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Bobby Hull Biography |
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Robert Marvin Hull (born January 3, 1939) was a Canada ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest Winger (ice hockey) to ever play the game. In his 23 years in the NHL and WHA, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers.
Hull was born in Pointe Anne, Ontario (near Belleville, Ontario), Ontario, Canada. He played his minor hockey in Belleville, and then junior hockey for the Galt Black Hawks and the St. Catharines Teepees in the Ontario Hockey Association, before joining the Chicago Blackhawks in 1957-58 NHL season at the age of 18.
Hull quickly blossomed into a star, finishing second in the rookie of the year balloting his first season. Hull originally wore numbers 16 and 7 as a Blackhawk but would later switch to his famous number 9, a tribute to his childhood idol Gordie Howe. By his third season, he led the league in goal scoring. Nicknamed the " Golden Jet", he went on to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup in 1960-61 NHL season - their third (and most recent) overall and first in 23 years. Hull was famous for his blinding speed and possessed the most feared slapshot of his day. He and teammate Stan Mikita were the most formidable forward duo of the Sixties, notorious for curving the blades of their sticks. Armed already with a blazing, heavy shot, his curved blade caused the puck to veer high and at all different angles. Hull's ability to harness the blade's unpredictability would make it one of hockey's most memorable signatures. Although he was only 5'10" in stature, Bobby had a solid build and his playing weight was 185 pounds. His flowing blonde hair, good looks and electrifying style would make him one of hockey's first international superstars and arguably the NHL's marquee star of the Sixties. He was the first National Hockey League player to score more than 50 goals in a season, surpassing Maurice Richard's hallowed mark of 50 goals during the 1965-66 NHL season. His 51st goal earned him a seven-minute standing ovation. He would go on to score 54 goals that season, the highest single season total of the Original Six era, and led the league in goal scoring seven times in all in the Sixties. By his final 1971-72 NHL season, he had scored 50 goals or more a remarkable five times, only one fewer than every other player in history who had done so combined to that date. WHA career Long unhappy because of his relatively poor salary in the period when he was hockey's preeminent superstar, Hull responded to overtures from the upstart World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets in 1972-73 WHA season by jesting that he'd jump to them for a million dollars, a sum then considered absurd. Gathering the other league owners together to contribute to the unprecedented amount on the grounds that inking such a major star would give instant credibility to the new rival league that was competing directly against the entrenched NHL, Jets' owner Ben Hatskin agreed to the sum, and signed Hull for a contract worth $1,000,000 over ten years. Although his debut with Winnipeg was held up in litigation by the NHL, Hull instantly became the WHA's greatest star, and with Swedish linemates Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson formed one of the most formidable forward lines of the 1970s (known as "The Hot Line"), leading the Jets to two AVCO Cups during his time with the club. His best year was 1974-75 WHA season, when he scored 77 goals to set a new professional mark. Because he joined the rival league, Hull was not allowed to represent Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series. However, in 1974-75 WHA season he got his chance to play on the international stage when he suited up for the WHA team representing Canada in a series against the USSR national team. The WHA lost the series four games to one (three ending in a tie), despite Hull's seven goals. He was a key member of the Canadian squad that won the 1976 Canada Cup, scoring five goals in seven games. Retirement Slowed by injuries and age, Hull played only a few games in the WHA's final season of 1978-79 WHA season. However, after the 1979 merger of the two leagues (including the Jets) and reportedly in financial straits, Hull came out of retirement to play once more for the NHL Jets. He played in eighteen games before being traded to the Hartford Whalers for future considerations, and played effectively in nine games and three playoff games before retiring once more to care for his partner who had recently been injured in an automobile accident. Hull ended his career having played in 1063 NHL games, scoring 610 goals, 560 assists, 1170 points, and adding 62 goals and 67 assists for 129 points in 119 playoff games. He played in 411 WHA games, scoring 303 goals, 335 assists and 638 points, adding 43 goals and 37 assists in 60 playoff games. In 1978 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1983, Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His #9 jersey has been retired both by the Blackhawks and the Jets (and is still honored by the Jets' successor team, the Phoenix Coyotes.) In 1998 in sports, Hull got involved in a controversy with the Russian media when he allegedly made pro-Nazism comments. He later claimed the interviewer misunderstood him in the translation. The Hull family Bobby's younger brother, Dennis Hull (sometimes referred to as " the Silver Jet"), starred alongside him with the Chicago Blackhawks for eight seasons, scoring over 300 goals in his own right. Bobby's son, Brett Hull (the " Golden Brett"), was a more glittering star yet, finishing his own illustrious career with the third-highest goal total in NHL history. Bobby and Brett are the only father and son tandem to achieve the marks of more than 50 goals in a season and more than 500 NHL goals. While playing for the Phoenix Coyotes (formerly the Winnipeg Jets) in 2005, Brett donned his father's retired #9 for the last five games of his career. Career Statistics
Regular Season
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1954-55 Galt Black Hawks OHA-Jr 6 0 0 0 0
1955-56 St. Catharines Teepees OHA-Jr 48 11 7 18 79
1956-57 St. Catharines Teepees OHA-Jr 52 33 28 61 95
1957-58 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 70 13 34 47 62
1958-59 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 70 18 32 50 50
1959-60 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 70 39 42 81 68
1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 67 31 25 56 43
1961-62 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 70 50 34 84 35
1962-63 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 65 31 31 62 27
1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 70 43 44 87 50
1964-65 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 61 39 32 71 32
1965-66 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 65 54 43 97 70
1966-67 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 66 52 28 80 52
1967-68 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 71 44 31 75 39
1968-69 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 74 58 49 107 48
1969-70 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 61 38 29 67 8
1970-71 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 78 44 52 96 32
1971-72 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 78 50 43 93 24
1972-73 Winnipeg Jets WHA 63 51 52 103 37
1973-74 Winnipeg Jets WHA 75 53 42 95 38
1974-75 Winnipeg Jets WHA 78 77 65 142 41
1975-76 Winnipeg Jets WHA 80 53 70 123 30
1976-77 Winnipeg Jets WHA 34 21 32 53 14
1977-78 Winnipeg Jets WHA 77 46 71 117 23
1978-79 Winnipeg Jets WHA 4 2 3 5 0
1979-80 Winnipeg/Hartford NHL 27 6 11 17 0
NHL Totals 1063 610 560 1170 640
WHA Totals 411 303 335 638 183
Awards and achievements See also 
Courtesy of: http://www.wikipedia.org/ |
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