1965-66 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe Jersey

Gordie Howe made his NHL debut in 1946, wearing #17 and changed to his iconic #9 at the start of the following season for the purpose of a more preferable sleeping berth on the train while the team was traveling, as the accommodations were more spacious in the lower berths and were allocated based on each players sweater number.

One of the most dominant players in NHL history, Howe would finish in the top five in league scoring for twenty straight seasons.

Teamed with linemates Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay, "The Production Line" would dominate the NHL and lead Detroit to first place in the regular season standings for each of the four seasons they played together from 1948-49 to 1951-52, a span that would include a pair Stanley Cup Championships in 1950 and 1952. So dominant was the line that they finished first, second and third in league scoring in 1949-50, led by Lindsay's 78 points in 69 games.

Howe would not be around to lift the Stanley Cup in 1950, having suffered a fractured skull earlier in the playoffs, which required emergency surgery to relieve the pressure.

Howe recovering from his fractured skull in 1950
 

Howe would return to form the following season of 1950-51, scoring 86 points to win the scoring title by 20 points over his nearest competition, the first of seven times he would win the Art Ross Trophy.

Howe would continue throughout the 1950's to accumulate championships and awards, winning the Stanley Cup in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955, the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion from 1951-1954 and 1957, and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league MVP in 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958 and 1960.

Howe won 4 Stanley Cups in the 1950's

On this date in 1960 that Howe registered an assist in a 2-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs to score his 1,000th NHL point, making him the first player in the 44 year history of the league to reach that milestone and he did it in his 938th game. It would be another eight years before Jean Beliveau would become the second and another 20 years before Howe would score his final point, keeping in mind Howe already had 14 years in the league behind him at this point.

Howe celebrates becoming the first player to reach 1,000 points

1963 would see Howe capture both the Art Ross and Hart Trophies once more and on this date in 1965, Howe would score his 600th NHL goal in a game versus the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first player in NHL history to record 600 goals. It would be until 1972 until Bobby Hull would become the second to achieve 600 goals.

Howe celebrates becoming the first player to reach 600 goals

In 1968-69, aided by the recent NHL expansion to 12 teams, which created a longer schedule of games against some admittedly weaker opponents, Howe achieved his one and only 100 point NHL season with 44 goals and 58 assists for 103 points, which included Howe becoming the first player in NHL history to score 1,700 career points when he was credited with a pair of assists in a 5-1 Detroit win over the Los Angeles Kings on this date in 1969. His 1,700 points were achieved in 1,567 games.

Today's featured jersey is a 1965-66 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe jersey from the season Howe scored his 600th NHL goal. When the NHL expanded from six teams to 12, Howe enjoyed an offensive renaissance given the chance to play against the weaker expansion clubs. After four seasons of scoring less than 30 goals, 1967-68 saw him leap up to 39 goals followed by 44 more in 1968-69, tied for his third best season of his professional career, which began in 1946 and lasted all the way to 1980.

While Detroit's red sweater dates back to 1932, the Red Wings did not wear a white sweater until 1934 to wear in games against the Montreal Canadiens. The white sweaters were originally simply a reverse of the red sweaters - all white including white sleeves with red bands around the arms and waist - and did not get its contrasting red sleeves until 1961, making the Red Wings white jerseys, now unchanged for over 50 years old, the "new" one.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1970-71 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe jersey. 1970-71 would be Howe's final season with the Red Wings. This classic style has been used by the Red Wings essentially unchanged since 1932 when the Detroit franchise first adopted the name "Red Wings" after previously being known as the Falcons and the Cougars.

Only detail changes have occurred over the years as this sweater has endured to become a timeless classic.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's video is the "Legends of Hockey" profile of Howe.

Here is an unusual find, Howe on the TV game show, "What's My Line?" being questioned by Hogan's Heroes' Colonel Klink Werner Klemperer and Soupy Sales. Howe's legendary toughness is apparent, as he is unfazed at being interrogated by a Nazi prison camp commandant.

Gordie tells Keith Olberman how hockey used to be and to respect your elders.