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Friday, February 11, 2000
Detroit loses a part of its heritage in Sid Abel
FARMINGTON, Mich. (AP) -- On a raw, snowy day perfect for hockey, Sid Abel was buried Friday and remembered as someone who won championships for Detroit and has gone to "accept the trophy of the Lord."NHL greats Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay were among the mourners who packed the Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home to honor a fellow Red Wing and Hall of Famer.
Abel, who centered the high-scoring "Production Line" between Howe and Lindsay, coached the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals four times. He died Tuesday at 81 after a long illness.
"Sid was a part of Detroit's heritage," Howe said. "We're sure going to miss him."
Off the ice, Abel was elegant and fun loving, and that was reflected by the mood in the funeral home. Rather than traditional hymns, Frank Sinatra's greatest hits greeted mourners as they arrived.
More than 200 people filled the main room, plus a side room with a crackling fireplace. Both rooms had photos from Abel's playing days. The closed casket was surrounded by red flowers.
Just before the service began, the Sinatra music was replaced by Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath my Wings."
"He was a good and gentle man," said the Rev. David Eberhard, pastor of Historic Trinity Lutheran Church. "He went from Olympia Stadium, that old barn on Grand River, to Joe Louis Arena to the Hall of Fame. Now he's entering the halls of heaven."
Abel was a player, general manager, coach and broadcaster in his 32 years with the Red Wings.
He began his NHL career as the team's center in 1938. He spent nine full seasons and parts of three others with the Red Wings, with two years of military service.
He was made captain at 24 in the 1942-43 season, holding that position until he was sold to Chicago after the 1951-52 season.
"Look out, Lord, he's coming!" Eberhard said. "He may want to muck it up a bit. He may want to start a team. He may even want to play a hand of gin rummy. But he's coming."
Eberhard closed his book and bowed to the casket. Sinatra's "My Way" played.
"When somebody as strong as Sid goes, it makes you stop and think," said Lindsay, his face scarred from a lifetime of hockey. "You know your number is getting closer to being called."
With Abel in the lineup, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1943, 1950 and 1952.
"Sid has gone to accept the trophy of the Lord," Eberhard said. "It's not the Stanley, as great as that trophy is. It's the greatest trophy of them all."
Abel accumulated 189 goals and 283 assists in 613 games. He is 11th on the Red Wings' scoring list.
Nicknamed "Boot Nose," Abel had a league-high 28 goals in 1948-49, when he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.
The next season, he scored a personal-high 34 goals and 69 points. That year, Lindsay led the NHL in scoring, with Abel and Howe second and third. In the playoffs, they led Detroit past the New York Rangers for the title.
Abel left Detroit in 1952 to become player-coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for two seasons. He then retired as a player but returned to coach Detroit in 1957 and remained there until 1970.
As coach of the Red Wings, Abel's record was 340-339-132. His teams reached the playoffs eight times but never won a Stanley Cup.
Abel later was Detroit's general manager, resigning in the 1970-71 season amid a dispute with Ned Harkness, the club's rookie coach.
The next season, Abel coached the St. Louis Blues for 10 games (3-6-1). He coached the 1975-76 Kansas City Scouts for three losses. Abel returned to the Red Wings in 1976-77 as a radio and TV commentator.
A native of Melville, Saskatchewan, Abel played in three All-Star games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969 and his No. 12 jersey was retired in 1995 in Detroit. Fittingly, it hangs at Joe Louis Arena between Howe's No. 9 and Lindsay's No. 7.
Abel is survived by his wife, Gloria; a son, Gerald; a daughter, Linda Johnson; a brother, Don Abel; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Abel was buried in nearby Livonia.
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