| Bobby Hull OC | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1983 | |||||||||||||||||
 Hull with theChicago Black Hawks in the 1960s | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1939-01-03)January 3, 1939 Point Anne, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 30, 2023(2023-01-30) (aged 84) Wheaton, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left wing | ||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | ||||||||||||||||
| Played for | |||||||||||||||||
| National team |  Canada | ||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1957–1980 | ||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert Marvin HullOC (January 3, 1939 – January 30, 2023) was a Canadian professionalice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blond hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high velocity all earned him the nickname "the Golden Jet". His talents were such that an opposing player was often assigned just to shadow him.
During his 23-year playing career, from 1957 to 1980, he played in both theNational Hockey League (NHL) andWorld Hockey Association (WHA) with theChicago Black Hawks,Winnipeg Jets, andHartford Whalers. He won theHart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player twice and theArt Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading point scorer three times, while helping the Black Hawks win theStanley Cup in 1961. He also led the WHA's Winnipeg Jets toAvco Cup championships in 1976 and 1978. He led the NHL in goals seven times, the second most of any player in history, and led the WHA in goals one additional time while being the WHA'smost valuable player two times; his 77 goals scored in the1974–75 WHA season was themost in league history.
He was elected to theHockey Hall of Fame in 1983, theOntario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and received theWayne Gretzky International Award in 2003.[1][2] In 2017 Hull was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[3]
Off the ice, Hull was noted for domestic violence allegations[4][5] and allegedly making comments supportingAdolf Hitler.[6][7]
Hull was born inPoint Anne, Ontario, on January 3, 1939.[8] He was the son of Lena Cook and Robert Edward Hull, a cement company foreman.[9] He played his minor hockey in nearbyBelleville, and then Junior B hockey for the Woodstock Warriors in the fall of 1954. Hull led the Warriors to the 1955Sutherland Cup as Ontario champions. Later, he played for theGalt Black Hawks and theSt. Catharines Teepees in theOntario Hockey Association, before joining theChicago Black Hawks in1957 at the age of 18.
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Hull had a solid debut year, finishing second in voting for theCalder Memorial Trophy. Hull originally wore numbers 16 and 7 as a Black Hawk but later switched to his famous number 9, a tribute to his childhood idolGordie Howe. By his third season (1959–60), he led the league in goal- and point-scoring (theArt Ross Trophy), a double feat which he also achieved in 1961–62 and 1965–66. He led Chicago to theStanley Cup in 1961—their third overall and first in 23 years. He finished second in point-scoring three further times.
On March 12, 1966, Hull became the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a season, surpassingMaurice Richard's,Bernie Geoffrion's, and his own mark of 50 goals. His 51st goal, scored onCesare Maniago of theNew York Rangers, earned him a seven-minute standing ovation from theChicago Stadium faithful. Hull eventually scored 54 goals that season, the highest single-season total of theOriginal Six era. That same year, Hull set the record for the most points in a season with 97, one more than the previous record set byDickie Moore 7 years earlier. His point total was tied the next year by teammateStan Mikita and their record was broken three years later byPhil Esposito. Hull led the league in goal-scoring seven times during the 1960s. In1968–69, despite Hull breaking his own goals in a season record by four goals (netting 58) and setting a career NHL high of 107 points (second in the league that year), the Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. By his finalNHL season, he had scored 50 goals or more a remarkable five times. This was only one time less than all other players in NHL history combined up until that point in time.
