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Club 1974:
Houston Aeros
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Mark Howe
# 11, Team CANADA 1974
Club: Houston Aeros
Position: LW Shoots:
Left
Height: 5-11 Weight: 190
Born: 5/28/1955 in Detroit, Michigan
Mark Howe son of hockey legend Gordie Howe, was already considered one of the finest young players in the game when he shocked the hockey world by signing with the WHA Houston Aeros at age 18 in the summer of 1973. At age 16, he was a key member of the US Silver Medal squad at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics and led the Toronto Marlboros to the Memorial Cup in 1972-73. He could play both forward and defense…and play them very, very well. NHL teams "drooled" at the thought of drafting him however could not touch him due to the NHL's prohibition on drafting players under the age of 20. The WHA had no such rule, and the Houston Aeros drafted both Mark and his older brother Marty. Father Gordie then announced he would end his two-year retirement to play with his sons.
Mark exploded onto the pro hockey scene in 1973-74 with 38 goals, and 41 assists. He was named WHA Rookie of the Year and was a key member of the Aeros' championship team that year playing on a forward line with his father and young center Jim Sherrit. Over the next six seasons Mark would prove to be one of the finest players in league history. He entered the NHL in 1979-80 with the merger of the two leagues and quickly showed his WHA dominance was no fluke. Mark played brilliantly both as a forward and defenseman although by the early 1980's he was playing mainly on defense. By the mid 1980's he was recognized as one of the NHL's finest defenseman. Mark retired at the end of the 1994-95 season.
In the 1974 Summit Mark would show the world how great a talent he was. He had a poor training camp and did not make the opening night roster. However coach Billy Harris moved him into the starting lineup for game 2 on a line with Father Gordie and Ralph Backstrom. Gordie and Mark quickly combined to set up Backstrom for Team Canada's first goal of the game with a beautiful criss-cross passing play. Mark would play every game after game 1 and play well. He would score big goals for Canada in games 5 and 7 and prove to be of the teams' best overall performers.
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Career Statistics
| Competitions |
GP |
G |
A |
PTS |
PIM |
| NHL Reg. Season |
929 |
197 |
545 |
742 |
455 |
| NHL Playoffs |
101 |
10 |
51 |
61 |
34 |
| WHA Reg. Season |
424 |
208 |
296 |
504 |
198 |
| WHA Playoffs |
75 |
41 |
51 |
92 |
48 |
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CAREER HIGHLIGTS:
- Played in the professional hockey leagues: 1973-95
- Pro hockey clubs:
NHL: Hartford, Philadelphia, Detroit, WHA: Houston, New England
- AVCO Trophy (2): 1974, 1975
- WHA awards:
Lou Kaplan Trophy (Rookie of the Year) 1974
WHA All Star (1st Team) 1979
WHA All Star (2nd Team) 1974, 1977
PERFORMANCE IN THE 1974 SUMMIT
Statistics
| GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIM |
| 7 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
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Scoring History| Game | Period | Time | Scoring | Notes | | Game 2 | 1 | 04:31 | Assist | | | Game 5 | 3 | 06:10 | Goal | PPG | | Game 6 | 2 | 06:15 | Assist | | | Game 7 | 2 | 06:38 | Goal | PPG |
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Penalties History| Game | Period | Time | Description | | Game 6 | 1 | 12:53 | crosschecking | | Game 6 | 2 | 12:22 | crosschecking |
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