Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Elbows Up

Gordie Howe, 1928-2016, arguably the greatest hockey player of all time, played professional hockey from 1948 to 1980. He played 26 seasons in the NHL, 25 with Detroit and coming out of retirement 6 seasons in the WHA with the Houston Aeros with his two sons. He won the Stanley Cup four times and the Hart Trophy six times.

There was one trophy he never won. Instead of saying something would happen when hell froze over, I would say when Gordie Howe wins the Lady Bing Trophy. He was deadly in the corners. While elbowing is a penalty call, it never bothered Howe. Only the brave or foolish went into a corner with him and his elbow.

The story goes that once he went into the dressing room for stitches and told the doctor not to leave as the other guy would be in shortly.

When Canadians say “Elbows Up”, they are channeling Gordie Howe.

I quit reading Xitter long ago as it is only useful if you wish to argue with idiots. I follow @Threads now and there are a few who have moved over from Xitter that show up on occasion. Lately with Trump’s trade war with Canada, and Trudeau telling Trump to Papa Foxtrot Oscar, there are comments about America invading Canada militarily. I do not believe the US military would invade but Trump could authorize some of his 3 Percenters, Proud Boys etc as militia. Canadian response to those idiots is to remind them who contributed to the Geneva Convention. Canadian soldiers in WWI were notorious for playing dirty.

In one particularly cruel episode, Canadians even exploited the trust of Germans who had apparently become accustomed to fraternizing with allied units. Lieutenant Louis Keene described the practice of lobbing tins of corned beef into a neighbouring German trench. When the Canadians started hearing happy shouts of “More! Give us more!” they then let loose with an armload of grenades.

Trench raids were the First World War at its most brutal. Hand to hand fighting in crowded, darkened chaos. Whole dugouts of sleeping Germans burned or buried alive by tossed grenades. Terrified defenders mercilessly stabbed or machine-gunned as they fled for the rear.

They wore thick rubber gloves and blackened their faces for maximum stealth. They crafted homemade pipe bombs and grenade catapults to increase their killing power. They continued raiding even while other colonial units abandoned the practice. 

As their skills grew, Canadian trench raiders were eventually able to penetrate up to one kilometre behind enemy lines, dealing surprise death to Germans who had every reason to believe they were safe from enemy bayonets. In the days before the attack on Vimy Ridge, trench raids of up to 900 men were hurled at enemy lines on a nightly basis. These were essentially mini-battles, except instead of holding ground attackers were merely expected to sow death, chaos and then disappear.

Note: The Canadians won the Battle of Vimy Ridge, breaking through the German lines. The war could have ended in 1917 but the British did not believe the Colonials could do it so there was no follow up and the Canadians were driven back the next day. Pierre Burton’s Vimy

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-forgotten-ferocity-of-canadas-soldiers-in-the-great-war

As many commenters noted, Canadians have not forgotten how.

5 comments:

  1. And don't forget the "Gordie Howe hat trick" -- a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. I was just reading on the internet that the first time Gordie Howe's path crossed with Phil Esposito on the ice, Howe elbowed him in the face and Esposito needed 6 stitches. Welcome to the NHL, Phil!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for those, Debra. Gordie Howe was a dangerous man to cross. Love the Howe hat trick

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    2. In the same spirit, as someone from southern Saskatchewan closer to Big Beaver than Clavet, there is only one possible response and it comes complements of my favourite Texas Rocker -Warren Zevon and "The Hockey Song" with added vocals by David Letterman.
      Be careful, as Stompin Tom Connors also has a worthy contender for going into the corner with

      Fair Warning J.D.Vance-you don't stand a chance with your Hillbilly Heroin.

      Sorry I don't have the technical expertise to do the link.
      Blair

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    3. I wish you could atach that link. I'd love to hear that version of the song. Yes, Stompin Tom wasa good guy to have on your side

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  2. I am going to really tread on your patience and try a second post and this one applies to Macron's offer of the French Nuclear umbrella for all of his European allies .
    In spite of De Gaulle's legacy of Quebec Libre and bad press in English Canada, his concept for an independent Force De Frappe has been given a real cloak of genius following Britain's and America's showing of their yellow stripe after endorsing the Budapest Accords.
    Slava Ukraina
    Blair

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