Howie Young

NHL president Clarence Campbell called Howie Young “"the worst detriment to the NHL to ever lace up a pair of skates." Frank Sinatra simply called him “Howie baby.”

Raised by his grandparents in what is now southeast Toronto, Howie was blessed with natural athleticism. He wanted to be a cowboy like his idol, John Wayne, until he saw his first game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Despite the fact he was an alcoholic by age fifteen, his play and ferocious style attracted NHL scouts and at 18 he was invited to Canadiens' training camp. Unfortunately, his hard partying ways left him hung over and sick and the Habs sent him home.

He played first in the OHL, then for the QMJHL Chicoutimit Sagueneens, where he racked up 180 PIM in 50 games. After that, he played one season for the WHL New Westminster Royals. He saw little action with them, playing only four games. Finally after two seasons in the AHL and 330 PIM, Young broke into the Detroit Red Wings lineup for the 1960-61 season.

His crushing bodychecks and fast, smart play helped Detroit to the 1961 Staley Cup Finals, and in 1962-63, compiled a then-record 273 penalties in 64 games. The same year, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated, despite being extremely hungover at the photo shoot.

By this time, Young had been arrested several times for public drunkeness. Despite his winning smile and gregarious personality, his life was going downhill quickly. The Red Wings had run out of patience, and sent him to the Blackhawks, who had even less patience. After only 39 games, they traded him to the WHL Los Angeles Blades while retaining his NHL rights.

While playing for the Blades, Frank Sinatra called. Impressed by Young's good looks, Sinatra wanted the troubled hockey player to play a combat Marine in his movie None But the Brave. Young departed the team for the shoot in Hawaii, remaining drunk or hungover the entire time.

"Wild Thing" returned to the Blades, but his life was finally reaching its nadir in May 1965. His second marriage falling apart, he woke up in an L.A. jail cell after being arrested yet again. This time, he had been trying to break into his own apartment. Sitting in the jail cell, he vowed to get sober. Two days later, he joined AA.

“On the bench I would say, 'Please God, just get me through this game,' “ said Young, looking back. “Then it was, 'Hey, God, just get me through this period.' Finally, it was, 'God, just get me through this shift.' “

Sober and working to regain his fitness, he once again attracted the attention of the Red Wings, who brought him back for the 1966-67 season and posted a +16 in 1967-68. A reporter asked Gordie Howe what he thought of Young's transformation, to which Howe replied “He's still going around in circles – but different circles.”

Despite his remarkable turnaround, the Wings let Young go once again. He bounced around the WHL and AHL, spending the 1968-69 season with the Blackhawks and the 1970-71 season with the Canucks.

After several more years in the minor leagues, Young made one final major league appearance in the WHA with the Phoenix Roadrunners and Winnipeg Jets for the 1974-77 seasons. Three years later, he quit hockey and worked in the Southwest United states, doing everything from washing dishes to truck driving.

After a brief comeback, first with the IHL Flint Spirits and then ACHL New York Slapshots, he finally settled in New Mexico with his partner, China. In the predominately Navajo town of Thoreau, he owned a ranch and drove school buses, fulfilling his dream of being a cowboy. He also became active in the community, trying to raise money for a town rink, and his goal was to nurture the NHL's first Navajo player. “These kids are such natural athletes. All I've got to do is bring the ice, and they'll do the rest.”

Young died of pancreatic cancer on November 26, 1999 at age 62.

Howie Young is another example of a good hockey player ruined by personal demons. However unlike the John Kordics and Steve Durbanos of the world, Young could have really been somebody.

Jack Adams, the former Detroit Red Wing general manager, once described Young as having a "chance to become a second Eddie Shore."

"He could have been in the Hall of Fame," said Mike Nardella, a long time Blackhawks trainer "Howie could skate backward better than most could skate forward."

Jack Adams, the former Detroit Red Wing general manager, once described Young as having a "chance to become a second Eddie Shore."