Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has been posthumously diagnosed with stage 2 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to researchers and his family.
According to researchers in the Concussion Legacy Foundation, the former Chicago Blackhawks left winger appeared to have suffered from CTE for nearly the last 10 years of his life. Symptoms included short-term memory loss and impaired judgment. He died at 84 years old in Wheaton, Ill., on Jan. 30, 2023.
Mayo Clinic describes CTE as “a brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries. It causes the death of nerve cells in the brain, known as degeneration. CTE gets worse over time.”
“He insisted on donating his brain, feeling as though it was his duty to help advance research on this agonizing disease,” Deborah Hull, Bobby’s wife of 39 years, said in the announcement.
According to the foundation, Hull is the 17th known former player to be diagnosed with CTE. Other players include Henri Richard, Bob Probert and Hull’s longtime teammate, Stan Mikita.
BREAKING: Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull diagnosed with stage 2 #CTE by @bu_cte after his death in 2023.
For nearly the last 10 years of his life, Hull struggled with many of the cognitive symptoms of CTE. His widow says Bobby knew his historic career came at a price.
READ:… pic.twitter.com/6RdAwWChCU
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) February 19, 2025
“Seeing the pain and heartache suffered by his lifetime friend Stan Mikita’s family, Bobby felt strongly no other family should have to endure CTE,” Deborah Hull said.
NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh told The Hockey News in late 2024 that hockey players are prone to concussions because the ice and boards don’t move.
“A doctor in Boston told me that one time about athletes, football players seem to be, they say the most prone to concussions. They’re banging,” Walsh said. “But he said, probably the more dangerous is hockey because of the ice and the boards. Field gives a bit. I want to make sure any scientific discoveries are made, that our players understand.”
In April 2023, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told NPR there has been isolated cases of players who played hockey and had CTE, but he doesn’t think it means it necessarily came from playing in the NHL.
In December 2024, a study by Boston University suggested the odds of getting a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated traumatic brain injuries with every year played after studying 77…