Before Mark Howe left the shadow of his father, Gordie, and became a fellow Hockey Hall of Famer, at age 16 he became the youngest player to win an Olympic hockey medal when the U.S. team unexpectedly beat Czechoslovakia and went on to win silver at the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan, 50 years ago.
The U.S.’s upset of the Czechs came on Feb. 7, but they needed Russia’s win over the Czechs and Sweden’s win over Finland on Feb. 13 to vault from fourth to second in the medal standings.
Mark Howe then joined his brother Marty in juniors hockey with the Toronto Marlboros. They won the 1973 Memorial Cup, and Mark was named tournament MVP. Soon after, the brothers — and their dad, who came out of retirement — signed lucrative contracts to play for the WHA Houston Aeros.
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As an 18-year-old, Mark earned Rookie of the Year honors after scoring 38 goals to help capture the Avco Cup. It was the first of two consecutive championships before the Howes moved on to the New England Whalers in 1978. When the Whalers and three other WHA teams merged into the NHL in 1979, Mark converted from left wing to defense for the renamed Hartford Whalers.
On Dec. 27, 1980, Howe suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in hockey history when he slid skates-first into the net and was impaled on the metal deflector then located in the middle of the net. The impalement was a 3-inch-by-4-inch gash in his rectal area, causing him to lose three pints of blood and, eventually, nearly 20 pounds. (The league later removed the deflectors from the nets.)
After the 1981-82 season, Howe was traded to Philadelphia. There, over 10 seasons, he established himself as one of the league’s best defensemen while helping lead the Flyers to two Stanley Cup Finals. He posted his best NHL season in 1985-86 when he led the league with a plus-87 rating while scoring 24 goals — including seven shorthanded — with 58 assists.
In 1992, the three-time Norris Trophy runner-up (along with three first-team All Star nods and five All-Star Game berths)signed as a free agent with Detroit. He played three seasons with the Wings before retiring in 1995 after the Wings were swept by New Jersey in the Finals. Upon his retirement, after 22 pro hockey seasons, he was retained by the Wings to scout; he eventually had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup four times, just like his father. In June 2021, he quietly retired as the Wings’ director of pro scouting after 26 seasons in the Wings’ front office.
He in 2003 was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and in 2011, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Howe, who has three children — Travis, Nolan, and Azia — resides in Jackson, New Jersey, with his longtime partner Sharon Battaglino.
Recently, Free Press special writer Bill Dow spoke to Howe about his Olympics experience, growing up as a “rink rat,” playing with his father and his recent retirement.
Memories of playing in the ’72 Olympics
“I had played with the Junior Red Wings against the U.S. Olympic team at Olympia Stadium in December. Three weeks later, the Olympic team coach, Murray Williamson, invited me to try out, and I made it. It was the first time I’d been away from home, and I had to take about six weeks off from school. I was pretty nervous about it, but it was a great experience. I was 16, and half the guys were 25 years old, but they were pretty good to me. I roomed with Robbie Ftorek and a couple of other guys. It all happened so fast and was kind of a blur. Looking back, I appreciate it even more now.
“I’ll never forget seeing the Czechs play the Russians. It was one of the most brutal hockey games I’ve ever seen. Slashing and kicking and guys trying to kill each other. There was so much hatred on the ice, it was unbelievable. In a game against Sweden, I remember Valeri Kharlamov of Russia bouncing a puck in the air on his stick several times without letting it hit the ice and then skating behind the net while he’s being cross-checked before batting it out of the air into the net. It was like, ‘Holy (expletive), I’ve never seen that in the NHL.’
“At the medal ceremony, when we won silver, they only played the Russian national anthem since they won gold. It took forever. When I saw the American flag go up during the ceremony, I realized that we’d done something good for our country, and that’s when it really hit me.
