1977 Houston Aeros Gordie Howe, PISD's favorite

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At last week's Houston Aero's Pasadena Night, Gordie Howe voted by PISD students as their favorite Aero, presented Eddie Frances, P.E. supervisor of PISD with an Aero jacket. Ian Water of Atkinson is shown here with Frances, also shown is M.C. Terry Le Witke. ~Leader Front Page photo, Jan. 1977.

Mr. Hockey, having played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years and going on to be VP in the organization, came out of retirement in 1973 for the chance to play with both of his boys, who were also taken by the Aeros of the newly formed WHA. He led them to two consecutive championships in '73 and '74 and stayed with Houston until the year of the photo above, in 1977.

From Wikipedia:

Legacy

Howe was also referred to during his career as Power, Mr. Everything, Mr. All-Star, The Most, The Great Gordie, The King of Hockey, The Legend, The Man, No. 9, and "Mr. Elbows" (for his tough physical play).

Over the years Howe became good friends with [Wayne] Gretzky, who had idolized Howe as a young player, and who would later break many of Howe's scoring records and milestones.

Another milestone in a remarkable career was reached in 1997 when Howe played professional hockey in a sixth decade. He was signed to a one-game contract by the Detroit Vipers of the IHL and, almost 70 years old, made a return to the ice for one shift. In doing so, he became the only player in hockey history to compete in six different decades at the professional level, having played in the NHL, WHA and IHL from the 1940s to 1990s.

His most productive seasons came during an era when scoring was difficult and checking was tight, and he never scored 50 goals in a single season, yet Howe ranks third in NHL history with 1,850 total points, including 801 goals and 1,049 assists. When career regular season goals from both the NHL and the WHA are combined, he ranks first in goals with 975.

At the time of his retirement, Howe's professional totals, including playoffs, for the NHL and WHA combined, were first. He finished with 2,421 games played, 1,071 goals, 1,518 assists, and 2,589 points. 

Gordie Howe suffered a stroke this past week, and the Detroit Redwings made certain to send him their best wishes for a full recovery.