One of hockey’s most prolific goal scorers, NHL Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull – The Golden Jet — has died at the age of 84..Robert Marvin Hull Jr., was born Jan. 3, 1939 in Pointe Anne, Ont. and was 12 when he was first scouted by Chicago. He started playing with the team in 1957 at 18..Aside from all of his accomplishments, Hull is also remembered as being the first professional hockey player to sign a contract for $1 million or more when he jumped from the NHL Chicago Blackhawks to the WHA’s Winnipeg Jets. .The move increased, almost overnight, the salaries of the NHL’s best players in an effort to keep them from going to the fledging WHA..Hull’s jump to the new league was huge news and although some resented him for the leap, his Blackhawks teammate, Stan Mikita, once said he got down on his knees and thanked Hull and the Jets; his salary doubled almost overnight because of the competition..Hull was one of the best players of his time..In 1,474 games in the NHL and WHA, he scored 913 goals, compared to Wayne Gretzky’s 940 goals in 1,567 games playing in both leagues..Hull was the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a single season, setting the record of 54 goals in 1966 and breaking that by four goals several seasons later..In 1961, he helped lead Chicago to its first Stanley Cup in 23 years. He scored 604 goals as a Blackhawk, which is still a team record..The Blackhawks’ organization issued a statement upon news of his death.."Hull is part of an elite group of players who made a historic impact on our hockey club," the club said. "Generations of Chicagoans were dazzled by Bobby's shooting prowess, skating skill and overall team leadership.".Hull and Mikita popularized the curved hockey stick blade in the NHL, soaking the wooden blade, then bending it under a door and leaving it overnight. .His career spanned 23 years, playing for Chicago, Hartford and briefly, the New York Rangers of the NHL and the WHA Winnipeg Jets..His defection to the Jets in 1972 helped shatter the NHL's stranglehold on players, starting an escalation of salaries that now makes Hull's once record-setting million-dollar payday look like small change..He was regarded as the fastest skater in the NHL and led the league in scoring seven times in the 1960s. When he left the NHL in 1972 for the WHA, he was second on the all-time scoring list behind only Gordie Howe and Howe had been in the league for an extra decade..NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement called Hull "a true superstar with a gregarious personality."."When Bobby Hull wound up to take a slapshot, fans throughout the NHL rose to their feet in anticipation and opposing goaltenders braced themselves," Bettman said. "During his prime, there was no more prolific goal-scorer in all of hockey.”."We send our deepest condolences to his son, fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Brett; the entire Hull family; and the countless fans around the hockey world who were fortunate enough to see him play or have since marvelled at his exploits.".In 1978, Hull was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and his No. 9 jersey was retired by Chicago and the old Winnipeg Jets (who moved to Phoenix in 1996 and became the Coyotes before the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011 and reclaimed the Jets name)..His son, Brett became a star and Hall of Famer in his own right, playing for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis and Dallas Stars and is 25th on the NHL's all-time scoring list..Bobby and Brett each won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, becoming the first father-son duo to accomplish the feat. Bobby won in 1964-65 and 1965-1966, while Brett won in 1990-1991..Hull faced legal and family issues off ice..Married briefly as a teenager, his 20-year marriage to his second wife, Joanne, was punctuated with mental and physical abuse. Their 1980 divorce revealed episodes as disturbing as Mr. Hull suspending her over a balcony on one occasion and threatening her with a loaded shotgun on another..He was accused by his third wife, Deborah, of domestic assault and battery and was convicted of assaulting a police officer who intervened in a dispute with her in 1986. He also was accused of battery, but that charge was dropped after Deborah told authorities she didn’t want to testify against her husband, a state attorney told the Chicago Tribune. .His daughter, Michelle, spoke openly in 2002 that Hull would become abusive when he drank, and she became a lawyer for victims of domestic abuse in large part due to her father’s actions. .He was estranged from his five children, including Brett, who retired in 2005 with 741 NHL goals – 131 more than his father’s total. .In 1998, he was quoted making racist statements in a Moscow Times article, though he later denied them and said he planned to sue the paper. He openly said that he did not care if he was perceived to be a racist. .The NHL Alumni Association honoured Hull on Twitter..“(We) are deeply saddened to learn that Bobby Hull has passed away at the age of 84.”.“Hull was a driven player who always gave fans a memorable experience at every game and brought them to their feet. In his retirement, The Golden Jet was never in a rush to sign every autograph as an ambassador for the Blackhawks, one of his favourite accomplishments.”.“We send our deepest condolences to Bobby’s family, friends, former teammates, and Blackhawks organization during this very difficult time.”
