PUBLISHED/HarperCollins Canada, Triumph Books memoir/sports
Gordie Howe's Son: A Hall of Fame Life in the Shadow of Mr. Hockey
Mark Howe and Jay Greenberg
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Mark Howe tells what it was like growing up as the son of Mr. Hockey himself. As the only father-and-son Hall of Fame combination in any sport (that you’ve ever heard of), the Howes represent nearly 50 years of NHL history. And Mark Howe’s story is inevitably the story of Gordie, too.
Reading Gordie Howe’s Son will be like sitting down with an old friend and having him regale you with wonderful stories long into the night. Like Mark’s days going to Detroit Red Wing games as a kid and playing ball hockey in the balcony stairs with other players’ kids. Or when his mom helped create a place for the neighborhood kids to play hockey in the winter, even to the detriment of her own windows. Or coming up through the ranks in junior hockey when his opponents would place him in their crosshairs because his father was You-Know-Who. Or becoming the youngest Olympic hockey medalist ever at the age of 16 at the 1972 games. Or realizing the family’s lifelong dream when he and his brother Marty played alongside their dad in the renegade World Hockey Association. And so many other stories along the way, up to Mark’s induction to the NHL Hall of Fame when finally, he was able to put on the #9 jersey of the Red Wings—a jersey hanging from the rafters since his father retired…the first time.
But there are touching stories as well—Gordie caring for his ailing wife as she was debilitated by Alzheimer’s disease, a freak accident that almost killed Mark—on the ice, Gordie’s impoverished upbringing in rural Canada, and Mark’s relationship with his brothers—one who played with him in the WHA and NHL, and one who did not. It’s a book hockey fans will cherish, a perfect Father’s Day gift for sports fans everywhere as Gordie Howe transcended hockey the same way Michael Jordan transcended basketball.
Reading Gordie Howe’s Son will be like sitting down with an old friend and having him regale you with wonderful stories long into the night. Like Mark’s days going to Detroit Red Wing games as a kid and playing ball hockey in the balcony stairs with other players’ kids. Or when his mom helped create a place for the neighborhood kids to play hockey in the winter, even to the detriment of her own windows. Or coming up through the ranks in junior hockey when his opponents would place him in their crosshairs because his father was You-Know-Who. Or becoming the youngest Olympic hockey medalist ever at the age of 16 at the 1972 games. Or realizing the family’s lifelong dream when he and his brother Marty played alongside their dad in the renegade World Hockey Association. And so many other stories along the way, up to Mark’s induction to the NHL Hall of Fame when finally, he was able to put on the #9 jersey of the Red Wings—a jersey hanging from the rafters since his father retired…the first time.
But there are touching stories as well—Gordie caring for his ailing wife as she was debilitated by Alzheimer’s disease, a freak accident that almost killed Mark—on the ice, Gordie’s impoverished upbringing in rural Canada, and Mark’s relationship with his brothers—one who played with him in the WHA and NHL, and one who did not. It’s a book hockey fans will cherish, a perfect Father’s Day gift for sports fans everywhere as Gordie Howe transcended hockey the same way Michael Jordan transcended basketball.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Mark Howe is a three-time NHL first-team All Star defensemen who in 2011 became only the third son of a Hockey Hall of Famer to also be inducted.
At age 16 Howe was the youngest player ever to win an Olympic hockey medal, silver for the USA at the 1972 Sapporo Games. At 18, Howe, his legendary father Gordie and older brother Marty became the first father-and-son teammates in hockey history with the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association. The Aeros won the first of consecutive championships, Howe being named Rookie of the Year and a second-team All Star.
A self-sacrificing all-around defenseman with an effortless skating stride and an exquisite hockey sense, Howe keyed the Philadelphia Flyers to two Stanley Cup finals and completed a 22-year professional career with the team of his father, the Detroit Red Wings.
The father of three, Howe continues to works for the Red Wings as Director of Pro Scouting and lives in Jackson, New Jersey.
Jay Greenberg is a 40-year veteran of newspapers, magazines and websites who wrote the most complete history of a team ever published, Full Spectrum, about the Philadelphia Flyers. (Triumph Books, 1996 and 1997)
After getting his first NHL writing experience as Kansas City Scouts beat writer for the Kansas City Star, Greenberg covered the Flyers on a daily basis for 14 years with the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and Philadelphia Daily News, then spent two years writing hockey at Sports Illustrated.
He became a general sports columnist in 1993 for The Toronto Sun, a role he continued for 17 years at The New York Post.
The father of two, Greenberg lives in Manalapan, NJ.
At age 16 Howe was the youngest player ever to win an Olympic hockey medal, silver for the USA at the 1972 Sapporo Games. At 18, Howe, his legendary father Gordie and older brother Marty became the first father-and-son teammates in hockey history with the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association. The Aeros won the first of consecutive championships, Howe being named Rookie of the Year and a second-team All Star.
A self-sacrificing all-around defenseman with an effortless skating stride and an exquisite hockey sense, Howe keyed the Philadelphia Flyers to two Stanley Cup finals and completed a 22-year professional career with the team of his father, the Detroit Red Wings.
The father of three, Howe continues to works for the Red Wings as Director of Pro Scouting and lives in Jackson, New Jersey.
Jay Greenberg is a 40-year veteran of newspapers, magazines and websites who wrote the most complete history of a team ever published, Full Spectrum, about the Philadelphia Flyers. (Triumph Books, 1996 and 1997)
After getting his first NHL writing experience as Kansas City Scouts beat writer for the Kansas City Star, Greenberg covered the Flyers on a daily basis for 14 years with the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and Philadelphia Daily News, then spent two years writing hockey at Sports Illustrated.
He became a general sports columnist in 1993 for The Toronto Sun, a role he continued for 17 years at The New York Post.
The father of two, Greenberg lives in Manalapan, NJ.
