Bobby Hull

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Hull was born in Point Anne, Ontario, on January 3, 1939. He played minor hockey in Belleville and Junior B hockey for the Woodstock Warriors, leading them to the 1955 Sutherland Cup. He later played for the Galt Black Hawks and St. Catharines Teepees before joining the Chicago Black Hawks in 1957. He originally wore numbers 16 and 7 but switched to number 9 as a tribute to Gordie Howe. On March 12, 1966, he became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season, finishing with 54 goals that year. He also tied the record for most points in a season with 97, matching the mark set by Dickie Moore in 1958–59. In the 1968–69 season, he scored 58 goals and set a career NHL high of 107 points. His slapshot was once clocked at 118.3 mph (190.5 km/h) and he could skate 29.7 mph (47.8 km/h). Hull and Stan Mikita were catalysts for the curved blade craze, leading to a rule limiting blade curvature to 0.5 inches (13 mm) in 1970. In 1972, he signed with the WHA's Winnipeg Jets for a contract worth $1.75 million over 10 years plus a $1 million signing bonus. He won the Gordie Howe Trophy as WHA MVP in his first season and again in 1974–75. With Swedish linemates Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, he formed "The Hot Line" and led the Jets to two Avco Cups. On March 11, 1978, he scored his 1,000th combined goal against the Quebec Nordiques, becoming the first player in hockey history to reach that milestone.

In Their Own Story

On March 12, 1966, the Chicago Stadium faithful witnessed history as Hull scored his 51st goal against Cesare Maniago of the New York Rangers. The moment earned a seven-minute standing ovation, cementing his status as the first NHL player to surpass Maurice Richard's and Bernie Geoffrion's marks of 50 goals. That season, he finished with 54 goals—the highest single-season total of the Original Six era—and set a new points record of 97, breaking Dickie Moore's mark by one point. The following year, teammate Stan Mikita tied Hull's record before Phil Esposito broke it three years later. Despite setting a career NHL high of 107 points and breaking his own goals-in-a-season record by four (58) in 1968–69, the Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since Hull's rookie season.

Reader's Guide

Hull had a solid debut year, finishing second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. He led the league in goal-scoring seven times during the 1960s. He was voted First-Team All-Star left winger ten times and Second-Team All-Star left winger twice in his first fifteen seasons. In the WHA, he was voted a First-Team All-Star thrice and a Second-Team All-Star twice in seasons where he played more than half the schedule. He scored 43 goals in the WHA playoffs, the most in WHA postseason history. He was a key member of the Canadian squad that won the 1976 Canada Cup, scoring five goals and three assists in seven games.

Did You Know?

• Hull's 51st goal in 1966 earned a seven-minute standing ovation from the Chicago Stadium faithful.
• He led the NHL in goals seven times, the most of any player in history.
• In October 1975, Hull sat out a game as a protest against hockey violence, stating intimidation and stick-swinging were not hockey.
• Hull was not allowed to represent Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series because he had joined the WHA.