The National Hockey League is known for its traditions and rituals. It is also known for its history of worshipping its heroes. In the mid 1940's Maurice " the Rocket" Richard's amazing exploits caused a large number of French Canadien kids to request number 9 sweaters for Christmas. In Detroit and in most hockey circles in North America Gordie Howe's number 9 was also sellling like hot cakes in sporting good stores.
The reason the number is so popular and revered was due to the early exploits of those two exceptional hockey players.
Bobby Hull has spoken about his excitement meeting Gordie Howe when he was a boy. Later when Hull graduated from St. Catherines in junior hockey and was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks he eventually claimed the number 9 also once he became a legitimate star in the NHL.
Soon the number became the trademark of elite players in the NHL and in every corner on minor hockey. Children and their parents would often battle to detirmine which of the star players on the team would recieve the number.
Wayne Gretzky, who was a huge Gordie Howe fan, wore number 9 while playing youth hockey until he had to switch to 99 due to another player already clai ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Warren Shaw
The 10 Most Famous No. 9’s in NHL History
December 15th, 2009 by Warren Shaw Leave a reply »
Advertisement