Ajit Karn
Bobby Hull, a Hockey Hall of Famer who was a 12-time All-Star and two-time Hart Trophy winner, passed away on Monday, as reported by the Chicago Blackhawks. He was 84.
The squad issued a statement saying, “We express our heartfelt sympathies to the Hull family.” “During this time of tragedy, the Hull family has asked to be left alone. The family thanks everyone who has expressed sympathy for them.”
Hull, nicknamed the Golden Jet for his blond hair and skating prowess, was a fan favourite in Chicago after he and Stan Mikita helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961. This victory ended the franchise’s 23-year championship drought.
During the 1960s, Hull curved the blade of his wooden stick like Mikita did and became noted for having a fearsome slap shot. A slap shot from him apparently reached 118 miles per hour.
With 604 goals scored throughout his 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, he holds the franchise record. His brother Dennis, who scored 298 goals for the Blackhawks, was a teammate for eight of those seasons. Bobby Hull earned the National Hockey League scoring championship for the third time in his career and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in consecutive seasons (1964–1965 and 1965–1966).
In a statement, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman referred to Hull “Someone who has achieved superstar status while also maintaining a friendly and outgoing demeanour.
Bettman remarked, “When Bobby Hull coiled up to shoot a slapshot, fans throughout the NHL rose to their feet in anticipation, while rival goaltenders braced themselves.” “There was no one in hockey history who scored more goals than he did while he was at the height of his career. Our hearts go out to Brett Hull, his fellow Hockey Hall of Famer son, and the rest of the Hull family, as well as the countless hockey fans across the world who were lucky enough to see Bobby play or have subsequently marvelled at his feats.
Leaving the Blackhawks and the NHL in 1972, Hull signed the first $1 million deal in professional hockey history with the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) for a 10-year, $1.75-million commitment.
He was a member of the Jets for seven years in the World Hockey Association (WHA), during which time they won the Avco Cup in 1976 and 1978. He scored a career-high 77 goals in the 1974–75 season, which earned him the Gordie Howe Trophy as the league’s most valuable player for the second time.
He left the game for good in 1978–79, but returned the following year after the WHA amalgamated with the NHL. After retiring for the second time, he played 18 games with the Jets in 1979–80 before being dealt to the Hartford Whalers.
In 1983, Bobby Hull was honoured by being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His son Brett, who played for 19 seasons and scored 741 goals, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. The only father-and-son duo to win the Hart Trophy were Bobby and Brett Hull. To top it all off, they were the only father-and-son duo to make the list of the 100 greatest NHL players in 2017..
Two teams, the Blackhawks and the Jets, have honoured Bobby Hull by retiring his number nine jersey. The Jets moved to Arizona in 1996, changed their name to the Coyotes, and retired Hull’s number. In 2005, the Coyotes allowed Brett Hull to wear his late father’s number after it had been previously retired.
In 1,063 regular season NHL games, Bobby Hull scored 610 goals and added 560 assists. In addition to his two Hart Trophies, he also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1965 for sportsmanship and outstanding play and the Art Ross Trophy, given to the league’s leading scorer, on three separate occasions.
Hull was a hockey superstar, but off the ice he had to deal with legal and family problems.
Two of his three wives accused him of abuse, and he had to deal with the consequences. His second wife, skater Joanne McKay, said he struck her with a shoe while holding her over a balcony in Hawaii in 1966 and threatened her with a loaded shotgun in 1978. After an incident in 1984, his third wife Deborah filed charges but eventually dropped them. However, Hull eventually admitted to throwing a punch at a police officer during his detention, and for that he was sentenced to six months of court supervision and a $150 fine.
The criticism against Hull began in 1998, when he made headlines by telling The Moscow Times that the Black population in the United States was expanding too rapidly and that Hitler “had some nice ideas but just went a bit too far.”
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The Blackhawks made it public last year that Hull would no longer represent the team in promotional activities. Following Mikita’s death in 2018 and Tony Esposito’s death in 2021, the team announced that it was rethinking the role of team ambassador.
This report was co-written by the Associated Press.
Post from / ESPN
Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, the Golden Jet, dies at age 84https://t.co/H0LW5D6ziP pic.twitter.com/n9aftBqU0q
— Barrie 411 News (@Barrie411) January 30, 2023
