Fischler: Incredible, But True, Rangers Tales — Gordie Howe's Kid Brother a Ranger?

Vic had the same, smooth skating style as his older brother

Gordie Howe a Ranger?

It almost happened.

Before signing on with the Detroit Red Wings, the teenaged Gordie left his Saskatoon home and tried out for the Blueshirts at their Winnipeg pre-season base.

The details are somewhat vague — he was mocked by some veterans and got homesick — but what we do know is that he said au revoir to the Blueshirts and eventually signed with the Motor City sextet to become one of hockey's top stars.

Naturally, I followed Gordie's ascent and lamented the fact that he never wore a Blueshirt. By the 1950-51 season I had joined The Rangers Fan Club and hoped to see the Blueshirts repeat their heroic march to the 1950 Cup Final before losing to Detroit in Game Seven.

But the 1950-51 season was not kind to the Blueshirts. The team floundered while manager Frank Boucher tried every which way to get them going again.

"We had Gordie Howe's kid brother, Vic, in our system," said Boucher, "and placed him with our farm team in New York, the Rovers. They played at Madison Square Garden every Sunday afternoon in what was called the Eastern Amateur Hockey League, so we could scout him all the time."

In those days, I never missed the Rovers matinee contests and got a good look at Vic Howe. Just the fact that he was Gordie's younger brother excited me no end. But there was more to like as well according to my fan's eyes.

Vic looked like Gordie; he was built like Gordie and — in practice at least — Vic had the same, smooth skating style as his older brother. In other words, had you taken a good look at Vic in workouts, you'd believe he could become like Gordie.

"Vic played 53 EAHL games for the Rovers that '50-'51 season," Boucher added. "And since our big club wasn't doing well we figured to give him a shot with the Rangers."

And so they did; three Rangers games in all. And, yes, he did score one NHL goal while up for that cup of Java before returning to the Rovers. But Boucher saw what I saw; was an almost Gordie Howe; and that's all.

Like any other Rangers fan in the early 1950's I was praying that Vic Howe would be another Gordie, but — when all was said and done — it just wasn't meant to be.

The bottom line was this: while Vic looked everything like Gordie in practices and pre-game warm-ups, he never got out of that one gear; never. We only saw flashes of the older brother and, alas, that was that.

Boucher did give Vic one more chance but finally conceded that he didn't have Gordie's goods — not even close.

However, Vic did do fairly well over the next few years in the minors before calling it a career. He wound up as a railway cop for the Canadian National Railways in Moncton, N.B., where he raised a family.

Vic passed away in 2015 at the age of 86. I still have visions of his smooth strides and lethal wrist shot — as well as memories of what might have been!