Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, wasn’t just a great player, but a great person.
“He was gracious,” said Penticton’s Larry Lund, who played four of his 17 pro seasons with Howe as a Houston Aero in the World Hockey Association. “I guess he was a huge contradiction because on the ice he was relentless. Off the ice he was gracious, he was a charming guy. He was kind, (had) a great sense of humour. He’s also intelligent. Guys don’t get to be where he is without being intelligent.”
Lund, who played on a line with Howe for two seasons, shared a story from when they played against the Edmonton Oilers in the WHA. A player took a run at Howe’s son Mark, which Gordie didn’t like.
“If anybody hit Mark, he was right after them,” said Lund of Howe, who died on June 10. “He went after him and just gave him a thunderous cross check and Gordie’s stick just exploded.”
That evening in their room, Howe asked Lund who was nearly asleep if he knew the rep from Northlands hockey sticks.
“I said, ‘Yeah I do. I know him quite well.’ Will you phone him in the morning? I want to talk to him. I said, what do you want to talk to him about? Did you see that stick of mine that disintegrated? I want to call him and I want to make sure that the stick that I get from him are from trees on the outside of the grove. Why? If they’re in the middle of the grove, they don’t get the wind action as the ones on the outside. When trees get whipped in the wind, they become stronger. I want my Northlands from a tree on the outside of the grove so it will be stronger. Oh Gordie. Let’s go to sleep.”
Lund laughs about that story.
“Can you imagine a guy thinking of that. It would never cross my mind,” said Lund.
Above, Lund celebrates Gordie Howe’s first goal with the Houston Aeros against the L.A. Sharks in the World Hockey Assocation.
With fans, Lund said Howe was amazing. When he talked to someone, No. 9 made the fan feel like they were the only person anywhere.
“He was focused on that person. He spent his time with them,” said Lund, who won an Avco World Trophy, the WHA championship with Howe in 1974 and ‘75. “It’s a bit of a technique and a gift in itself.”
In 1999, Howe was in Penticton for the Andy Moog and Friends golf tournament.
Lund was friend’s with Yukon senator Paul Lucier, who was at Moog’s Hospice House. Lucier said to Lund that he had met kings, queens and ambassadors, but had never met Mr. Hockey. Lucier said he’d love to meet him. Lund connected the two.
“Paul told me after that it was one of the highlights of his life,” said Lund, adding that Lucier died a few days after that. “He grew up in Windsor and had followed Gordie’s career.”
Lund was sad to hear of his friend’s passing and added he touched so many people’s lives in different ways.
“He’s, I think, the best that ever played,” said Lund. “He’s even a better person than he was an athlete.”
