On November 14th, the 2011 Hockey Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place in Toronto. This will give the world of Hockey a chance to celebrate the great careers of four formidable players, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, and Mark Howe.
Last week I got to have a lengthy conversation with Mr. Howe, where he talked about his life in hockey. Due to the length of our conversation I had to split the blog into two parts. In Part 1, Mark talked about growing up with Gordie and Collen, the growth of the NHLPA and the effect it had on his career, and the difference between today's game compared to the 80's.
You can read the full blog here:
Exclusive Mark Howe Interview Part 1
In Part 2, Mark talks about getting Inducted into the Hall of Fame, getting in with a quality class like this year's, being the 2nd father-son combination to be Inducted into the Hall, how he handled the speculation every year since he retired, and the Selection Process of the Hall of Fame.
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Adam Kirshenblatt: How do you feel about being inducted and 2nd father and son combination and the class of this year?
Mark Howe: The class of guys, they all had great careers. Every time I would play against those guys, those guys were always mentioned as part of the game plan as people you had to watch for. For me the most notable thing is that they’re just great competitors, yeah they had skill and ability to play the game but what set them apart is their character and their tremendous work habits. That’s what sticks out the most from playing against them head to head and those attributes are probably the greatest any player can have.
As far as getting in as a father and son, what makes it so special for me is that my dad’s still here with me and can share in this and being able to take part in that. Being a father son thing is a tremendous thing, I’ve known Bobby Hull since I was a little kid, and Brett playing against him and I actually got to work with him [Brett] when he played with Detroit. It’s just a great honour just to get in and it just so happens that Brett and I got in and our fathers happened to be great players as well.
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Blogger’s Note: The people going into the Hall of Fame with Mark Howe are Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, and Ed Belfour. All 3 are probably some of the most recognizable names in hockey in the past 20 years. This makes this year a very strong class, and will likely make for enjoyable speeches.
With Mark going into the Hall of Fame this year, it makes him and Gordie the 2nd father-son pair to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The first one was in 2009, where Brett Hull joined his dad Bobby for Hockey’s greatest individual honour. That year too was a great class, it included Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, and Lou Lamoriello.
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Adam Kirshenblatt: Your name has been brought up for Induction even since you were first eligible in 1998. Did the speculation bother you every year and how did you handle it personally?
Mark Howe: I read enough in the papers to stay current with my scouting job, other than that I don’t live in the past and I look forward to the future. All I know is that two years prior to this year I’ve been receiving phone calls from the media saying that they thought I was very close and had questions about what it would mean to get in. What that does is heighten your awareness of the possibility of getting in and then you don’t get a phone call a couple of days later and it’s disheartening. Then one day you go to bed and you wake up the next day and you’re back with your life. Like I said, it would just be a tremendous honour to get in but that’s not what runs my life and doesn’t dictate my life. So as usually with most things with my life when you get bad news you go to bed, it’s behind you and it’s over and done with and you look forward.
When you look at this year, I was away on vacation for about 10 days and when I got home I had about a day and a half to run around and do stuff because I had to head to Detroit to get ready for July 1st free agency. I started getting some phone calls from a “416” area code and I didn’t know who it was cause it didn’t show up in my caller ID so I didn’t answer the phone. I finally got a message from the Red Wings office about getting an appearance from my dad and I told them to call Marty’s office because Marty runs dad’s business. They said [Red Wings] that they really wanted to talk to you, so I told them to tell the people to call again and I’ll answer the phone. I knew right away and it was a complete and total shock because I didn’t realize it was that time of year when they do the voting. I recognized Billy Hay’s voice, Jimmy Gregory, and Pat Quinn’s voice right away so it took me by total surprise and my heart just dropped down to my stomach. For me it was much better that way, not knowing, and being a total surprise and I think it made it that much better for me.
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Blogger’s Note: Two summers ago Steve Simmons wrote a full page article in the Toronto Sun calling for Mark to get into the Hall of Fame. Ever since then Mark’s name had been intensified in the media as someone who could be getting into the Hall of Fame very soon.
I always love the fact that every year, the “416” area code is always in the story of how they found out they got inducted into the Hall of Fame. It’s almost like a staple in how the selection committee tells people.
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Mark Howe joins his dad, Gordie, in the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 14th
Adam Kirshenblatt: Two summers ago, after some backlash when Pat Burns wasn’t inducted, Jim Gregory said the reason they don’t make their process public is because those nominated would get upset if they didn’t get inducted. Do you think there should be more transparency regarding who is nominated to be inducted?
