Today in hockey history, Gordie Howe records a first at a young age (hard to imagine), a big comeback (and then some), a player reaches an impressive milestone, a player moves into second place on the all-time list for one stat, and the Hall of Fame inducts a new class.
November 3, 1948 – Gordie Howe made his first All Star appearance…the first of 23. It’s only slightly less impressive when you consider that there were only six teams in the league and he automatically made an All-Star appearance almost every time the Wings won the Cup. The All Stars beat the Maple Leafs 3-1 in his first game.
November 3, 1960 – Down 5-2 entering the third against the Bruins, the Red Wings scored six goals in 12 minutes to come out with the win. They scored a sixth, too, without allowing a goal against. 8-5 was the final.
November 3, 1987 – Marcel Dionne became just the second player in NHL history to score 1,700 career NHL points, scoring a goal for the Rangers in a 5-3 loss at Calgary. I bet he’s not the first guy you think of when considering that feat. The first was Gordie Howe
November 3, 2002 – Mark Messier played his 1,616th game, a 3-2 Rangers loss against the Blues, to move into second place on the all-time games played list. He passed Larry Murphy, but would never reach Gordie Howe – he ended his career with 1,756 NHL games, still currently second all time, just 11 shy of Gordie Howe (which, coincidently, was his jersey number). He’s also currently second in all-time points with 1,887, only about 1,000 behind Gretzky.
November 3, 2003 – The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted its newest members: Grant Fuhr, Pat LaFontaine, Red Wings owner Mike Illitch, and Ottawa 67’s coach Brian Kilrea.
Source: Hockey Hall of Fame
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