Quotes by Gordie Howe

I wish I had more opportunities to play for Canada when I was younger, but pros just never had the chance in those days. It was just set up that way.

If I learned one thing by playing professional hockey for thirty-two years, it's that you have to love what you do. And that's not just true for sports.

You should hold the top hand on the stick like you would hold a hammer when you're driving a nail. You have the most leverage, and you won't get your wrist broken.

That was Dad. Don't take any dirt from anybody.

I still believe it is important that children have a chance to play other sports because they all offer learning experiences. Soccer is a growing sport and would be a good complement to hockey.

I might have some quibbles with the way the game is played today, but at its core, I know that hockey will always be hockey no matter what year the calendar reads.

I would say it is important to have a good education, as hockey is a career that does not last many years, and you need to be prepared for this.

It's been said that, while growing up, I ate meals with my skates on. It's true.

You never learn anything if you're the one talking.

To me, hockey was always tremendous fun. That's what kept me going for so long. I simply love to play hockey.

You've got to love what you're doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap, or the soreness, or all the aches and pains and continue to play for a long, long time.

Everybody whose anybody in hockey has played in Hershey.

Overall I can fairly safely say Bobby Orr impressed me more than anybody with his tremendous talents. In Bobby's first N.H.L. game he layed the lumber to Gordie's head. Later Howe retalliated and wanted to let the kid know he wasn't washed up yet.

I like to think that I'm a family man first and a professional athlete second.

It doesn't matter whether I'm in an NHL arena, at a local rink, or on a sheet of ice in the middle of a baseball stadium: when I'm around the game, I feel at home.

I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you're the one talking.

I'm aware that not everyone approved of how I played, but I don't think any apologies are in order. Early in my career, I decided that it was worth it to do whatever was necessary to earn the extra split second it takes to make a pass or shoot the puck.

You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave -- win or lose.

People say I'm henpecked. Well, let them say it.

If Colleen Howe had been a hockey player, she would have been a centremen. I can see her as a centreman because you can do what you want and go wherever you want to go.

My philosophy is never start talking about 'if,' 'and,' 'but' or the past, because 90 percent of what follows will be negative.

My mother and dad played the fiddle and the guitar.

All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.

The first time I met Wayne Gretzky... he never said anything back.

There's always something in the game you wish you would have done different. That's why players improve, because they learn from what they did before. They might have been guessing before, but now they know.

I helped put in a rink in Cadillac, Michigan, when my wife was very healthy. She helped them put it in and the rink is going full-bore the last time I was there.