In his 15 full NHL seasons he was voted the First-Team All-Star left winger ten times and the Second-Team All-Star left winger twice. His slapshot was once clocked at 118.3 mph (190.5 km/h) and he could skate 29.7 mph (47.8 km/h).[10] During his drive to be the first to eclipse the 50 goal mark, Hull'swrist shot was said to be harder than hisslapshot.[11]
Hull and teammateStan Mikita were catalysts for a 1960s craze where players curved the blades of their hockey sticks, which became widely referred to as "banana blades".[12] Hull is the player typically linked most to the rule that banned this practice because of the potential danger to goalies, few of whom wore masks in that era.[12] The curved blade made the puck's trajectory unpredictable. The rule originally limited the blade curvature to between 0.5 in (13 mm) and 0.75 in (19 mm); in 1970, it was set at 0.5 in (13 mm).[12] NHL Rule 10.1 currently limits the curvature to 0.75 in (19 mm).[13]
Long unhappy with his poor salary despite being one of hockey's preeminent superstars, Hull responded to overtures from the upstartWorld Hockey Association'sWinnipeg Jets in1972 by jesting that he would 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 gave instant credibility to the new rival league that was competing directly against the entrenched NHL, Jets ownerBen Hatskin agreed to the sum, and signed Hull as aplayer-coach for a contract worth $1.75 million over 10 years plus a $1 million signing bonus.[14] Although his debut with Winnipeg was held up in litigation by the NHL, Hull instantly became the WHA's greatest star, winning theGordie Howe Trophy as league MVP in that very first season despite being bugged by bone chips in his elbow that still saw him score 51 goals.[15] He then won the MVP award again in the 1974–75 season. With Swedish linematesAnders Hedberg andUlf Nilsson he formed one of the most formidable forward lines of the 1970s (known as "The Hot Line"), leading the Jets to twoAVCO Cups during his time with the club. His best performance was during the1974–75 season, when hescored 77 goals to set a new professional mark, while adding 65 assists for a total of 142 points, five behind the league leader, one of two times he finished second in the point-scoring race in the WHA; he set a then record for goals in a professional season at home in Winnipeg on April 6, 1975, in his 78th and last game played that season.[16] In October of 1975, Hull sat out a game as a form of protest against hockey violence, stating, “Setting an example for kids should be hockey's main theme. Body‐checking and aggressiveness is part of hockey. So is the odd fight because of the tempo. But not the stuff that's going on. The intimidation. The stick‐swinging, flailing it like an ax. The high stick. The spear. That's not hockey. Intimidation isn't hockey.”[17] In the five WHA seasons in which he played more than half the schedule, he was voted aFirst-Team All-Star thrice and a Second-Team All-Star twice, while tallying 50 goals and 100 points four times each. The Jets won the1978 WHA playoffs with Hull delivering eight goals in the postseason run. In the Game 4 victory over the New England Whalers, Hull scored in the third period to make it 4–2 in the eventual 5–3 victory that meant Hull delivered the series-clinching goal. As it turned out, this was his last postseason goal in his career. Hull scored 43 goals in the WHA playoffs, the most in WHA postseason history.[18]
Because he joined the rival league, Hull was not allowed to representTeam Canada in the1972 Summit Series, which pitted Canada's top NHL players against theUSSR's national team. Two years later, asecond Summit Series was held in which Hull and other top WHA stars (includingGordie Howe, who had been retired from the NHL at the time of the initial Summit Series) competed against the Soviet 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 the1976 Canada Cup, though, scoring five goals and three assists in seven games.
