Gordie ‘Mr. Hockey’ Howe’s legacy lives on

It’s a somber mood at Numbers Game after another sports legend passed away.

Gordie Howe became the latest sports icon to pass away in 2016.

Boxing great Muhammad Ali and soccer master Johan Cruyff died this year, too.

We'll visit Mr. Hockey as well as other hockey, soccer, golf and horse racing digits in this week’s Numbers Game.

So let's start:

1,767

The aforementioned Howe played in a record 1,767 regular season games during a 26-year NHL career. That included at least one game during his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. His 801 goals, which is second on the all-time list behind Wayne Gretzky, is the most by a right winger. Howe made his debut with the Red Wings at the age of 18, leading them to four Stanley Cups during the 1950s, and he retired at the age of 52.

3

On the Stanley Cup topic, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby became the third player in Cup finals history to win the playoff’s Most Valuable Player award without scoring a goal in the finals. The Penguins claimed their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after thwarting the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 on Sunday. Other players to claim the playoff MVP award without scoring a goal in the finals were Jonathan Toews (2010 with Chicago) and Scott Niedermayer (2007 with Anaheim).

19

Amount of minutes it took Lionel Messi to bag a hat trick after coming on as a substitute for Argentina in a 5-0 victory over Panama at the Copa América Centenario. The event, being held in the United States for the first time, is a special edition of the tournament to celebrate it's 100th a anniversary. Messi, who is arguably the world's best player, was the third player in Copa history to score a hat trick as a substitute. The others were Ángel Labruna (1955 for Argentina) and Paulo Valentim (1959 for Brazil). The United States Men’s National Team also is in the mix, reaching the quarterfinals in its fourth time playing the tournament. The USMNT hasn't gotten this far since placing fourth in 1995.

285

Ángel Cabrera’s winning total the last time the United States Open was held at Oakmont Country Club, which is the site for this year’s tournament that begins on Thursday. Cabrera became the only Argentine to claim the U.S. Open title when he fired a 5-over par 285 in 2007. This is the ninth time Oakmont will host the Open, with the likes of Tommy Armour, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus among its winners.

8

Number of times since 2000 that a different horse won each of the three legs that represent the Triple Crown. Creator, going off on 16-1 odds, won by a nose, the fourth time it’s happened in Belmont Stakes history. The Saturday race was the first time since 2013 that the Triple Crown wasn’t in play. American Pharoah ended the 37-year Triple Crown drought last year.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Gordie ‘Mr. Hockey’ Howe’s legacy lives on."