'He was a god': Naples doctor reflects on death of Gordie Howe

Dave Osborn
Naples Daily News

Dr. John Campbell grew up in the same Canadian town as hockey legend Gordie Howe.

So when a patient Friday told the Naples doctor that Howe had died earlier that morning, it hit home.

'Being where I'm from, that's too bad, you know?' Campbell said. 'For a kid like me from Saskatchewan, growing up with Gordie Howe being sort of revered, it touches a nerve. There's a certain amount of sadness for me today.'

Howe, 88, was known as 'Mr. Hockey,' was one of the greatest hockey players in history. Born in a farmhouse in Floral, Saskatchewan, his family soon thereafter moved closer to the big city, Saskatoon in the western Canadian province.

It was there that Howe developed his hockey prowess, and later went on to professional hockey fame primarily as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

Campbell said he grew up a Red Wings fan — and remains one still — because of Howe.

'I had no choice. It was in the blood from people from Saskatchewan and Saskatoon to be Gordie Howe fans,' the physician said. 'There's sort of a picture of me when I'm 1 year old, slumped over in my highchair with chocolate pudding, wearing my Detroit Red Wings jersey at the time.'

Howe won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, and earned six scoring titles and MVPs each. He still remains the third-highest scorer in NHL history even though he hasn't played in the league since 1980.

He's also credited with the unofficial 'Gordie Howe hat trick,' which means a player scored a goal, had an assist on a goal and got in a fight.

Even so, Campbell said Howe was a physical player but that didn't mean he played 'dirty.'

'For a kid growing up in Saskatoon, hockey was everything and Gordie Howe was a god,' Campbell said. 'He was the celebrity of all celebrities.'

He said he followed Howe's career from afar, growing up in the 1960s on the Canadian prairie. He said he never met Howe but watched him play a game at the Olympia, the Red Wings' home rink during Howe's career.

And, Campbell said, he enjoys dinner about every winter in Naples with former Red Wing legend Ted Lindsay, a Howe teammate on Detroit's famed 'Production Line' that also included player Sid Abel.

'When you think of the giants of hockey, he's right up there,' Campbell said of Howe. 'If there was a Mount Rushmore of hockey, he's on it. There's no question in my mind.'