Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, a 12-time All-Star and two-time Hart Trophy winner, has died, the Chicago Blackhawks announced Monday. He was 84.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the Hull family,” the team said in a statement. “The Hull family has requested privacy during this difficult time. They appreciate the sympathies that have been sent their way.”
Hull, known during his playing career as the Golden Jet because of his blond hair and his speed on the ice, became beloved in Chicago for teaming with Stan Mikita to help the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961, ending a 23-year title drought.
Following Mikita’s lead, Hull became known for curving the blade of his wooden stick in the 1960s and had one of the most feared slap shots in the league. His slap shot was reportedly clocked at 118 mph.
He played 15 seasons in Chicago and is the franchise’s career leader in goals scored with 604. For eight of those seasons, he played alongside his brother Dennis, who scored 298 goals with the Blackhawks. Bobby Hull won back-to-back Hart Memorial Trophies as the league’s most valuable player in 1964-65 and 1965-66, when he won the NHL scoring title for the third time in his career.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement called Hull “a true superstar with a gregarious personality.”
“When Bobby Hull wound up to take a slapshot, fans throughout the NHL rose to their feet in anticipation and opposing goaltenders braced themselves,” Bettman said. “During his prime, there was no more prolific goal-scorer in all of hockey. … We send our deepest condolences to his son, fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Brett; the entire Hull family; and the countless fans around the hockey world who were fortunate enough to see him play or have since marveled at his exploits.”
In 1972, Hull signed the first $1 million contract in the history of professional hockey (10 years, $1.75 million), leaving the Blackhawks and the NHL to join the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA as a player/coach.
He played seven seasons in the WHA and helped the Jets win Avco Cups in 1976 and 1978. He won two Gordie Howe Trophies as the league’s most valuable player in 1972-73 and 1974-75, a season in which he scored a career-best 77 goals.
He announced his retirement during the 1978-79 season but decided to return the next season after the WHA merged with the NHL. He played 18 games with the Jets in 1979-80 and was traded to…
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