Mr. Hockey My Story (28 page)

Marty Howe

Mark Howe

Cathy Purnell

Murray Howe

I need to start with the people who made me who I am. Here I am with Colleen, who brought out the best in me, and my parents, Kate and Ab, who taught me the lessons I needed to make it.

I have been lucky, no doubt about it. A lot of things have changed over the years, but the important things always stay the same.

That’s me back when I was playing in Omaha in 1947. When the NHL had only six teams, the minor leagues were full of very talented players. Back then, I was just focused on making it to the big leagues.

Here I am with my younger brother, Vic. It is a pretty special feeling to play against your brother on a frozen pond one day and in the NHL the next.

Hockey is a fast, tough game, and my father taught me early not to take dirt from anyone. I dished out a few licks over the years (here I am giving a Soviet player a taste of Canadian-style hockey in Moscow in 1974), but I have taken a few myself. Here I am (above) getting some medical attention from trainer Lefty Wilson in 1961.

I have been called “Mr. Elbows” more than once, sometimes as a compliment, sometimes not. I’ll say this, though. If everyone played with their elbows up, the game might be faster and possibly even cleaner.

I fell for Colleen the moment I laid eyes on her in the spring of 1951. She was as comfortable on a fishing trip as she was at a formal event. She had my back for many years, and I miss her every day.

Hockey players are on the road a lot, but I spent every minute I could with my family. Marty was born in 1954 (top left) and Mark came along the following year (top right). Cathy arrived in 1959, and Murray filled out the roster in 1960. Here we all are in the living room: from left to right, that’s Marty, Murray, Cathy, Colleen, me, and Mark.

Hockey players love golf, and the Howes are no different. Here we are on the course with U.S. President Gerald Ford.