Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Marleau set to tie/eclipse Gordie Howes games played record...1767

getbak · 04-19-2021, 05:40 PM

This made me curious as to how long Gordie has held the record. Not just 1,767, but when he moved into first place in games played.

It turns out, that Howe was the first player in NHL history to play 1,000 games and that was when he took the record. Ted Lindsay originally retired at the end of the 1959-60 season with 999 games played (he came back for one season in 1964-65 and hit the 1,000 game milestone, but Gordie was already in first place by then).

Gordie played his 1,000th game on November 27, 1961 (oddly enough, exactly one year to the day after he became the first player in NHL history to hit 1,000 points). That means he was in first place for almost a full 60 years.

Over the years, many others crossed the 1,000 mark after Gordie, but he always stayed ahead of the pack.

When Gordie finally hung them up for good in 1980, second place on the all-time games played list was Alex Delvecchio, who retired in 1974 with 1,550 games played. Now, Delvecchio is 16th overall, 4 games behind Jarome Iginla, who is 15th.

04-19-2021, 05:40 PM	#50
getbak Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Calgary, AB Exp:	This made me curious as to how long Gordie has held the record. Not just 1,767, but when he moved into first place in games played. It turns out, that Howe was the first player in NHL history to play 1,000 games and that was when he took the record. Ted Lindsay originally retired at the end of the 1959-60 season with 999 games played (he came back for one season in 1964-65 and hit the 1,000 game milestone, but Gordie was already in first place by then). Gordie played his 1,000th game on November 27, 1961 (oddly enough, exactly one year to the day after he became the first player in NHL history to hit 1,000 points). That means he was in first place for almost a full 60 years. Over the years, many others crossed the 1,000 mark after Gordie, but he always stayed ahead of the pack. When Gordie finally hung them up for good in 1980, second place on the all-time games played list was Alex Delvecchio, who retired in 1974 with 1,550 games played. Now, Delvecchio is 16th overall, 4 games behind Jarome Iginla, who is 15th. __________________ Turn up the good, turn down the suck!