Every hockey fan knows that there is only one “Mr. Hockey”—Gordie Howe. He was one of the greatest hockey players ever, spending 25 years with the Red Wings and scoring 1,850 total points in his NHL career.
But Howe’s legendary status has cast a shadow over another great Red Wing with a similar name. Syd Howe was a left winger with the Wings before Gordie even entered the league.
Two legendary hockey players with the same last name, yet unrelated. What are the odds?
Syd Howe was born in Ottawa in 1911 and joined his hometown NHL team, the Ottawa Senators, at 18 years old. After being transferred to St. Louis when the Senators became the St. Louis Eagles, he was traded to Detroit for two players and cash.
In his 12 seasons, Syd won three Stanley Cups with Detroit, winning back-to-back in 1936 and 1937, and then again in 1943.
The Ottawa native scored 436 total points in his Red Wing career and was the first ever Red Wings player to score six goals in one game against the New York Rangers in 1944, holding the modern-day single-game scoring record alongside Hall-of-Famers Red Berenson and Darryl Sitter, who each scored six in one game in 1968 and 1976.
On top of having one of the greatest scoring games in NHL history, Syd added his name to the history books again by participating in the longest recorded game in NHL history, which took place in 1936 and went six overtimes before ending in a 1-0 victory for the Red Wings.
Syd finished his career in 1946 after 12 seasons in the Winged-Wheel uniform. Later that year, a young and promising player began his NHL career in the same uniform.
“Heck, the only thing people asked me when I came to play in Detroit was whether I was related to Syd Howe,” Gordie said, according to NHL.com.
After retiring in 1946, Howe was inducted into the Hockey Hall-of-Fame in Toronto in 1965. With Gordie Howe playing for the Red Wings until 1971, the Red Wings had the last name Howe on their jerseys for 37 consecutive seasons.
Syd finished his NHL career with 529 points and more than 700 games played as a Detroit legend with an all-too-familiar name.
Alex Deimel is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer.
