television premiere of the Hallmark Channel Original Movie, "Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story," Saturday, May 4 (9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT).He went on to score 800 more regular-season goals, the last coming on April 6, 1980, in his 1,Milan Lucic Black Authentic Jersey,767th game. By that time, he was playing with sons Mark and Marty with the Hartford Whalers -- and taking a regular shift at age 52. Not even a litany of injuries that included more than 300 stitches, damaged knee cartilage, broken ribs,Marian Gaborik Authentic Blue Jersey, a broken wrist, broken toes, a dislocated shoulder, numerous scalp wounds, an ankle injury and a near-brush with death from a fractured skull in the spring of 1950 could stop him.No. 9 was unlike any player in NHL history -- indeed, he's unlike any player in the history of team sports. No player in any sport has played regularly in five decades or after his 50th birthday. No one in NHL history could play offense and defense, score and check, and provide the kind of toughness that Howe brought to the game.Nor has anyone done it for so long.Howe had a perfect build for a hockey player -- a thick neck, sloping shoulders and incredibly strong wrists. He was described by various coaches as the game's smartest player, the finest passer, the best playmaker and the ablest puck carrier in the game. He was also tough and aggressive -- his elbows became the stuff of legend, and few if any players would challenge him. The "Gordie Howe hat trick," a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game, is named after him -- though Howe had only two such games in his career.Howe's on-ice resume is unprecedented. He finished in the top five in regular-season scoring for 20 consecutive seasons. He broke Maurice Richard's NHL regular-season career record for goals in November 1963 when he scored his 545th -- then added 256 more. He retired from the Red Wings in 1971, but two years later fulfilled a dream when he joined the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association to play with his sons. They joined the Whalers in 1977 and were part of the organization two years later when the NHL absorbed four WHA teams, including Hartford, bringing Howe back for another season in which he played all 80 games -- the last few after turning 52.Howe won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings in a six-year span from 1950-55. He finished first in the League scoring race six times and won the Hart Trophy as League MVP on six occasions, was a 23-time All-Star Game participant,Sidney Crosby Jersey, a First- or Second-Team All-Star 21 times and owns the NHL record for consecutive 20-goal seasons with 22, from 1949-71. He scored 100 points in a season once -- at age 40.INSIDE THE NUMBERSInside the numbers: Gordie HoweBy John Kreiser - NHL.com ColumnistNo player before or since has had the combination of skill and toughness that Gordie Howe brought to the rink every night during his 26 NHL seasons. READ MORE ›GO INSIDE THE NUMBERS ›"You've got to love what you're doing," he said of playing hockey at an age by which his contemporaries had long since retired. "If you love it, you