Gordie Howe revisited: Poverty, fame and the hometown boy who came back

Gordie Howe’s elbow had not yet met a opponent’s jaw when he entered this world, almost unnoticed, on the threshold of the Great Depression. Article content

He was born in 1928 near Floral, a speck of dust on the map, a quiet little stopping point on the way to bigger locales. Article content

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The family moved to Saskatoon a few days after Howe’s arrival. He grew up poor; didn’t have much of anything, save for skates and a hockey stick. He was hungry, sometimes lived on oatmeal and powdered milk, and had trouble reading because he was dyslexic.

Howe repeated third grade, and kids called him “Doughhead.” He delivered groceries to make a bit of money, and collected gopher tails, selling them for a cent apiece. He poured concrete sidewalks alongside hi