November 10, 1963: Gordie Howe Becomes the NHL's All-Time Goals Leader

November 10, 1963: Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings scored the 545th goal of his National Hockey League career. It makes him the League's all-time leader.

A right wing, Howe debuted with the Wings in 1946, and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. With center Sid Abel and left wing Ted Lindsay, he formed a forward line known, in honor of Detroit's automotive industry, as the Production Line. Abel retired after the 1952 Cup, and was replaced by Alex Delvecchio, thus forming what became known as Production Line II. With Red Kelly and Marcel Pronovost as defensemen, and Terry Sawchuk in goal, the Wings could field an all-Hall-of-Fame lineup.

Wings management made some cheap and petty decisions over the next few years, but still made the Stanley Cup Finals in 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1966, though losing them all. Howe kept on playing, and kept on scoring. Although he never scored more goals in a season than the 49 he managed in 1953, he became the 2nd player to score 500 of them in NHL play, on March 14, 1962.

The 1st was Maurice Richard, the Montreal Canadiens right wing known as the Rocket, who scored a record 544 of them from 1942 to 1960. In 1970, Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks would become the 3rd player to score 500 goals. All 3 of these men wore Number 9 for their teams, making it hockey's most iconic number. (Wayne Gretzky, who would end up surpassing all of them in goals and points, paid homage to them by wearing Number 99, after joining his first junior team, on which 9 was already taken.)

Howe tied the record at 544 on October 27, 1963, but needed another 6 games to get the record-breaker. Appropriately, it was at home, at the Olympia Stadium. Also appropriately, it was against the Canadiens. Richard had retired 3 years earlier, but was in attendance. The Canadiens' goalie was Lorne "Gump" Worsley. The Wings won the game, 3-0, with all the goals coming in the 2nd period. Bruce McGregor and Alex Faulkner scored, and then, with the Wings shorthanded because Faulkner had been penalized for high-sticking, Howe scored with 4:54 left in the period -- the digits in the time rearrangeable to 544.

The 545th goal

Howe would score 786 goals for the Red Wings before retiring in 1971. He came out of retirement to play in the World Hockey Association. In 1979, 4 teams, including Howe's Hartford Whalers, were brought into the NHL, allowing him to play 1 last season in the NHL, his 26th, his 32nd counting his WHA tenure. He scored 801 regular-season goals in the NHL, 174 more in the WHA, and, between the 2 leagues, another 96 in Playoff play, for a total of 1,071.

Wayne Gretzky would surpass Howe for NHL goals with 802, in 1994. He finished with 894 goals in the NHL, 46 in the WHA, and 122 in the Playoffs, for a total of 1,066. So, in a way, Howe is still the all-time goals leader.

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November 10, 1963 was a Sunday. An American version of the British comedy TV show That Was the Week That Was premiered on NBC. I have a separate entry for that event. And Mike Powell, the world record holder in the long jump, was born on this day.

There was 1 other game in the NHL that day: The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. The New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs were not scheduled.

Only 1 game was played in the NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Yo

rk Knicks, 104-79 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Len Chappell scored 23 for the Knicks, and Johnny Green 22, but no other Knick got into double figures. In contrast, Elgin Baylor led the Lakers with 21, but all 5 starters had at least 11.

There were 7 games in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 42-14 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Detroit Lions, 24-21 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 9-7 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams, 6-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 28-7 at the new Green Bay City Stadium. It was renamed Lambeau Field 2 years later.

* The NFL version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Redskins, 24-20 at the 1st Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was previously the last Sportsman's Park.

* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-24 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

There were 2 games played in the American Football League. The New York Jets lost to the Houston Oilers, 31-27 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. And the San Diego Chargers beat the Boston Patriots, 7-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. The AFL Championship Game would also be a San Diego win over Boston, but by a considerably larger margin.