Bobby Hull

Lore & Background

Hull was born in Point Anne, Ontario, and played minor hockey in Belleville and Junior B 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 at age 18. He originally wore numbers 16 and 7 but switched to number 9 as a tribute to his childhood idol Gordie Howe. On March 12, 1966, he became the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a season, surpassing Maurice Richard's, Bernie Geoffrion's, and his own mark of 50 goals; his 51st goal earned a seven-minute standing ovation. He finished that season with 54 goals, the highest single-season total of the Original Six era, and set a record for most points in a season with 97. His slapshot was once clocked at 118.3 mph (190.5 km/h) and he could skate 29.7 mph (47.8 km/h). During his drive to eclipse the 50-goal mark, his wrist shot was said to be harder than his slapshot.

Reader's Guide

Hull and teammate Stan Mikita were catalysts for the curved-blade 'banana blades' craze in the 1960s. Hull is the player typically linked to the rule that banned this practice due to potential danger to goalies, few of whom wore masks; the rule originally limited blade curvature to between 0.5 and 0.75 inches, later set at 0.5 inches in 1970. Long unhappy with his poor salary, Hull responded to overtures from the WHA's Winnipeg Jets in 1972 by jesting that he would jump for a million dollars. Jets owner Ben Hatskin signed him for $1.75 million over 10 years plus a $1 million signing bonus on June 27, 1972. Hull instantly became the WHA's greatest star, winning the Gordie Howe Trophy as league MVP in his first season despite bone chips in his elbow. With Swedish linemates Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson he formed 'The Hot Line,' leading the Jets to two AVCO Cups. His best season was 1974–75, when he scored 77 goals to set a new professional mark. Because he joined the rival league, Hull was not allowed to represent Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series; he played in the 1974 Summit Series, scoring seven goals. He was a key member of the Canadian squad that won the 1976 Canada Cup. On March 11, 1978, he scored his 1,000th combined goal, becoming only the second player with 1,000 goals in hockey history next to Gordie Howe.

Did You Know?

• Hull led the NHL in goals seven times, the second most of any player in history.
• He scored 77 goals in the 1974–75 WHA season, the most in league history.
• He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

Scoring Dominance in the NHL

From his rookie season in 1957 through his final NHL campaign, Hull established himself as perhaps the most prolific goal-scorer the league had ever seen. He led the NHL in goals a remarkable seven times during the 1960s, a mark that stands as the second-highest in league history. His 1965-66 campaign remains a landmark: he became the first player ever to surpass 50 goals in a single season, and his 51st tally against New York's Cesare Maniago drew a seven-minute standing ovation at Chicago Stadium. He finished that year with 54 goals and 97 points, the latter setting a new single-season record. By the time he left the NHL, he had crossed the 50-goal threshold five separate times—a total that exceeded the combined achievements of every other player in the league's history up to that point. His slapshot was once measured at 118.3 miles per hour, and his skating speed reached nearly 30 miles per hour, making him a nearly impossible player to contain. Opposing teams routinely dedicated an entire defender to shadowing him down the ice.

The Million-Dollar Move and The Hot Line

In 1972, Hull made a move that reshaped professional hockey. Long frustrated by what he felt was an inadequate salary for a player of his caliber, he responded to the upstart World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets with a joke about jumping for a million dollars. Jets owner Ben Hatskin, recognizing that signing such a marquee name would lend instant legitimacy to the fledgling league, rallied fellow owners to pool funds and delivered the sum. Hull signed as a player-coach on June 27, 1972, for a ten-year contract worth $1.75 million plus a one-million-dollar signing bonus. Despite NHL litigation delaying his debut, he immediately became the WHA's face, winning the league's MVP award in his first season while battling bone chips in his elbow and still scoring 51 goals. He captured the MVP again in 1974-75, when he posted a then-unprecedented 77 goals alongside 65 assists for 142 points. Teamed with Swedes Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, he formed "The Hot Line," one of the most devastating forward units of the 1970s, and guided Winnipeg to AVCO Cup titles in 1976 and 1978.

Legacy and the Rules He Changed

Hull's influence on hockey extended far beyond his statistics. His nickname, "the Golden Jet," captured the image of a blond-haired speedster who could race end-to-end and unleash a slapshot clocked at over 118 miles per hour. His playing style also forced the league to adapt: in the 1960s, players began curving their stick blades into what became known as "banana blades," a trend Hull and teammate Stan Mikita helped popularize. Because the curved blade made puck trajectories unpredictable and posed a genuine threat to goaltenders who rarely wore protective masks in that era, the NHL introduced a rule limiting blade curvature. The regulation, commonly called the "Bobby Hull Rule," initially restricted the curve to between half an inch and three-quarters of an inch, and it remains in the rulebook today. Off the ice, Hull's standing was cemented by his 1983 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, his 1997 entry into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, the 2003 Wayne Gretzky International Award, and his 2017 selection among the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

From Point Anne to the Black Hawks

Robert Marvin Hull was born on January 3, 1939, in Point Anne, Ontario, the son of Lena Cook and Robert Edward Hull, a foreman at a cement company. His early hockey days unfolded in nearby Belleville, where he played minor-league games before stepping up to Junior B competition with the Woodstock Warriors in the fall of 1954. That single season proved transformative: Hull led the Warriors to the 1955 Sutherland Cup, claiming the Ontario championship and announcing himself as a player of exceptional talent. He continued his development through the Ontario Hockey Association, suiting up for the Galt Black Hawks and the St. Catharines Teepees. By 1957, at just 18 years old, he had caught the eye of the NHL's Chicago Black Hawks and joined their professional roster. His rookie campaign was strong enough to earn him a second-place finish in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Originally wearing numbers 16 and 7, he eventually switched to number 9 as a tribute to his childhood idol, Gordie Howe, a number that would become inseparable from his identity on the ice.