I was more affected by Wayne Gretzky since The Great One’s scoring streaks happened during my adolescence through college years while Gordie was pretty much retired for the second time.
However, Gordie’s legacy will always remain. His popularity and skill enabled the NHL to expand from six teams to 12 in the Sixties with more to follow.
Then comes his tough style of play which has been immortalized as the Gordie Howe Hat Trick: a goal, an assist and a fight. Oddly, Gordie isn’t the record holder, it’s Brendan Shanahan unofficially.
I want to close with a little connection to Gordie. Although I never met him nor watched him play live, Somara did in the Seventies when Mr. Hockey and his two sons played for Houston’s Aeros during the WHA days.