\’The Golden Jet\’ Bobby Hull was the most feared goal scorer of the\’60\’s and\’70\’s and arguably the greatest left wing to ever play professional hockey. Along with teammate Stan Mikita, Hull made the Chicago Blackhawks one of the NHL\’s true offensive powerhouses. He and Mikita were the first NHL players to use curved stick blades, which made his already wicked slapshot even more difficult to stop. This was a very significant development in pro hockey, and now its rare to find a player that plays with the flat stick blade that was once commonplace before Hull and Mikita\’s revolutionary modification.

Born in rural Belleville, Ontario Hull rose quickly through the ranks of junior hockey and by the time he was 18 had joined the NHL\’s Chicago Blackhawks. He was a very effective rookie, and by his third year in the league was leading the NHL in scoring. In\’61, he played an important role in the Blackhawks\’ Stanley Cup championship victory.

Hull made history in\’66 by becoming the first player to score more than 50 goals in a season. His 51st goal surpassed Montreal Canadiens\’ legends Bernie Boom Boom Geoffrion and Maurice Rocket Richard and earned him a 7 minute standing ovation from the home crowd at Chicago Stadium.

In\’72, Hull signed a then unprecedented deal to jump to the upstart World Hockey Association (WHA). His compensation included a $1 million US signing bonus which all of the league\’s owners contributed to realizing the significance of landing Hull in terms of publicity and credibility.

The NHL attempted to prevent Hulls jump to the WHA via litigation, but eventually he would join the Winnipeg Jets and resume his offensive dominance. On a line with Swedish superstars Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg called The Hot Line, he led the Jets to two league championship AVCO Cup victories. In\’77, he set a new professional hockey record with 77 goals in a season which surpassed Phil Espositos\’70-71 mark of 76 by a single goal.

Hull suffered from knee trouble throughout his career, and it eventually forced his retirement from hockey in\’79. He would play in a few games for the Whalers before calling it a career. With the exception of an abortive comeback attempt with the New York Rangers in\’81 that was the end of his professional hockey career.

Hull\’s legacy lived on in flesh and blood with his third son, Brett Hull. The Hulls are the only father/son combination to ever score 50 goals in an NHL season and Brett will follow his father into the Hall of Fame this year.

Now 70 years old, Hull is still in good health and splits his time between Ontario and Chicago. He currently serves as a PR ambassador for the Blackhawks organization. He is expected to formally induct his son into the Hall of Fame at the ceremonies later this summer.