Bobby Hull is considered one of the greatest hockey players ever and arguably the best left winger of all time.

Bobby Hull

An Ontario native, Hull joined the Chicago Black Hawks when he was 18 in 1957 and played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association for 23 years with Chicago, the Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers. When Bobby played his last game in 1980, he and his  teammate Gordie Howe became the last active players that had competed in the 1950s. For most of his career he wore number 9 as a tribute to his childhood hero Howe.

Bobby was known for his blonde hair, earning him the nickname “the Golden Jet,” blinding speed, (30 mph), a feared slapshot clocked at 118 miles per hour and a powerful physique although only 5′ 10″ and 185 pounds. He was the first hockey player to be paid $100,000 a year.

Hull was a 10-time NHL All-Star team left wing, and in 1966, became the first player in league history to score over 50 goals in a season. Seven times he paced the NHL in scoring, all in the 1960s, and five years he tallied 50 or more goals. There had been a total of only six 50-goal seasons by all players combined then.

Bobby Hull

Bobby led the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup in 1961 and ten years later came within one period of winning it again. He and teammate Stan Mikita developed the curved hockey stick which gave a shooter more velocity and caused the puck to move differently, veer high, at all angles at times like a curveball in baseball.

Despite being hockey’s preeminent superstar, Hull felt he was underpaid, and jumped to the upstart World Hockey League and the Winnipeg Jets in 1972. He signed a $ 1 million, ten-year contract. In 1975, Bobby scored a professional record 77 goals.

Hull ended his career having played in 1, 063 NHL games, with 610 goals and 1, 170 points. He also participated in 411 WHA contests, accumulating 303 goals and 638 points.  In 179 playoff encounters, Bobby scored 105 goals and 104 assists.

In 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 1983, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His jersey has been retired by the Blackhawks and the Jets, and is still honored by the Jets’ successor team, Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes.

Bobby Hull

Bobby’s younger brother, Dennis, played with him in Chicago for eight seasons and scored over 300 goals. His third youngest son, Brett, finished his superb hockey career with the third-highest goal total in NHL history—741.  Bobby and Brett are the only father and son combination in any professional sport to both have their numbers retired, Brett’s # 16 by the St. Louis Blues. They are also the only father-and-son tandem to accomplish over 50 goals in a season, more than 600 NHL goals, and win the Hart Trophy (MVP to his team) and Lady Byng trophy.(Sportsmanship and Talent).

Bobby Hull recently turned 70. He splits his time between a home in Florida and his cattle ranching operation in eastern Ontario and New Brunswick. He also works with retired hockey players through the Alumni Association.

He has said, “Somewhere in my wildest childhood I must have done something right. Being able to make a boyhood dream come true is one thing, but to have a kid come along and thrill his dad like Brett has thrilled me over his career is too much for one guy to handle. If I was to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”