Slowed by injuries and age, Hull played only a few games in the WHA's final season of1978–79. 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 theHartford Whalers for future considerations, bringing the two-timeGordie Howe Trophy winner together with the 51-year-old Howe himself (who, after Hull's initial contest with the Whalers, told the press, "The kid looks good in his first game."). Hull played effectively in nine games (two goals and five assists) as the Whalers reached the postseason. In the Preliminary Round against theMontreal Canadiens, Hull did not record a statistic as the Whalers were swept with an overtime loss at theHartford Civic Center on April 11. As it turned out, this was Hull's last game as a professional player, as he retired soon after to care for his partner, who had been injured in an automobile accident.[19]
In September 1981, Hull attempted one final comeback with theNew York Rangers at age 42, at the suggestion of Rangers coachHerb Brooks, who wanted to try reuniting Hull with his former Jets teammates, Hedberg and Nilsson.[20] The comeback attempt lasted five exhibition games, during which Hull had one goal and one assist, before he and the Rangers both decided it was best to end the comeback.[20] It was the second time in Hull's career that he had played exhibition games with the Rangers; in 1959, after missing the playoffs the previous spring, the Rangers and theBoston Bruins had been sent on an exhibition tour of Europe, and then-emerging star Hull andEddie Shack were added to the Rangers' roster for the tour. Hull and Shack co-led the Rangers in scoring, each netting 14 goals over the 23-game tour.[21]
Hull ended his career having played in 1,063 NHL games, accumulating 610 goals, 560 assists, 1,170 points, 640 penalty minutes, threeArt Ross Trophies, twoHart Memorial Trophies (he finished second or third in the voting an additional six times), aLady Byng Memorial Trophy, and aStanley Cup Championship, 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. His North American major league professional total of 1,018 goals (NHL and WHA including playoffs) is the third most of all-time afterWayne Gretzky (1,072) and Gordie Howe (1,071), although the NHL does not recognize scoring statistics from the WHA in players' career totals.
In 1978, he was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada. Besides his Hall of Fame induction, Hull's no. 9 jersey has been retired by the Black Hawks, the Jets, and their successor team, theArizona Coyotes. When Bobby's sonBrett Hull joined the Coyotes, they unretired the number for Brett to wear during his brief stint there to honour his father.Evander Kane, who wore number 9 for theAtlanta Thrashers when they became the currentWinnipeg Jets franchise, sought and received Hull's permission to wear the number.
In 2003, he was named the figurehead commissioner of a newWorld Hockey Association, intended to operate during the2004–05 NHL lockout; it never entered play, and the organization subsequently ran several ephemeral low-minor league and unsanctioned Tier II junior leagues. Hull served as an ambassador for the Blackhawks through part of the 2021–22 season until the organization announced, "When it comes to Bobby, specifically, we jointly agreed earlier this season that he will retire from any official team role."[22]
Hull's younger brotherDennis (nicknamed "the Silver Jet") starred alongside him with the Chicago Black Hawks for eight seasons, scoring over 300 goals in his own right. When Bobby was excluded from the1972 Summit Series because he had signed to play in the WHA, Dennis initially planned to boycott the event as well as a show of support for his brother, but Bobby persuaded him to stay on Team Canada.[citation needed]
Hull's marriage to Joanne McKay ended in divorce in 1980 after several abusive incidents.[5]
In 1986, he was arrested and charged with assault and battery after allegedly hitting his third wife, Deborah, after an argument.[4] She eventually dropped the charges.[5]
Hull was romantically involved with a woman named Claudia Allen. In 1980, Hull retired from the Hartford Whalers to take care of Allen, who was injured in a severe automobile accident.[19] The couple never married.
In 1998, Hull allegedly made pro-Nazi comments toThe Moscow Times. He was quoted as saying, "Hitler, for example, had some good ideas. He just went a little bit too far."[6] Hull later denied having complimented Hitler and said journalists had raised the subject.[7] The incident was parodied on the Canadiannews satire showThis Hour Has 22 Minutes, withRick Mercer reading a spot saying Hull had been misquoted, and had actually said, "Sittler had some good ideas."
Brett Hull (the "Golden Brett"), was also a hockey star, finishing his NHL career with 741 goals (currently the fifth-highest goal total in NHL history). Bobby and Brett are the onlyfather-and-son tandem to achieve the marks of more than 50 goals in an NHL season and more than 600 NHL goals. They are also the only father-and-son duo to win theHart Memorial Trophy (Bobby twice and Brett once) andLady Byng Trophy, and to lead the league in goal scoring (Bobby seven times and Brett three times). While playing for thePhoenix Coyotes in 2005, Brett donned his father's retired No. 9 for the last five games of his career.
