Forty Years Ago This Week, Red Wings Were Becoming Pop Culture Icons

It was 40 years ago this week that one of the most famous scenes from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was being filmed. That would be the footage of the Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, one of many scenes in which the Detroit Red Wings were playing a supporting role.

Filming took place at a June 5, 1985 contest between the Cubs and Montreal Expos.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off would come to the silver screen in 1986, as Matthew Broderick’s character turned skipping school into a work of art. But in the summer of 1985, filming of the iconic comedy was still taking place. And while that was going on, the movie was also creating a real head-scratching subplot for hockey fans.

Alan Ruck reflects on filming Ferris Bueller's Day Off at a real Cubs gamecalling it "coming home" to his adopted city Chicago. https://t.co/3yH2p9ffuN pic.twitter.com/Y7Y6S2YEpY

— Blockchain Baker (@crypt0_baker) June 7, 2025

Why was it that in a movie set in Chicago, does one of the film’s main characters spend so much of his time on screen parading around the Windy City in a Gordie Howe Red Wings No. 9 jersey?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is remembered for many iconic scenes and lines, but most all in these parts, it’s recalled because the character of Cameron, the best friend of Ferris, wears a Gordie Howe No. 9 Wings jersey through most of the movie.

DHN colleague Kevin Allen and I certainly puzzled over this odd development. We were opting to dig into into the reasons behind this oddity in our book 100 Things Red Wings Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die.

Hughes Was Huge Red Wings Fan

John Hughes was writer and director of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and several other signature 1980s films. He was also a huge Red Wings fan.

“I grew up in the Detroit area,” Hughes told NHL.com while attending the Red Wings-Blackhawks outdoor game at Wrigley Field in 2009. Hughes was born in Lansing and spent much of his youth in Grosse Pointe.

“Gordie Howe was my hero growing up . . . [that’s why] I used the [Detroit] No. 9 [in Ferris Bueller].”

Revisiting ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ filming locations 40 years later https://t.co/UaHc2aqQhq pic.twitter.com/xH6PR8a2Lt

— The Morning Sun (@MPMorningSun) June 7, 2025

In the original script for the movie, there was a backstory explaining the reasons behind Cameron’s Wings jersey. It was a tribute to his grandfather. In the film, Cameron, the character played by actor Alan Ruck, is at odds with his father. However, the script was calling for him to be close with his grandfather, who was a Red Wings fan.

Unfortunately, that scene would finish up on the cutting room floor. That decision wound up leaving everyone to wonder. Why are the Red Wings playing such a vital role in a film shot in Blackhawks country?

Now you know the real . . . or is that reel . . . story.