Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe dead at 88

Isn’t it ironic on the day that the greatest boxer of all time is put to rest, the NHL’s original “greatest of all time” is gone.

DETROIT — Gordie Howe, the rough-and-tumble Canadian farm boy whose boundless blend of talent and toughness made him the NHLs quintessential star during a career that lasted into his 50s, died Friday.

“He has been an icon not only in Detroit but throughout the entire hockey world for as long as I can remember”, said Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, who played for the Red Wings from 1983-2006. There are numerous stories, told by current and former players and just hockey fans, of Howe going out of his way to be accommodating to those who approached him, be it for a photograph, an autograph or just to talk hockey, which Howe loved to do.

Though the Howe Family has made it a priority to allow the public to pay tribute to the hockey legend, the organization would like to emphasize that all media and fans continue to respect the family’s privacy during this hard time.

Howe won the Stanley Cup four times, and won six Hart Trophies and six Art Ross Trophies.

In the pros: Joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1946 and played 25 seasons, winning four Stanley Cups with Detroit.

At 6-foot tall and 205 pounds, he was a monster in his era.

Two years later, he returned to hockey in the upstart WHA, playing with his sons Mark – a Hall of Famer in his own right – and Marty with the Houston Aeros and then the New England Whalers.

Funeral plans and visitation for Gordie Howe have been finalized. And once the game started – it was a who’s who of National Hockey League greats, from Wayne Gretzky to Guy Lafleur – the silver-haired Howe was still out-skating and out-smarting much younger opponents.

State Representative Sandy Levin of the 9th Congressional District wrote, “Like for so many, for my brother Carl and me, Gordie Howe was one of our greatest heroes growing up”.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 but the next year he was on the ice again.

“I thought I had something they would never touch, ” Howe said. Howe suffered two strokes in late 2014 after enduring chronic back pain for years, the AP said. He is second on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 801, behind Gretzky with 894, and fourth on the points list with 1850.

“As a human being, he was incredible”, Holland added. “He loved to be around people and to make them laugh”, Holland said. “No sport could have hoped for a greater, more-beloved ambassador”.

Howe is survived by his three sons and a daughter.

She died in March 2009 at age 76 after battling Picks disease, a rare form of dementia similar to Alzheimers. He would say that playing with his sons was the highlight of his career.