Most know him as ‘Mr. Hockey’. I was fortunate to get to know him as Mr. Howe.

In June of 1991, I was a keen 26 year old just learning my way around the dressing and training rooms of the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. It was my second day on the job as Head Athletic Therapist. The first day, I spent in awe.

That first day, team president Jimmy Devellano handed me the keys to the Red Wing dressing room and a key to the back door, which enters into the rear of the training room. The first time I turned that key and walked inside the main dressing room, I was stopped in my tracks. The corridor to ‘The Room’ was lined with a plaque of every Red Wing hall of famer. Abel, Lindsay, Sawchuk, Delvecchio, and Howe, to name a few. Yeah, I stopped and read them all. I don’t remember getting much work done that day. And I don’t remember caring.

On that second day, I was eager to get to The Joe early and get my new office and the training room squared away. Training camp was less than 3 months away and I had a lot to learn. I also had an increasing number of players coming to Joe Louis for off-season conditioning. After all, before I was the Head Trainer, I was the Strength Coach and more and more players came in to work out.

Sitting at my desk and on the phone with the team comptroller going over my budget I heard what sounded like a key being turned in the door of the back entrance of the training room. I froze and asked Paul (MacDonald) “who else has keys to the room”? He answered “coaches, equipment guys and a few Red Wing royalty”. I would say I froze again when Gordie Howe walked through the door and into the training room but actually, I think I was transiently paralyzed.

I hung up the phone (sorry Paul) and attempted to rise to greet Mr. Hockey but I had difficulty doing so. Finally, noticing my unease he flashed a wide grin and threw a ‘don’t bother’ wave my way and said “Sit down kid. Don’t let the old man in the room disturb ya”. With that, I was at ease and strode hand out to greet Gordie Howe for the first time. I introduced myself and expressed my honor of meeting him. He said, “the honor is mine. I’ve heard a lot about the ‘rookie trainer’ welcome to the Detroit Red Wings”. If I needed any confirmation, it was in that moment that I felt I was a Detroit Red Wing.

I remember many things about that first encounter… first of all, the size of the man’s smile and the size and strength of his hands. The smile was disarming, his hands I am sure could have been dismembering. He spoke with an obvious Canadian accent with a slight, impish lisp. He spoke in metaphors but if I told you what they were, I would be lying and making them up. I was in awe. We drank coffee and chatted for over an hour that day before he went to ride a stationary bike and enjoy a sauna and shave.

Mitch Albom had ‘Tuesday’s With Morrie’. This day, my second day on the job would be the first of dozens of ‘Mornings with Gordie’.

Gordie’s visits to Joe Louis Arena were random. They became more frequent during and after my second season when the Wings signed his son Mark as a free agent defenseman. He was always in a good mood, even when in obvious physical pain. He limped a lot and complained of a wonky back. Our relationship would later progress to me working on his myriad of injuries during his visits to the Joe. He was always appreciative and always tried to leave compensation for my services, which I always refused. He compensated me, and the city of Detroit with his talent, work ethic, leadership, skill, humility and philanthropy. A man of his stature didn’t owe me a thing.

I guess you could say that Gordie Howe and I were friends. But it was the type of friendship that we all have had but didn’t realize what it was in context. Our friendship was of the ‘one location’ variety. I never spent time with Mr. Howe away from Joe Louis Arena. We didn’t meet for coffee or have family get-togethers. We didn’t exchange phone numbers or Christmas cards. We weren’t what anyone would call ‘buddies’. And that was fine with me. Because save for Olympia Arena, I wouldn’t choose any other place to get to know Gordie Howe than in the confines of the Red Wing dressing room at The Joe.

To write in detail about my ‘Mornings with Gordie’ would require a short book. And I quite frankly can’t remember enough detail to make it a good read. I was in awe. In brief, Mr. Howe had strong opinions on the differences in the modern NHL and the NHL that he played in. It was a frequent topic. He knew what my favorite candy bar was and that I couldn’t get them in the US, so every time he was in Canada, he would bring me back a couple Coffee Crisp bars. I had two young children at the time. He asked about and would talk in length about Luke and Brooklyn with every single visit. And when my grandfather died he gave me a giant hug and I just know I saw a tear in his eye, along with that giant smile, “He will always be with you”, he said. These are just a few of the fond memories I have of an exceptional man.

When he visited it would always be early in the morning, and he would always leave before the players would show up. And on one morning I finally gathered the courage to ask why. Before I could even finish asking he smiled and said “Do you think those kids really need to be reminded of the legacy they chase”? And he started cracking up. He was joking of course, but not totally. He was an extremely confident man. But it showed in a proud, yet unassuming manner. He didn’t want to be a distraction and he respected the players work areas. He said he didn’t want to be in the way, as if that was a possibility. For certain, the man thought of everything. And the last thing Mr. Howe could ever be accused of is, being selfish.

I will always cherish my ‘Mornings with Gordie’. I wish I could have endless more. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and get to know one of the greatest, if not the greatest, hockey players of all time. He is the biggest gentleman and classiest man I have ever met. The memories of those mornings will stay with me forever. God willing.

Dementia, in my opinion is the cruelest of all medical conditions. Of itself, “dementia is not a disease. It is a general description of situations that cause severe losses of memory and thinking skills”. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form, followed by Vascular Dementia, which occurs after a stroke. It is believed that Mr. Howe suffered from the latter.

Even so, I refuse to believe that a man as strong, as intelligent, as caring, as talented and as loved as Gordie Howe, will leave this world without all the fond memories he had of his life on earth. Few men have lived a greater or more fulfilling life. Few men deserve more than to take those memories with him. Or at the very least, have them given back to him in Heaven.

I am honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to sit, or stand, in awe, as Gordie Howe shared some of his most fond memories of hockey and of life. I will not share what I remember. I am sure his family has heard the same stories he told me with such glowing pride and affection, many times over. And I will let his family re-tell them. I will remember and cherish my role as a ‘one location’ friend.

As the years passed, I got more comfortable and less nervous when I heard that key turn and saw him and that smile walk into the room. And every time I would say “Good to see you Mr. Howe”. To which he would respond with a grin “Dammit, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Gordie”. I routinely replied with a smile on my face, “Yes sir Mr. Howe, yes sir”. And then we both laughed.

Most know him as Mr. Hockey. I was fortunate to get to know him as Mr. Howe.