“We were trying to have a 50-year reunion, but we had to put it off for now because of COVID. In a group email, guys were reminiscing about what they did when they got back after the Olympics. Everyone was talking about how they were in parades and such, and they asked me what I did. I said my alarm went off at 7:30 a.m., and I had to be at class at 8:15. They got a big chuckle out of that. Later at my high school, Southfield Lathrup, they had ‘Mark Howe Day.’ ”
On being a ‘rink rat’ while planning on playing pro hockey
“After I did my homework at school, I walked home, and all I did was play hockey at the rink my parents built at our house. I would play before and after dinner and until I had to go to bed. When I was 14, the Red Wings started letting me take part in scrimmages at their camp in Port Huron. I was a rink rat and probably spent more time at Olympia Stadium than anybody who worked there. I was lucky to have been a stick boy in the visitors’ locker room when I was 12. I’ll never forget seeing Stan Mikita of the Black Hawks spend half an hour preparing his wicked curve stick with a blowtorch and a rasp. It was a work of art. I collected sticks and autographs. One time, I was in the Toronto locker room working, and Eddie Shack started singing the song, “Gordie Howe Is the Greatest of Them All.” All the players laughed and I got embarrassed and ran out. There was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to play in the NHL, and fortunately I was good enough to do so.”
On playing on a line with his dad
“In our first year, I remember dad saying, ‘This isn’t like real hockey, it shouldn’t be this much fun.’ Dad, Marty and I loved it. When we played together, he told me, ‘Get your ass to an empty spot, and I’ll get you the puck,’ and that’s what he did. We had great chemistry together. Sometimes he’d just look at me, and I would look at him, and I knew what he was thinking. He’d want me to go somewhere after a faceoff to do this or that without saying a word or tipping it off. I played with him from when he was 45-52 and the first year with Houston, he was the league MVP with 31 goals and 100 points. He still would have been one of the upper echelon of players in the NHL. It is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in sports. Gordie was so damn strong and his endurance was incredible. When provoked, he was the most brutal player on the ice I’ve ever seen. In our first exhibition game, first shift, a guy went after him and Dad two-handed him right over the head and laid him out. I was so fortunate to have played six years on his line, and at the same time play with Marty.”
On transitioning from a forward to a defenseman
“When playing for Hartford in ’79, one night the coach asked me to play defense. I thought to myself, ‘Why didn’t you let me practice it today?’ Whatever the team asked me to do, I did it. The advantage was, I got to play more. Instead of playing 23 minutes a night, I got to play up to 33 minutes. Once I learned the position better, thanks largely to Ed Van Impe in Philly, I could control the tempo of the game, and I could see things better. I think the transition might have prolonged my career, because a lot of wingers don’t play until they’re 40.
Even as a left winger, I tried to be a responsible two-way player, and I had learned that from watching Nick Libett of the Wings. Nick would be up and down checking his man, and when he had opportunities, he’d try to create offense. So, I already had sort of a defensive mentality. People like to say I was an offensive defenseman, but I wasn’t. I was a defensive defenseman who knew how to create offense. That’s one of the reasons why I had a good plus-minus rating, plus, I had good people around me.”
On his horrific injury in 1980
“I thought for sure I was dying. I kept saying, ‘Am I going to live?’ My dad told the doctor he wanted to see my injury. When they reluctantly removed the towels, Dad squeezed my hand tight. I then thought, ‘I’m in deep (expletive).’ Three or four days later, I asked the doctor if I would ever be able to play again, and when he said yes, I said, ‘That’s all I need to know.’ If I couldn’t have played, it would have been absolutely devastating to me. It took me nearly a year and half to feel more like myself. I think the injury definitely hurt my career. Six weeks later, I was playing at 171 pounds. I usually played at 190 pounds, and I never played near that again. Today, they would not let you back on the ice for a long time.
I lost some of my endurance after that. During a shift in my first game back, I was driving wide and cutting to the net, and then I took the easy path and went behind the net. I got back to the bench and started yelling at myself because it was the only time I took the easy path. So it went through my mind that one shift, and then it went away. After my injury, the league finally got rid of the metal deflector part that was in the middle of the net to make it safer.”
