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Red Wings Daily: Great One Wore it Best, But Mr. Hockey Wore it First

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2 years ago

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Gordie Howe, Red Wings legend
Yes that's Gordie Howe wearing a Red Wings No. 99 jersey in a 1970s NHL oldtimers game.

The photo from the Toronto Star of a Detroit Red Wings vs Toronto Maple Leafs NHL oldtimers game from the early 1970s is black and white and grainy. Yet you can clearly make out that the Detroit player in the pic is none other than Gordie Howe.

What’s that number on the arm of Mr. Hockey’s Red Wings jersey?

No. 99?

Yes, that’s what it is. The Great One, Wayne Gretzky certainly wore it best. But of these two legendary hockey icons, it’s now evident that Gretzky’s childhood hero wore it first.

There’s no explanation in the cutline why Howe’s sweater – adorned for 24 seasons in Detroit with No. 9 – has doubled down on the nines. Other than his rookie season with the Red Wings when he was No. 17, Howe wore No. 9 for the remaining 31 seasons of his astonishing major pro career.

Gretzky first donned No. 99 in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1977-78. He did so because veteran center Brian Gualazzi was already wearing No. 9 for the Soo.

For much of his career prior to that and with Canada at the 1978 World Junior Championship, Gretzky wore No. 9 in honor of Howe, his favorite player.

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