They buried Gordie Howe in Detroit on Wednesday–a lifetime away from the prairie farmhouse in Floral, Saskatchewan where he first made his presence felt.
The birth announcement did not record if his lethal elbows and massive forearms arrived fully formed with him.
Or, maybe those elbows and arms ballooned as he muscled away his eight siblings in quest of the meat and potatoes set before them.
Unlikely.
For if Howe was the ultimate meat-and-potatoes guy as he forged his way to four Stanley Cups and a playing career that lasted from 1946 to 1980, the one thing that did appear to grow was his ego.
From all reports, Howe remained genuinely down to earth.
Which, of course, is not the same thing as saying he lacked a temper.
Pity the poor opponent attempting to inflict damage in the corner of an NHL rink.
Retaliation from Howe was swift and lethal.
This was one tough guy.
And one humble guy.
It was Gordie Howe who wrote the book on how one acts–both for superstars that followed him and for an awful lot of Canadians.
The credo: “Ah Shucks.”
“The bigger the star you are,” Howe seemed to say, “the more humble you better be. This is how it’s done. You never blow your own horn.”
Calgary-based sports commentator and author Bruce Dowbiggin, who had many dealings with Howe, joined RCI by phone on Thursday to discuss the many legacies of the man known as “Mr. Hockey.”
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