Mr. Hockey’s Big Entrance (10/16/1946)
79 years ago, 18-year-old Gordie Howe made his eventful debut for the Red Wings. Although many know him as the guy whose jersey Cameron wore in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, he is one of the undisputed greatest hockey players of all time. In his debut game, he scored a goal, got in two fights, and even hit the post later in the game. Detroit won 3-0, and Howe went on to rack up 801 goals (the most ever at the time) and five decades of dominance. Want to know who broke his record? Keep reading.
The Great One (10/15/1989)
36 years ago, Wayne Gretzky became the NHL’s all-time points leader, passing Gordie Howe. Gordie Howe stormed onto the NHL scene in style with his fighting and goal-scoring ability. Fast forward 43 years: Wayne Gretzky quietly glides past Howe’s all-time points record like it’s a Sunday skate. Howe? A legend, a tough guy, an icon. Gretzky? Basically a magician on ice: scoring, assisting, and proving that sometimes finesse beats force… by about 1,000 points. Oh, and even if you took all of his goals away, he would still be the all-time points leader.
The Great Fleecing of ‘89 (10/12/1989)
Also 36 years ago, the Dallas Cowboys pulled off what appeared to be a blockbuster. They traded their star running back, Herschel Walker, to the Minnesota Vikings for, well, basically half of Minnesota. The Vikings thought they were one superstar away from a Super Bowl, and the Cowboys thought they robbed Minnesota blind. Dallas turned those picks into the core of a 1990s dynasty (think Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, and a few shiny Lombardi Trophies), while Minnesota got a short stint of Herschel hype and a long hangover. It remains the NFL’s greatest example of how one man’s trade bait became another man’s championship parade.