New Gordie Howe book recounts Detroit Red Wings’ decline after 1950s

According to Mr. Hockey in a new book, the wildly successful Detroit Red Wings teams of the 1950s would have been one of the greatest dynasties in history if a strong woman had stayed at the helm.

In “Mr. Hockey: My Story” — scheduled for release in October — Gordie Howe described how a decade considered the Wings’ golden age — when they won seven straight regular-season titles and four Stanley Cups — should have produced far more.

In 1952, after their second Cup in three years, owner James Norris died, which Howe called a hard loss for general manager Jack Adams, and which set in motion a Wings decline that lasted four decades.

After Norris’ death, control was passed to his daughter, Marguerite Norris. “Her role with the team has been relegated to a footnote in sports history,” Howe wrote, “but I think she was the first woman to ever run a professional team. I don’t know how Mr. Adams felt about his new team president, but I’m sure he wasn’t thrilled about a woman in her 20s handing down his marching orders. …

“I found her to be both smart and capable. Others I talked to felt the same way. She was good for the club, but unfortunately she didn’t stick around for as long as anyone would have liked. A few years into the job, she was ousted by her older brother, Bruce. …

“In retrospect, it’s easy to see how bad the family infighting was for the team. Marguerite was a much more thoughtful owner than her brother, who could be something of a bully. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Marguerite’s time in charge coincided with some of the greatest years in franchise history. As president, she had enough juice to check Trader Jack’s instincts to upset the apple cart. It’s hard to say how many Stanley Cups we might have won if she had stuck around longer.”

■ FLASHBACK:Red Wings fans never knew longtime owner Bruce Norris

In 1955, after the Wings won their seventh Cup and second straight, Bruce Norris replaced his sister as president. Adams spent the off-season breaking up (or trying to retool) the Wings. He sent four players — including Tony Leswick, Johnny Wilson and Glen Skov — to Chicago, where another Norris sibling, James, ran the team. (Howe referred to the trade as “gift-wrapped” and “a real Norris brothers special.”) A week later, Adams traded four more players — including Terry Sawchuk, Marcel Bonin and Vic Stasiuk — to Boston.

“Sadly, we weren’t left alone for long enough to find out what might have been,” Howe wrote. “Bruce’s hockey acumen was no match for his sister’s, which was good for Mr. Adams but bad for the rest of us. Despite winning seven consecutive league championships and two straight Stanley Cups, Trader Jack decided to spend the 1955 off-season dismantling the team.

“To this day, his reasons for blowing up our championship squad defy explanation. … By the time the smoke cleared, Trader Jack had dealt away half our team.”

The Wings finished second in 1956 — losing to the Canadiens in the finals — and first in 1957 — losing to the Bruins in the semifinals. That ended a 10-year run in which the Wings won eight regular-season titles, four Cups and lost in the finals three times.

“I have a hard time thinking about what might have been,” Howe wrote. “I think a lot of my old teammates feel the same way. … The dismantling of the Red Wings juggernaut cleared the way for Montreal, who went on to win five Cups in a row. … We were still competitive, but it’s easy now to see how those trades sapped us of the firepower we needed to win another championship.”

The Wings, indeed, did not win another until 1997 — which was 42 years after Marguerite was replaced by Bruce and 15 years after Bruce, loathed by many fans, sold the franchise to Mike Ilitch. In 1954, Marguerite was the first woman with her named engraved on the Stanley Cup. In 1969, Bruce, like his father and brother before him, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He died in 1986, she in 1994.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons will release “Mr. Hockey” on Oct. 14. It sent an advance copy to the Free Press.

The publisher lists “Mr. Hockey” as an autobiography and does not list a co-author or assistant. Howe, though, at 86 has been in declining health in recent years with a form of dementia and certainly needed a helping hand with this book. Howe’s three sons — including Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe, a Wings front-office executive — and Howe’s daughter signed their names to an emotional 11-page “afterword” section in which they shared memories of their famous father but lamented how “it is sad to see him struggle at things we all take for granted.” (Last year, Mark wrote “Gordie Howe’s Son: A Hall of Fame Life in the Shadow of Mr. Hockey,” a warm, loving portrait of his life as a member of hockey’s royal family.) The “acknowledgements” section includes these words: “A sincere thanks goes to Paul Haavardsrud, who helped take the thoughts in my head and put them down on paper.” He is a Canadian business reporter.

The “foreword” comes from another legendary player, Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr, whose autobiography “Orr: My Story” was published by Putnam last year. Orr wrote in “Mr. Hockey:” “Many times over the years, I have been asked who I consider to be the greatest hockey player of all time. My answer has never changed — it is Gordie Howe.”