17.

---Most people know this but Howe was the anchor on the "Production Line" named for their scoring capabilities and as homage to the car industry in Detroit.  Along with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay, the "Line" finished first, second, and third in scoring in the 49-50 season.

 
---With all the talk and controversy about head shots, I say suck it up!!  Gordie fractured his skull during the playoffs in 1950 after smashing into Ted Kennedy of the Leafs.  He had to have emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain so that he didn't die or end up in a comma.  He returned the next season and won the scoring title with 86 points, 20 more than anyone else.

---His scoring ability was deadly.  Howe was ambidextrous and shot the puck both right handed and left handed.  Keep in mind this was back before the sticks were curved.  So really, he had no backhand.

---In the 1979-80 season, Gordie played alongside his sons Marty and Mark for the Hartford Whalers.  This was the first and only time that has ever happened in the NHL.  He also played with a very young Wayne Gretzky on the WHA All Star team against Moscow's Dynamo team.

---Speaking of the "Great One", I heard also that Wayne chose to wear #99 because he had always idolized Gordie Howe growing up and could not bring himself to take #9 in his honor.  Maybe he thought he was twice as good?...

Happy Birthday to one of the architects of this great game that I love and one of the greatest to ever lace up the skates!!

Happy B-Day

 

To Me. 


I wonder what I will get me?