Red Wings legend Alex Delvecchio turns 90 today, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an excerpt from her book: Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the Detroit Red Wings to celebrate the occasion:
Against the New York Rangers on February 20, 1965, Alex Delvecchio scored a goal to help the Red Wings win 3-2. He scored another goal the next day to help the Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. Thus began a record that would stand for 23 years, as Delvecchio produced points in 17 consecutive games, his streak ending March 28 when he went scoreless in the last game of the 1964-65 season, a 4-0 Toronto shutout. Delvecchio scored 12 goals and recorded 19 assists, his 31 points tying Norm Ullman by a Wings player in that span.
Delvecchio’s record stood until Steve Yzerman obliterated it between November 25 and January 10 of the 1987-88 season, when he went on a 22-game tear that produced 20 goals and 30 assists. Delvecchio was a durable, skilled forward who served as center on the second iteration of the Production Line, taking over Sid Abel’s spot between Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay after Abel departed for Chicago in 1952.
Delvecchio spent his entire 24-year NHL career with the Wings, playing on three Stanley Cup winners. Alexander Peter Delvecchio was born December 4, 1931, in Fort William, Ontario. He made his debut with the Wings on March 25, 1951, suiting up in their last game of the regular season. When he retired in 1973, at 41, Delvecchio had logged 1,550 games; only Howe (1,687) and Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564) played more games with one franchise. At the time of his retirement, Delvecchio ranked second in the NHL with 1,281 points, trailing only Howe’s 1,809 points. Delvecchio’s sportsmanlike play won him the Lady Byng Trophy in 1959, 1966, and 1969. (Delvecchio tallied only 383 penalty minutes in his career. By comparison, Lindsay tallied 1,808.) He played in the All-Star Game 13 times.