Mark Howe: No not really, I felt they have a process and it’s a very difficult process. It’s one I know very little about and I would deem that to be a very tough position to be in. Those gentlemen are there for a certain reason; one would be that they’re all highly respected in the field. I’ve gone along with the process for 16 years, and I know there were a lot of people pushing for Pat. My opinion would be very political like so many other things would be political. My guess is to is that you have to have a certain majority of percentage of vote to get in and if you have half the people pushing for Pat and a quarter pushing for somebody else and another quarter pushing for somebody else. Everybody is pushing for their people to get in. There were some people who wanted Pat in there very badly but maybe some other people thought somebody else was more deserving so you end up not getting the percentage of vote to get in. That’s part of the political process.
I’m positive there are a lot people who believe that Pat Burns deserves to be in there but I’m positive that somebody else deserves to be in before him. That’s the internal battle and struggle that they have. Like I said that’s their business, that’s what they talk about and that’s what they debate and I know everybody there takes it very seriously and I’m sure if they weren’t taking it seriously they wouldn’t be on that panel very long. For me, I choose to trust in people and believe in people but there is a process. I felt bad for Pat too, I saw him a year ago in a game down in Tampa, where I knew he didn’t have long to live. It’s kind of a good feeling thing where it would be nice if he knew, just like in my situation where it means so much more to me that my father is aware of what went on. If my father had passed, yes this honour would have meant a tremendous amount to me but having him there to share it with me. That’s the difficult part for the committee but it’s never swayed them before with me, they stuck to their guns and they voted for what they thought was right and I’m sure they did it in the Pat Burns situation.
Adam Kirshenblatt: That makes sense I think he’ll be in eventually it’s just that they felt that there are others who should be in before him.
Mark Howe: It’s pure conjecture; it’s kind of gut instincts. You hear a little bit but it’s a process. There’s very little talk that comes out of the room. It amazes me every once in a while because like this year the only thing I asked the committee when they called me is if I could call my father and they said wait 20 minutes because I needed to talk to Kelly Masse and when I finally called me dad in Toronto he had already heard the news. Little leaks do occur, but as far as the voting and the process it’s everybody’s moment and I don’t ask, it’s irrelevant. When I did talk to Mike Emrick, who’s been my biggest supporter, I told Mike, not necessarily wanted to thank him for promoting and push for me, but for believing that I should be there. So just having people believing that you should be there means more than anything.
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Blogger’s Note: The one thing I always tell people when it comes to Induction is that the Hockey Hall of Fame itself does not make the selection. The Hall appoints a Selection Committee which is headed by Jim Gregory and Pat Quinn. The committee is made of the most respected people in all facets of hockey which includes the IIHF, NHL executives, other Hockey Hall of Famers, some media, and the CHL.
Personally, I would like to see some more transparency in knowing who is nominated to get into the Hall of Fame. It would create a lot more discussion for the fans and media, which would be good coverage for both the Hall of Fame and the game of Hockey itself. However, the concept of the Induction Night is it is the player’s night. This means the focus is on the accomplishments of the players rather than a popular vote (or a pissing match) between fan bases. In a way, the process now is a serene way of honouring them. Problem is it gets a bad reputations because the question of “why” is not really answered.
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I'd like to thank Mr. Howe for his time and the friendly interview. It made things much easier for a nervous HB blogger. I hope he enjoys
his night that he can share with his father and the rest of his family.
Also I'd like to thank our own Scoop Cooper for setting up the interview for me, and for letting me bounce ideas off of him.
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I'd like to just point out somethings that are going on at the Hall of Fame next couple of weeks.
First, on Friday the Boston Bruins will be at the Hall to present a 2011 Stanley Cup Ring to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The first 400 guests will get an autographed team picture of the Cup Champs.
More Information can be seen here:
Boston Bruins Autograph Session
The next weekend, the HHOF's Induction Festivities will take place where on November 11th if you spend $50 or more you get a pair of tickets to the Haggar Hockey Hall of Fame Classic, which takes place on November 13th at the Air Canada Centre.
November 12th, Borje Salming will be signing autographs to the first 400 guests to the Hockey Hall of Fame between 11-12. Keeper of the Cup, Phil Pritchard, and Islander great, Bryan Trottier will be sharing behind the scene stories about the Stanley Cup and where it's been. Afterwards, both gentlemen will be signing copies of "Hockey Hall of Fame Treasures"($40), "Hockey Hall of Fame MVP Trophies & Winners" ($30) and "Official Guide to the Players of the Hockey Hall of Fame"($20). All of which will be available at the Spirit of Hockey gift shop.
On November 13th, the first 500 guests to the Hockey Hall of Fame will receive an autographed print of the four Hall of Famers. Also between 11:30-12:30, the four Inductees will be holding a Question and Answer session for the fans in attendance. Seating for that is first come first serve so come early.
You can find more information on the Induction Festivities here:
2011 Induction Weekend Festivities
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If you have any questions of comments feel free to email me at
[email protected] or follow me on twitter @Kirshenblatt
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