On October 11, 1953 Gatherum replaced injured Terry Sawchuk to record a shutout in his National Hockey League (NHL) debut for Detroit 4-0 win over Toronto. He then played on October 16 and 17 for Detroit. Terry returned from injury and Gatherum returned to minors having 2 wins, and 1 tie. He also set an NHL for the longest shutout sequence by a goaltender to start a career 100.21 min Oct 11-16, 1953. The record stood until 2011. He was recalled for playoffs as a spare goaltender and got his name on the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1954. Gatherum would never play in the NHL again. He spent the rest of his career playing in the minors or senior hockey until retiring after 1959 season.