Reports are coming out this morning that hockey legend Bobby Hull has passed away today, at age 84.
Hull, who was nicknamed “The Golden Jet,” was a star for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1958 to 1972, before signing a million-dollar contract to jump to the WHA, and joined the Winnipeg Jets. He won three Ross Trophies for leading the NHL in scoring, and two Hart Trophies as the NHL’s MVP.
He became controversial after his playing days, due to accusations of domestic violence, and in 1998, he allegedly made some vile comments to a Russian media outlet (Hull claimed the entire story was fabricated).
In recent years, the Blackhawks had brought Hull back into the team’s fold, naming him a team ambassador (though they parted ways with him again last year). Hull was also the father of Brett Hull, who was, himself, a star in the NHL.
You guys have more decorum about this sort of thing than I do! I will speak ill of the dead:
Bobby Hull was a drunk, a wifebeater, a racist, and a Hitler admirer. He was all these things and a good hockey player… and the latter does not make up for the former.
Due to the difficulty in studying and diagnosing CTE I wonder if there will be any meaningful numbers as to how much of a change there was after helmets became mandatory. It’s crazy that guys like Hull and Howe played that long with no protection