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June 24, 2007 - this is the day that we had a few private minutes with Mr. Howe. Robert Esche's charitable Save of the Day Foundation was holding it's annual fundraiser at the time. The event was held at the Turning Stone Casino & Resort . At the time, I was assiting my good friend Bill Keeler with his daily TV program. Bill allows creativity to flow. If you thought you had a story and had the energy to follow through w

Gordie Howe, owner of the Vancouver Giants, at Gordie Howe Night at the Pacific Coliseum in March 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ith your objectives, there was no one more supportive than Bill. I had planned on attending the banquet to shoot some video of the items up for auction and get a few words from Robert; for a nice package to air on the show. At the time the show aired on WFXV - TV33.

I had called the Foundation informing them of my intentions and was greeted warmly. Anyone that knows me, they are aware any place I went, my son Mark was at my side. Having just celebrated his 14th birthday, Mark and I made our way to the room where the banquet was to be held. Arriving very early, with only a couple people in the room, we strolled past the tables admiring the items up for silent aution; lots of autograped pictures. One of the two people in the room was Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz - Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup winner and Mohawk Valley Prowlers alum ( 1998 - '99 ). Schultz was wearing one of his two Stanley Cup rings won in the 1970's. He stopped, took off THE ring, rested it in Mark's tiny palm. The diamond studded ring was heavy, even by my estimation. What a thrill to meet thisNHL legend, hold a Cup ring and have a one-on-one exchange of pleasantries. If nothing else came about for the time we were covering the event, we were happy campers.

Next up - the main event, enter 'Mr. Hockey '.

With ' The Hammer ' having left the room, now only banquet staff were occupying the area, hurrying to make it a night to remember. Mark and I continued our stroll, with no real thought given to what or who to capture on tape, Gordie Howe walks in the banquet room. My mind is racing, what do I say, do I say anything, would it be okay to ask for an autograph? Mark, wearing his ever-present Patrick Roy hat, and I are slow stepping our way down one side of the auction items, and ' Mr. Hockey ' is opposite us. Without warning, it happens. Gordie gives Mark an elbow ( and what better hockey person to be elbowed by ); a playful one of course. Gordie greets us with handshakes and asks Mark who his favorite team is and what he thinks the Red Wings will do next season ? The two minutes, private minutes, we had with ' Mr. Hockey ' had us both on cloud nine. Shortly after, Mr. Howe sat at a table and distributed copies of his book ' Mr. & Mrs. Hockey ' - the story of he and his wife Colleen's journey in life.

'Mr. Hockey ' invited us over to his table and signed a personal note inside the book for Mark. He ( Gordie ) spoke for another couple minutes with Mark ( he was the only child in the room ), then had an assistant of his take a picture of the three of us. What a keepsake, what a memory. I never thanked Robert Esche for this meeting of chance. If not for the banquet and bringing in 'Mr. Hockey ', Mark and I would have never met the greatest hockey player of all-time. Let me say now, thank you Robert.

 

This article, ' Mr. Hockey ' Gordie Howe : A Personal Story, is syndicated from Observer-Dispatch and is posted here with permission. Copyright 2013 Observer-Dispatch