Thousands pay respects to Mr. Hockey

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to attend Howe’s funeral, which is also expected to be open to the public, on Thursday morning in Detroit.

Howe’s public visitation is taking place today at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit from 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST, providing the thousands of fans who grew up shaped by the National Hockey League that Gordie Howe was such a key part of with the opportunity to say goodbye to their hero one last time before he is laid to rest, since the amount of public seating available at his funeral is reported to be extremely limited.

“It was one of the great honors of my life”, Gretzky said.

Thousands of people, famous and those relatively anonymous, stood in line and waited to their pay respects to Howe, a Hockey Hall of Famer and one of the most revered athletes in NHL history who died Friday at the age of 88.

He played for the Red Wings and Hartford Whalers, and for the WHA’s Houston Aeros and New England Whalers.

Fellow hockey great Wayne Gretzky, former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman and Detroit general manager Ken Holland are among those in attendance.

The only number now retired by the National Hockey League is the No. 99 of the great Wayne Gretzky.

“Wherever I go – anywhere in the world – and people talk about the Red Wings, they talk about Gordie Howe”, Yzerman said. “I’ve been lucky in my lifetime”. He spent most of that career with the Red Wings, leading the team to four Stanley Cup championships during the 1950s.

“I think that’s probably what he was the most proud of, to be honest”, said Father Mech, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and a longtime friend of the Howe family.

Red Wings fan Bud Somerville lined up outside the arena late last night to be the first in line. And from that point on, he was just a nice man who was always thoughtful.

But while it is a commonly worn number, you’d have to assume many players would understand and respect the decision to retire the number of one of the greatest to ever play the game. Those records were eventually eclipsed by Gretzky.