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Friday, June 19, 2009
Mark Howe on dad Gordie Howe
Cool dad’s day story:
Another rule was to make their own way in the world—don’t trade on Dad’s fame. Murray told NHL.com last year how his mother embarrassed him, at 10 years old, when he tried to get her to confirm to a bunch of strangers that he really was Gordie’s son, as he had been bragging.
“Who are you? Get away from me,” Colleen Howe responded.
“Mom and Dad never had to say a lot,” Mark said. “Dad was about example. He had a million opportunities to say, ‘I’m Gordie Howe,’ and it would have opened doors for him, but that was never the case. He just feels like he’s an ordinary person like everyone else. We learned to be humble and we learned that just because our name was Howe, it didn’t mean diddly-squat.”
Mark Howe remembered one of the sternest lessons about hockey his father ever gave him. It was delivered in an easy-going, friendly manner, but the advice was worth millions.
“We were playing together in Houston and I was young. I had been out with the guys the night before, had a few drinks and I was hurting that morning,” he said. “Dad grabbed me and said, ‘Look how these guys (don’t) take care of themselves. At 31 they’ll be done. If you want to play until you’re 30 or 40, what you do now will determine your future.’
“His dedication to the game was unmatched. I can’t believe the conditions I watched him play through. He was hospitalized before our first Houston game with back spasms, in traction, and played that night. I watched him pass kidney stones at 9 a.m and play in a 4 p.m. game.
“He is, without a doubt, the toughest man I ever met in my life.”
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