"Mrs. Hockey" Was More than the Wife of a Hockey Player

On Friday afternoon, Colleen Howe, nicknamed "Mrs. Hockey" for her marriage to "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe, passed away from Pick's Disease at the age of 76. This article on NHL.com provides an insight into her life, which was anything other than ordinary for the wife of a hockey legend. The two were married for 56 years and Colleen was a huge part of her husband's life. Here are some of her accomplishments in helping Gordie manage his career:

1) Managed Gordie's business, making her first female sports agent
2) Trademarked the terms "Mr. Hockey" and "Mrs. Hockey"
3) Dissatisfied with the state of junior hockey while her children were growing up, she helped found the Detroit Junior Red Wings, the first Junior A hockey team in the U.S.
4) She also helped develop the first indoor ice arena in Michigan
5) She was named the Michigan Sportswoman of the Year in 1973. In 2001 she and Gordie received the Wayne Gretzky Award from the United States Hockey Hall of Fame for their contributions to hockey in the U.S.
6) Other business endeavors included owning a travel company, an Amway marketing company and a management consulting company. She became a life insurance agent and ran for the U.S. Congress when the family lived in Connecticut

Now, when we honored her with a moment of silence at the Storm game tonight, I had no idea who she was until they said she was the wife of Gordie Howe. When I heard her list of accomplishments, I was immediately impressed because of her situation at the time. Colleen Howe did this when women weren't exactly accepted as business-type people. She obviously took her dreams and put them into action.

The sports world needs more Colleen Howe's who can see something that isn't working and do things to make it better. Hats off to you Colleen.