Bobby Hull: A complicated Legacy By, Hank Indictor

Just a few days ago the legendary Bobby Hull passed away at the age of 84. He was one of the most popular NHL stars in America. This was before we had guys such as the Sidney Crosby’s and the Wayne Gretzky’s of the world. Where Gordie Howe was one of the biggest names and right before Bobby Orr entered the conversation for the NHL’s Mt. Rushmore.  Over the course of his career Hull earned several accolades including: 12 All Star selections, 2 Hart Trophies (the NHL’s version of MVP), and 3 Art Trophies (Leader in points scored) to name a few. Due to his blazing speed, devastating slap shot and his iconic blonde hair he was known as “The Golden Jet.” However, while it is important to acknowledge that he was one of the greats, off the ice is where his legacy gets complicated as he not only had multiple allegations of domestic abuse, but he also was once quoted as praising Adolph Hitler (an allegation that Hull himself denied). In other words, while he was a fantastic hockey player, he was a flawed human being (even with his recent death) and this is something that needs to be acknowledged.

Bobby Hull wasn’t the inventor of the slap shot, however what he did innovate was the curved stick blade (along with teammate Stan Mikita). The “banana blade” became a weapon that caused many nightmares to many goalies. The Banana Blade, which became a trend during the 60’s, would elevate the speed of his deadly slap shots (which were almost as scary as his wristers), to nearly 120 miles per hour with the unpredictable puck movement helping Hull to score a lot of goals. Keep in mind this was at a time where helmets weren’t required, and some goalies didn’t wear masks. So, it’s easy to see why guys like Gump Worsley and Eddie Giacomin may have felt apprehension whenever they had to face Hull. Eventually NHL had to regulate the curves in sticks. Today the NHL’s mandate states that if a blade is curved more than ¾ inches (19 mm) it results in a 2 minute minor penalty.

Besides the lethal shots, Bobby Hull’s other main weapon was his speed (said to be nearly 30 mph!) which made him extremely difficult to contain. Let’s just say they didn’t call him the Golden Jet for nothing. Hull spent the majority of his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks from 1957-1972 before jumping to the newly formed WHA and the Winnipeg Jets. They gave him a then unheard-of godfather-like offer of $1.75 million for 10 years. He would stay with the Jets shortly after the WHA’s merger with the NHL before being traded early into the 1979-80 season to the Hartford Whalers. There he was briefly a teammate of 51-year-old Gordie Howe before retiring, although he did attempt a short-lived comeback with the Rangers in 1981. Hull would score a total of 610 goals in the NHL, with his 560 assists giving him a total of 1,170 points. If we combined his NHL and WHA totals, he would top 1,000 in each of these categories.

Some other accolades I didn’t mention at the beginning include: being the only player to win consecutive All Star game MVPs, a Stanley Cup Champion in 1961, and a Lady Byng Trophy winner. And these don’t even include his subsequent WHA accomplishments! Not to mention he was the first player to score more than 50 goals in a season (the only players to have previously scored exactly 50 in a season were Habs legends Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion and Maurice “Rocket” Richard). You will also see a statue of Hull not too far from Michael Jordan, outside the United Center, in addition to a banner with his #9 hanging in the rafters. In short, a fantastic career, but there is some irony.