III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 497 

Honoring the life and legacy of Gordon ‘‘Gordie’’ Howe. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2016 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mr. PETERS) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and legacy of Gordon ‘‘Gordie’’ Howe. 

Whereas Gordon Howe (in this preamble referred to as 

‘‘Gordie Howe’’) was born in Floral, Saskatchewan, Canada, on March 31, 1928, and was invited to his first tryout with a professional hockey team at 15 years of age; 

Whereas Gordie Howe entered the National Hockey League 

(in this preamble referred to as the ‘‘NHL’’) in 1946 at 

18 years of age when he joined the Detroit Red Wings 

and scored a goal in his very first game; 

Whereas Gordie Howe played right wing on the ‘‘Production 

Line’’, the most productive offensive scoring unit in the 

NHL from the late 1940s through the mid-1950s; 

Whereas Gordie Howe played 25 seasons with the Detroit 

Red Wings and led the team to 4 Stanley Cup championships; 

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2 

•SRES 497 ATS 

Whereas, in 1972, Gordie Howe was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame; 

Whereas, in 1973, Gordie Howe joined the Houston Aeros of 

the World Hockey Association (in this preamble referred 

to as the ‘‘WHA’’) to fulfill a dream of playing hockey 

on the same professional team as his sons; 

Whereas Gordie Howe proceeded to win the Most Valuable 

Player award of the WHA and lead the Houston Aeros 

to the WHA championship; 

Whereas Gordie Howe retired from professional hockey in 

1980, having scored 1,850 career points in the NHL, 

which are the third most of all time; 

Whereas Gordie Howe appeared in 23 NHL All-Star games, 

led the NHL in scoring 6 times, and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player in the league 

6 times; 

Whereas, in 1997, at the age of 69, Gordie Howe came out 

of retirement to join the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League and became the first player ever 

to play professional hockey in 6 different decades; 

Whereas the ‘‘Gordie Howe hat trick’’, a goal, an assist, and 

a fight in the same game, is named after Gordie Howe, 

though he had only 2 such games in his career; 

Whereas Gordie Howe is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time and to millions of fans worldwide 

will always be known as ‘‘Mr. Hockey’’; 

Whereas Gordie Howe was predeceased by his wife of 56 

years, Colleen Howe, who died in 2009 and was affectionately known as ‘‘Mrs. Hockey’’; 

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•SRES 497 ATS 

Whereas Gordie Howe is so beloved throughout the United 

States and Canada that a new international bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor has been named in his 

honor; 

Whereas, on June 10, 2016, Gordie Howe died at 88 years 

of age, after a long career enjoyed by millions; and 

Whereas Gordie Howe is survived by his 4 children, many 

grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a sister, and by 

hockey fans across the United States: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the life and legacy of Gordon 

3 ‘‘Gordie’’ Howe for his significant contributions to 

4 the sport of hockey and the city of Detroit; 

5 (2) expresses its deepest sympathies and condo6 lences to the family of Gordie Howe on his passing; 

7 and 

8 (3) respectfully requests that the Secretary of 

9 the Senate transmit an enrolled copy of this resolu10 tion to the family of Gordie Howe. 

Æ 

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