Scotty Bowman and Gordie Howe are two of the biggest names in hockey ever, period. They are both considered legends in the city of Detroit and one time, Bowman summed up Gordie Howe with just one sentence.
With one of the longest hockey careers ever, Gordie Howe played professional hockey through six different decades, winning four Stanley Cups for the Detroit Red Wings, the team he played 25 seasons with, four of them as captain.
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Scotty Bowman summed up Gordie Howe
Known not only for being one of the best players ever, Gordie Howe was known for being extremely tough to play against, serving 1 685 penalty minutes in 1 767 games, in a league that allowed far more foul play than today. There are plenty of stories about Howe’s toughness, but one from no other than Scotty Bowman sums up Gordie Howe better than most.
Scotty Bowman is a Detroit Red Wings legend in himself, serving as head coach, general manager and team consultant from 1993 through 2008. During his years with the Red Wings, he won – just like Howe – four Stanley Cups and cemented his position as the greatest coach of all time.
”He needed stitches”
When Bowman arrived in Detroit in 1993, Howe hadn’t been there in over 20 years. But Dr. Jack Finley, the team doctor, was. He worked as a doctor for the Red Wings from 1957 to 2003, and he told Bowman the Howe story.
”One of the most humorous things I was told came from the Red Wings doctor, Jack Finley. This was one of Jack’s early seasons, in the ’60s, Gordie was cut and came into the dressing room; he needed stitches for a pretty deep cut. Gordie was in a rush. He told Jack, ‘You don’t need gloves, just stitch me up. And in fact, don’t go very far because the guy who did this will be coming in soon,’” Scotty Bowman said according to USA Today.
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