Bart Hull was a standoutrunning back for theBoise State University'Broncos football team and played with theOttawa Rough Riders andSaskatchewan Roughriders in theCanadian Football League (CFL) as well as one season of professionalindoor football prior to recurring injuries. Post football, he briefly played professional hockey with theIdaho Steelheads.
Bobby Jr. and Blake both played junior and senior hockey. Bobby Jr. won theMemorial Cup with the 1980Cornwall Royals. Later, the brothers played together for theAllan Cup-winning Brantford Mott's Clamatos of theOHA Senior A Hockey League (AAA Men's Amateur) in 1987.[citation needed]
Hull's daughter, Michelle, was an accomplished figure skater, becoming British Columbia Pre-Novice Champion at the age of 11. After many knee injuries, she ended her figure skating career and is now an attorney licensed in two states.[citation needed] She works with battered women as a result of witnessing her father's treatment of her mother, Joanne McKay.[14]
The Town ofCicero, Illinois created a public outdoor rink in his name. The rink hosts skating lessons, public skate, public Stick & Puck, High School Hockey games, and more.
On January 30, 2023, Hull died at his home inWheaton, Illinois, at the age of 84.[23][24][14] His son Brett released a statement following his father's death via the Twitter account of theSt. Louis Blues.[25]
In February 2025, Hull's family released a statement saying that researchers had determined that Hull had stage 2chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of his death.[26]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1954–55 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 48 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 79 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1956–57 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 52 | 33 | 28 | 61 | 95 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 24 | ||
| 1957–58 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 18 | 32 | 50 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1959–60 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 39 | 42 | 81 | 68 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1960–61 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 67 | 31 | 25 | 56 | 43 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 1961–62 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 50 | 34 | 84 | 35 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 1962–63 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 65 | 31 | 31 | 62 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 1963–64 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 43 | 44 | 87 | 50 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1964–65 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 61 | 39 | 32 | 71 | 32 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 27 | ||
| 1965–66 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 65 | 54 | 43 | 97 | 70 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1966–67 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 66 | 52 | 28 | 80 | 52 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 71 | 44 | 31 | 75 | 39 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 15 | ||
| 1968–69 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 74 | 58 | 49 | 107 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 61 | 38 | 29 | 67 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1970–71 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 78 | 44 | 52 | 96 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 16 | ||
| 1971–72 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 78 | 50 | 43 | 93 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1972–73 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 63 | 51 | 52 | 103 | 37 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 16 | ||
| 1973–74 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 75 | 53 | 42 | 95 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1974–75 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 78 | 77 | 65 | 142 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 80 | 53 | 70 | 123 | 30 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 4 | ||
| 1976–77 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 34 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 77 | 46 | 71 | 117 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1978–79 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,063 | 610 | 560 | 1,170 | 640 | 119 | 62 | 67 | 129 | 102 | ||||
| WHA totals | 411 | 303 | 335 | 638 | 183 | 60 | 43 | 37 | 80 | 38 | ||||
| Major League Hockey totals | 1,474 | 913 | 895 | 1,808 | 823 | 179 | 105 | 104 | 209 | 140 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Canada | SS74 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 1976 | Canada | CC | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| WPG | 1972–73 | 78 | 43 | 31 | 4 | 90 | 2nd in Western | Lost inAvco Cup Finals |
| WPG | 1973–74 | 78 | 34 | 39 | 5 | 73 | 4th in Western | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| WPG | 1974–75 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 8 | Resigned | — |
| WHA totals | 169 | 81 | 79 | 9 | — | — | 2 playoff appearances | |
hockey Hall of Fame member Bobby Hull in 1939 (age 81)
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of theHart Memorial Trophy 1965,1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theArt Ross Trophy 1960 1962 1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NHL goals leader 1960 1962 1964 1966,1967,1968,1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theLady Byng Memorial Trophy 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Position created Rudy Pilous | Head coach of the original Winnipeg Jets 1972–1974 1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Position created | Commissioner of theWHA 2003–2005 | Succeeded by Position abolished |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
