The first NHL game I ever saw in person was on November 27, 1979 at the Spectrum. The Flyers beat the Hartford Whalers, 6-2. At the time, the biggest impact the game had on me (apart from the fact they I had wanted to go for as long as I could remember and finally got the chance) was it was my first chance to see my childhood idol Bobby Clarke play in person and that the Flyers won.
In later years, I gained a different sort of appreciation for what I witnessed. Yes, I saw Clarke, Bill Barber, Reggie Leach and a rookie Brian Propp among others. But it was also the one and only time I ever got to see Gordie Howe, by then 51 years old and in his last season, play. Meanwhile, it was the first time I saw Mark Howe -- who would later become my all-time favorite player after he joined the Flyers for the prime of his NHL career.
In 2012, after the Flyers retired Mark's No. 2 jersey, I got to shake Gordie's hand in the Wells Fargo pressbox. It was a two-second encounter but one I will never forget. It was like meeting royalty. The difference: Gordie's coronation was not one of simple heredity (nor was Mark's Hall of Fame career decades later). It was one born of hard work, talent and humility. For as long as he lived, Gordie touched many lives, both within and outside hockey. He could not live forever but his legacy was immortal.
Yesterday, I got a phone call from Brad Marsh. Brad suggested we do an article on Flyers Alumni remembering Gordie. He mentioned that, as a young player with the Atlanta Flames, he had the chance to play against Gordie. It was hard not to be in awe. Later, when Mark Howe was his longtime Flyers teammate, Gordie was around the team on many occasions. Marsh and the other Flyers of the 1980s learned that Gordie was, as Mark described him, an even better person than he was a hockey player.
Later in the day, Flyers media relations director Zack Hill sent out an audio file of Bill Barber talking about Gordie. As he had been for so many youngsters in Canada, Gordie was Barber's childhood hockey idol. Included was an incredible photo of a 13-year-old Bill Barber with Gordie, which Mr. Hockey later autographed for the future Hall of Famer.
It has often been said that one of life's most heartbreaking experiences can be to actually meet someone who has been your hero. Expectations are built to an unrealistic level and there is little chance the person can do anything but disappoint you.
What Bill Barber and countless others found when they finally met Gordie was that he didn't just meet expectations. He exceeded them. More than his longevity as a player, more than his career stats and legendary on-ice toughness, it was the human being behind the player who made Howe the sport's greatest ambassador. He transcended team loyalties, generational differences and even the frailness of life itself. He will always be Mr. Hockey.
