Having been close to the game and business of hockey for over four decades now, I can count myself as being very fortunate to have met Gordie Howe on a few occasions.

With the recent untimely passing of “Mr. Hockey,” Gordie Howe, I’d like to share my fond memories of the first time I saw him play in person. I was just ten years-old at the time.

The occasion was a World Hockey Association (WHA) exhibition game between the Michigan Stags (who had just relocated after three seasons in Los Angeles where they were known as the Sharks) and the Houston Aeros in October of 1974. The game was a chippy affair – as was common in the seasons before the aggressor rule and immediate ejections for fighting in pre-season games – from the drop of the opening face-off and the animosity between the two teams was perhaps fueled by an earlier game that had been played just a few days earlier at the Windsor Arena.

On this night there were two new additions to the Houston lineup as both Gordie Howe and his son Mark had just returned from playing in the 1974 Team Canada-Russia series. Neither had played in the previous game at the Barn in Windsor and the fans were hyped up to cheer for the Howes despite the fact that they were the opposition this night.

About midway through the first period, a young player (his name escapes me) for the Stags went into the corner of his defensive zone to chase for a loose puck along with #9. The youngster appeared none too pleased to have received one of Gordie’s patented elbows while also losing the battle for the puck. This player, whose courage was perhaps boosted by the fact that he was wearing a helmet (which weren’t mandatory for all players back in those days) actually had the audacity to deliver a two-handed slash to the back of Gordie’s knees as the play went up the ice.

While Gordie did look back at the player he did not seem overly fazed by the slash. Mark Howe, who was playing left-wing at the time and who was on the ice, dropped his gloves and made an immediate beeline for the Stag player. A brief shoving match ensued before Gordie himself actually broke the pair up.

While Gordie was seen to be speaking to his son while breaking up the brief encounter, he also said something to the Stag player as he skated to the penalty box.

“Watch what happens later,” my father said to me with a shy grin as we sat in our seats. “This isn’t over.”

The Stag player was mysteriously bumped from his line for most of the remainder of the game, although he did come up against Gordie’s line a couple of times without incident. That all changed late in the game.

With just over five minutes remaining in the third period, Gordie skated over to the Stag player after another Aeros’ goal and before the face-off at centre-ice. While words were exchanged, the conversation appeared amicable and the youngster appeared to nod in agreement to Gordie’s words.

After the face-off, the puck immediately went into the Aeros end of the ice, but the youngster never crossed centre-ice before he was confronted by Gordie, who had dropped his gloves. The youngster dropped his gloves before being dropped himself almost immediately. His jersey was pulled over his head just after his helmet had been knocked off by Gordie. With the fight over so quickly, Gordie skated past the Stags bench without saying a word as the crowd roared in approval.

Even my father, who by day was a mild-mannered accountant, was on his feet cheering. He turned to me and spoke again.

“See that?” he quizzed rhetorically. “He is the best hockey player in the world.

“That is Gordie Howe.”