R.I.P Bobby Hull
 

The great "Golden Jet" died yesterday, at age 84.
In 1972, when Hull was the poster boy for the NHL, the Chicago Black Hawks lowballed him on a new contract, so he jumped to the Winnipeg Jets of the fledgling World Hockey Association for the then unheard of sum of $2.75 million, becoming the highest-paid team sport athlete on the planet. His move triggered the greatest player exodus in sports history, culminating with a court challenge of the reserve clause in NHL contracts that essentially ammounted to legalized slavery. Hull and the WHA won the case, thereby giving athletes in all sports the right to determine their own destiny. Besides being one of the greatest and most charismatic players of all time, Bobby was a tremendous off-ice ambassador for the game, and remained a fan favorite to the very end. In 2001 I was honored to have him write the introduction to my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Biggest Deals in Hockey History", and he couldn't have been more gracious. RIP, Bobby.

Bobby Hull
 

Rest in peace, the Golden Jet. At the National in Chicago in 2014 (or 15,
not sure which year), my son and I ate at Gibson's Steak House across
from the venue. Bobby Hull was eating 15 feet away from us, and I had to
educate my son as to his greatness in hockey. A true legend...

Trent King

My mind's been in a fog all day since I saw the headline that Bobby had died. I am so upset. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. It was spring, 1965, and my friend invited me to go see the Chicago Black Hawks at the old Chicago Stadium. I had never seen a hockey game, nor had yet to watch the Hawks on TV.

WHAT AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE!

The Hawks beat the Red Wings, 4-1, and Bobby Hull scored! Perhaps you've heard stories of how the fans could "raise the roof" at the old Stadium, especially when The Golden Jet scored. I will vouch for that; it was unreal loud!

From that experience, I became a Chicago Black Hawk fan, and especially a fan of Bobby Hull. No more Cups, but seemingly endless excitement and joy. Everybody loved Bobby Hull.

To set the record straight, if that's possible, Bobby Hull knew his value to the team and the NHL. Every year was the same thing---arguments with management over salary. The wealthy but extreme cheapskate Hawk owners did their dead level best to keep Bobby's salary and everyone else's as low as possible.

By late 1971, and then on in to 1972, the fledgling WHA was taking shape. They knew they needed a marquee player attraction. They (or strictly Winnipeg) went after Bobby. He politely refused. They continued. Finally, Hull told them if they would give him a million dollars, he'd jump to the WHA. Winnipeg didn't have that much money, but the owners were all in contact with each other to work together to get their league a reality. So, they each helped Winnipeg raise the $1,000,000 signing bonus, figuring, and rightly so, if Bobby Hull joins the WHA, that will give the league cache and credibility.

Bobby did not really want to jump ship, so he had named a monetary figure they would never meet.

The WHA met it, offering him the $1,000,000 as a signing bonus just to join the league. Bobby Hull was a man of his word. Black Hawk owners NEVER thought he'd leave them or the NHL----until the last minute, when all this money they said they didn't have, they had, doubling the $100,000 they were gonna offer him.

But it was now too late; Bobby being a man of his word, had accepted and signed the documents to become a Winnipeg Jet of the World Hockey Association.

As someone here said, what Bobby did was the catalyst for raising salaries all across the NHL. Stan Mikita said EVERY pro player should get down on their knees every night before they go to bed, and thank God for the sacrifice Bobby Hull made for everybody that paved the way for ALL of them to make a lot more money, commiserate with what they deserved for playing professional hockey.

We all know salaries of all pro sports have gotten WAY out of hand, but it really began with Bobby Hull's "gold mine" departure from the NHL.

A lot of rotten things are being said of Robert Marvin Hull today. He was quoted in a Russian newspaper ... I mean, really, like we're supposed to believe some Russian newspaper would tell us THE GOSPEL TRUTH. Regardless, haven't you ever heard of someone's words being twisted and knotted out of context? But the lynch mob mentality does not want to hear otherwise, even though Bobby vehemently denied saying such horrible things.

Or the time he dangled his wife from a hotel balcony. What do you suppose she did to get her husband so angry? It's none of my, or your business, but let's sit down and think for minute. Have you ever known somebody's wife that was a real bitty, and when she got worked up, she knew every button to push to get her husband upset? My brother sure did. A vitriolic wife can accomplish some bad things with her mouth. I guess Joanne let it all out, pushed his buttons until they jammed, and Bobby couldn't take it anymore. Who knows? Were you there? Was I?

No. But that's all you hear. Fortunately, for both of them, Bob did not let go of her.

A person's life is complex.

I loved and will miss Bobby Hull.

--- Brian Powell

Brian you sound like Bill Burr:

“Obviously I’m not saying to hit a woman, you know. But saying there’s no reason, I think that’s crazy.

When you say there’s no reason, that kills any sort of examination as to how two people ended up at that place. You say there’s no reason, you cut out the build-up; you’re just left with the act. How are you gonna solve it if you don’t figure it out?

Look how awkward it is in here right now. I said you shouldn’t hit a woman. I’m just saying, how come you can’t ask questions? You can only ask questions about what the guy did. You can never about the woman. Why is that?

Look, I understand hitting a woman’s a bad thing, okay. How come you can’t ask questions? I just don’t understand.

Like, if I got bit by a rattlesnake, wouldn’t you guys have some questions? Right, how did it happen? Did you not see it? Were you [messing] with it? How did a snake get so mad it almost killed you?

Firemen put out a fire, they don’t just drive away afterward. They sift through the debris. How did it start? Here’s an oily rag! Right?

Look I realize I’m coming off pretty ignorant right about now. I realize that. Let me extend an olive branch then, okay?

I realize that there are some animal guys out there. Horrible guys, you know, have a rough day at the factory, come home – ‘tuna casserole?’ – and just start swinging, all right? I’m not trying to say that those people don’t exist. I realize that they exist. They should be buried underneath the prison. Okay?

So if I can admit that, ladies, can you at least admit that every ass-kicking doesn’t just fall out of the freakin’ sky? Really?

Even hockey has two minutes for instigating!”

If he was on fire I'd find gasoline but a great hockey player.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Bobby Hull
 

And off topic in (near) record time- perfect. We are in a sports forum
and Bobby Hull was a monumentally talented, productive player who
just died. Geez. Start a smear thread somewhere else...

Again, RIP Golden Jet.

Trent King

Wow! I had missed this and didn't realize that he had died.

Besides loving and playing hockey, I grew up playing "Bobby Hull Hockey".

A friend and I had the pleasure of getting his autograph as at show last April. And it was truly a pleasure. I still smile and chuckle about it every time I think of it. He truly seemed to be enjoying himself and having a good time.