Harvest Of The Seasons

1946--47

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

58

7

15

22

52

5

0

0

0

18

Signed at age 18 for $7,000, Gordie Howe debuts for the Red Wings and portends the future with a goal in his first game, against the Maple Leafs.

1947--48

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

60

16

28

44

63

10

1

1

2

11

New Wings coach Tommy Ivan forms the high-scoring Production Line, uniting Howe with left wing Ted Lindsay and center Sid Abel.

1948--49

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

40

12

25

37

57

11

8

3

11

19

Howe misses 20 games with injuries yet is named an NHL All-Star (second team) for the first time, while tying for seventh in the league in assists.

1949--50

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

35

33

68

69

1

0

0

0

7

Howe's career nearly ends (his postseason does) when he slams headfirst into the boards after missing a check in Detroit's first playoff game en route to the Cup.

1950--51

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

43

43

86

74

6

4

3

7

4

With 86 points, Howe breaks the NHL single-season record of 82, set by Boston's Herb Cain in 1943--44.

1951--52

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

47

39

86

78

8

2

5

7

2

After matching his single-season scoring mark, Howe is the co-leader in points in the playoffs and earns his first Hart Memorial Trophy, as league MVP.

1952--53

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

49

46

95

57

6

2

5

7

2

Howe becomes the first three-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the league's top scorer, and resets the single-season points record.

1953--54

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

33

48

81

109

12

4

5

9

31

Despite relinquishing the goals title to Maurice Richard of the Canadiens, Howe wins an unprecedented fourth straight point-scoring crown.

1954--55

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

64

29

33

62

68

11

9

11

20

24

For a fourth time Howe gets his name etched on the Stanley Cup, after setting a postseason record with 20 points, including a playoff-high nine goals.

1955--56

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

38

41

79

100

10

3

9

12

8

Howe joins Richard and Nels Stewart as the only players to reach 300 goals when he scores in Detroit's 3--2 win over the Blackhawks on Feb. 7, 1956.

1956--57

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

44

45

89

72

5

2

5

7

6

On Christmas Day, Howe scores three goals and adds three assists in a 8--1 rout of the Rangers, the highest single-game point output of his NHL career.

1957--58

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

64

33

44

77

40

4

1

1

2

0

Howe's 409th assist, which he dishes out on Nov. 28 against the Maple Leafs, makes him the NHL's career leader, passing Montreal's Elmer Lach.

1958--59

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

32

46

78

57

-

-

-

-

-

Howe becomes the second NHL player with 400 goals. Fittingly the milestone occurs in the Montreal Forum, home to the other, Richard (who finished with 544).

1959--60

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

28

45

73

46

6

1

5

6

4

Playing in his 888th career game, Howe gets his 947th point, passing Richard as the NHL's alltime leading scorer.

1960--61

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

64

23

49

72

30

11

4

11

15

10

An eventful season: Howe sets the alltime record for playoff assists after becoming the first NHL player to exceed 1,000 career regular-season points.

1961--62

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

33

44

77

54

-

-

-

-

-

The Red Wings miss the playoffs for just the second time in Howe's career, but he plays in his 1,000th career game, the most in NHL history.

1962--63

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

38

48

86

100

11

7

9

16

22

Mr. Hockey adds two more trophies to an already overstocked case by taking home the Hart and the Ross. It's the sixth time he's earned each.

1963--64

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

69

26

47

73

70

14

9

10

19

16

On Nov. 10, Howe scores his 545th career goal, against Montreal, to pass Richard as the NHL's alltime leading goal scorer.

1964--65

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

29

47

76

104

7

4

2

6

20

By finishing third in scoring, Howe extends his NHL record of placing in the top five in points to 16 consecutive seasons.

1965--66

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

70

29

46

75

83

12

4

6

10

12

Howe becomes the first player to reach 600 regular-season goals with a Nov. 27 score in Montreal.

1966--67

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

69

25

40

65

53

-

-

-

-

-

As he begins his 21st season, Howe establishes himself as the player with the longest consecutive NHL tenure, passing Dit Clapper and Bill Gadsby.

1967--68

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

74

39

43

82

53

-

-

-

-

-

The first season of expansion is a down one for Howe and the Wings, who finish with a worse record than rest of the Original Six and five of six new teams.

1968--69

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

76

44

59

103

58

-

-

-

-

-

United with Alex Delvecchio and Frank Mahovlich, Howe has a career-high 59 assists as part of the first 100-point season in his career—at age 40.

1969--70

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

76

31

40

71

58

4

2

0

2

2

Howe's streak of consecutive seasons in the league's top five in scoring ends as he's limited by bone fragments and a dead navicular bone in his wrist.

1970--71

DETROIT RED WINGS

NHL

63

23

29

52

38

-

-

-

-

-

Howe gets his 1,000th career assist on Oct. 29 against Boston at the Olympia. At season's end he bows to severe arthritis and retires.

1971--72

DID NOT PLAY

Less than a year after his retirement, Howe's sweater is raised to the rafters at Detroit's Olympia Stadium, the number 9 never to be worn again by a Red Wing.

1972--73

DID NOT PLAY

A member of the Red Wings' front office, Howe is offered, and turns down, the opportunity to become the first coach of the expansion Islanders.

1973--74

HOUSTON AEROS

WHA

70

31

69

100

46

13

3

14

17

34

Howe emerges from retirement to play with sons Mark and Marty on the WHA's Houston Aeros, leads the team to the title and is named MVP.

1974--75

HOUSTON AEROS

WHA

75

34

65

99

84

13

8

12

20

20

With Howe finishing sixth in the league in assists and eighth in points, the Aeros win their second championship in the WHA's second season.

1975--76

HOUSTON AEROS

WHA

78

32

70

102

76

17

4

8

12

31

Elevated to president of the Aeros, Howe continues playing and sets a career high in assists, falling one point shy of his best-scoring season.

1976--77

HOUSTON AEROS

WHA

62

24

44

68

57

11

5

3

8

11

Howe, now 48, retires—sort of. He steps down as president of the Aeros to concentrate on scoring goals.

1977--78

NEW ENGLAND WHALERS

WHA

76

34

62

96

85

14

5

5

10

15

On Dec. 7, Howe's first-period tally against the Birmingham Bulls makes him the first pro hockey player to reach 1,000 goals (regular season and playoffs).

1978--79

NEW ENGLAND WHALERS

WHA

58

19

24

43

51

10

3

1

4

4

In a series between the WHA All-Stars and Dynamo Moscow, Gordie plays right wing, son Mark left and 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky center on the same line.

1979--80

HARTFORD WHALERS

NHL

80

15

26

41

42

3

1

1

2

2

Returning to the NHL as its oldest player ever (51), in the WHA merger, Howe receives a hero's welcome in Detroit for the All-Star Game, his record 23rd.