Comeback Kid: Gordie Howe’s Return to Hockey

Looking back at some of Neil Leifer photos of the legend.

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano is the oldest player in this year’s NHL playoffs. But even at 38 years old, Giordano has nothing on hockey legend Gordie Howe. In the May 2022 issue of Sports Illustrated, we looked back at his unretirement to play with his sons until he was 52. We also focused on the March 11, 1974, SI cover of Howe for an edition of our SI:AM newsletter. You can sign up for that free newsletter at SI.com/newsletters.

Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated

Tom Brady’s unretirement was surprising (if only because it came just 40 days after his farewell announcement), but it was hardly unprecedented. Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and Mario Lemieux all returned after walking away, but few did it better than Gordie Howe.

Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated

Like Brady, Howe was still going strong when he retired in his early 40s. (Howe was 43 when he called it a career in 1971; Brady was 44 when he briefly left the Bucs.) Howe had scored a career-best 103 points two years earlier and had 52 points in 63 games in ’70–71, his 25th and final season with the Red Wings.

Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated

Unlike Brady, Howe actually stayed retired long enough to miss games. He returned to play alongside his sons Mark and Marty for the WHA’s Houston Aeros in 1973. And even more unlike Brady, his longevity wasn’t due to ascetic eating habits. As Howe’s wife, Colleen, noted in our March 11, 1974, issue (which featured the above image of Howe on the cover): “Gordie’s big on cottage cheese, fruit salad, ground round, Jell-O, hot and cold cereals and ice cream.” (Presumably not avocado.)

Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated

Howe pointed out, “You can be sure that I don’t neglect the ice cream, and of course nothing tastes better than a few nectars of the gods after a game.” The diet worked: Howe was the WHA MVP, and he played six more seasons before retiring in 1980 at age 52. He didn’t stay retired then, either. Howe would return once again for one shift with the minor league Detroit Vipers in ’97—extending his pro career to six decades.