Signing with the Wings in 1992
“I loved Philadelphia and if we’d have won a Stanley Cup, I don’t think I’d have left. I considered going to four other teams and wanted to sign for two years and then stay with an organization in some capacity. Pittsburgh was No. 1, and Detroit was No. 2. I never got a call from Pittsburgh. Philly then increased their offer to keep me. Detroit was a natural fit. My heartstrings were in Philly, and I’m a very loyal person, but Mr. Ilitch called me directly and sent a plane to get me. The Wings then gave me a higher signing bonus. By choosing the Wings though, it was like I ended up hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win the World Series. It was very frustrating when we were swept in the Finals by New Jersey in ’95. We had no adversity in that shortened season, when we won the (Presidents’ Trophy) with the best record. We just didn’t adjust to the adversity after losing the first two games in the Finals. I knew before the playoffs that New Jersey would be a formidable foe if we met them in the Finals. Earlier in the year, I had made the decision that I would retire after the season.”
On serving as the Wings’ director of pro scouting, and retiring
I had always thought that one day I would either be a good assistant coach or head coach in the minors, but I never thought I had what it took to be a head coach in the NHL. When I met scouts from other teams, I found out many of them had coached. I told them that one of these days I’d like to coach and they said, ‘Why would you do that to yourself? Don’t ever do that. It will be the dumbest thing you ever do with your life.’ I worked hard at scouting, but early on my priority was my family. I missed a lot of births and birthdays, but I made it up for it on other days. When I moved back to New Jersey, I was within two hours and 15 minutes of driving to see eight teams. I typically watched around 150 games a year. Kenny Holland would ask me to put stamps on players I really liked, but often we couldn’t get those guys. It’s not so much the players you recommend, but the guys you nix. I have written reports that said, ‘If you ever sign this guy, buy me out of my contract.’ You can’t afford to make mistakes because it kills you on the salary cap, and then you have to go to the buyouts. (General manager) Steve Yzerman wanted to renew my contract in June, but I told him I was burned out and was retiring. The biggest factor was that my longtime partner Sharon is suffering from dementia pretty badly, and it was rough to also try to do my work and help take care of her. I really had enjoyed the people and being in the rinks. I’ve not watched a single puck drop in one year, but I do look on the internet to see how the Wings are doing.”
On being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011
“I was driving on the road, and I kept receiving calls with a 416 area code. I didn’t recognize the number so I didn’t answer. Finally, I got a call from Kenny Holland’s assistant, Kathi Wyatt, who said there was someone from Toronto trying to get ahold of you because they want Gordie to do an appearance. I said that Marty handles that stuff. She said, ‘Please just answer it one time.’ When I got the call, it was Jim Gregory from the Hall of Fame, and he told me I was elected. The thought never entered my mind. My heart went to my belly, it was unbelievable. It meant more to me to be able to use the platform at the induction ceremony to thank my family, the organizations I played for and especially my dad and mother. I have always told my children, that it’s not about you, it’s the people around you, because without them you can’t get anywhere. I wished my mom could have been there because she was the one who took me to all the rinks and ran the house. I couldn’t have asked to have better parents. Six weeks after I retired from playing, my dad said, ‘I wish you would have worn No. 9 once.’ So, at the end of my speech, I put on a Gordie Howe jersey to honor him.”
On today’s Red Wings
“Steve Yzerman is really astute and doing a wonderful job, and he knows what it takes because he basically built Tampa. He knows what the team needs. You have to be careful. You look at Arizona, who were rebuilding, and they made some trades over a couple of years to get into the playoffs, and they did, but now they’re in a total rebuild again. Steve is building the team for the future, but we still need a couple of more parts. We finally have a right-wing scorer in Lucas Raymond, and we have high hopes for Moritz Seider. I don’t think it is realistic that the Wings will make the playoffs this year, and next year will be a task tough as well. I think in two years we should start to be able to compete for a playoff spot. But the goal is not to make the playoffs. It’s to build a Stanley Cup contender for five to 10 years. I think they’re going to do it. The process would have been faster if we’d won the lottery a little bit, but we didn’t, so it just takes a little longer.”