The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix’s Kevin Mitchell wrote a different kind of profile of Red Wings legend Gordie Howe today, discussing Howe’s humble, impoverished beginnings, and his ties to the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan:
Gordie Howe’s elbow had not yet met a opponent’s jaw when he entered this world, almost unnoticed, on the threshold of the Great Depression.
He was born in 1928 near Floral, a speck of dust on the map, a quiet little stopping point on the way to bigger locales.
The family moved to Saskatoon a few days after Howe’s arrival. He grew up poor; didn’t have much of anything, save for skates and a hockey stick. He was hungry, sometimes lived on oatmeal and powdered milk, and had trouble reading because he was dyslexic.
Howe repeated third grade, and kids called him “Doughhead.” He delivered groceries to make a bit of money, and collected gopher tails, selling them for a cent apiece. He poured concrete sidewalks alongside his father when his body got stronger.
Howe is our Hometown Hero in this summer’s How Canada Wins series — not just because of the hockey icon he became, but because of the circumstances that got him there, and a final gesture.
It’s worth noting that Howe’s first media mention came in 1938, when he placed second out of 10 entries in Grade 3 paper cutting at the Saskatoon Exhibition. Millions of words have been written about him since, none of them about paper cutting.
But you can add that little scrap of newsprint to the many ways Howe scattered himself across Saskatoon.
I’ve read many background stories and books on Gordie and all they do is solidly verify what a wonderful person he was, in addition to being an all-time great player.