Consider this as you think of Gordie Howe, as written by The Sporting News' Larry Wigge in 1994: Gretzky was 2 years old in 1963 when Howe surpa sed Maurice "Rocket" Richard's record of 544 goals. That Howe's name stood atop the NHL goal-scoring charts for more than 30 years makes Gretzky's accomplishment even more amazing. "He scored 85 more points one year than the next guy," Howe says. "I scored 85 one year and set a record." MR. HOCKEY: | | Howe was Gretzky's hero. "Ask me to name hockey's great goal-scorers and I'll name Gordie Howe, Phil Esposito and Rocket Richard," Gretzky said. "That's what makes this so unique to me because nobody, especially me, dreamed I'd be this close to breaking Gordie's record." Gretzky didn't just break Howe's records, he obliterated them. On March 23, 1994, Gretzky scored his 802nd goal to pa s Howe's career total. He would retire in 1999 with 894. Gretzky finished with 2,587 points. Howe had 1,850. In fact, Gretzky had 1,963 a sists more than any other player had points. "My best Christmas ever was when I was 5 years old and my dad I mean Santa Claus brought me a Gordie Howe sweater," Gretzky told Wigge that year. "I wouldn't take it off, even though it itched like crazy." Gordie Howe was Wayne Gretzky's hero. (AP Photo) With Terry Sawchuk, Alex Delvecchio and Marcel Pronovost among his teammates, the Red Wings won seven consecutive regular-season titles and four Stanley Cups in six seasons. Gretzky won four Cups in five years with the Oilers. John Ferguson, who often had the task of shadowing Howe, called Howe the toughest player he ever had to face. "He was tough and mean. He had guys frightened to death," Ferguson, the Canadiens' feared policeman, David Reinbacher Jersey once said. Howe once skated up to Ferguson and to sed ice in his face as a challenge. Knowing his opponent, Ferguson backed down. "Gordie would simply stand there with that grin on his face and psych out opponents," Ferguson told Wigge in the April 2, 2001, edition of The Sporting News. "I could have punched him for that ice shower. But no one challenged Gordie Howe. He scared every opponent he faced." Howe had eight goals in a seven-game playoff series in 1949, a record that stood until 2008, when Johan Franzen scored nine in a four-game sweep. Like Howe, Franzen was a right winger for the Wings. Unlike Howe, Franzen called "The Mule" for his strength but slow skating would not last in the NHL. Mr. Hockey and The Great One: Gordie Howe with Wayne Gretzky (AP Photo) Consider this: A couple dozen NHL players saw their sons play in the league. Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame are among them, including Bobby and Brett Hull. Only Gordie, Mark and Marty Howe played together in the NHL. Funny thing is, Howe's father didn't expect much from Gordie. In March, Ian Walker of the Vancouver Sun wrote: Clumsy, backwards and bashful. And that's his late father's a se sment of a young Gordon Howe. "That's why I never thought he'd amount to anything," Albert Howe has been quoted as saying. Howe's final years were spent fighting enemies he could no defeat. After wife Colleen died in 2009, Howe slipped into the fog of dementia. "He's a little bit worse than last year, but pretty close to about the same," . "He just loses a little bit more, grasping for words. "The worst part of this disease is there's nothing you can do about it." Son Murray, a radiologist, said Howe "has what we call mild cognitive impairment. His brain power is not what it used to be. In terms of the prognosis and diagnosis, it's still wide open." The long slide continued. Then came the strokes. Now, mercifully, it is over. Maybe what Gideon Welles said of Abraham Lincoln's death best describes the day. "Now he belongs to the ages." Guy Lapointe Jersey