This month marks 75 years since Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe made his NHL debut, scoring in his first game at Olympia Stadium on Oct. 16, 1946.
To commemorate the occasion, The Howe Foundation, founded by Gordie and his wife, Colleen, is offering fans a chance at a collection of art work that celebrates one of the game’s greatest players.
The Gentl9man 2021 NFT Art Collection includes nine original non-fungible tokens (NFT) that will be available in a six-day auction beginning Friday. One of the items is an image of Howe shaped by 1,071 pucks, representing the number of goals Gordie scored in his professional hockey career.
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“The artwork in THE GENTL9MAN 2021 NFT Art Collection brings Gordie’s iconic talent and relentless humanity to life in an exciting new way,” Gordie’s son Mark said. Mark Howe is a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman and pro scout for the Wings.
The Howe family hired Detroit-based artist Zelley to illustrate the memories of Gordie’s career and provided an estimated 60 GB of personal footage. Zelley used the footage as inspiration, creating unique digital art pieces. One of them, titled “Hockey Dad,” shows Gordie walking and with sons Mark and Marty, holding their hands. Gordie is wearing his No. 9 — which hangs from the rafters at Little Caesars Arena — and the boys wear 3 and 4.
NFTs are unique digital and collectible assets representing a moment or item that can be electronically bought, sold or traded through a decentralized marketplace. The items are available on digital collectibles platform Blockparty, with all proceeds benefiting The Howe Foundation. A tenth of the money raised from the NFT sales will be donated to the NHL Alumni Association.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.