Bobby Hull
With a blistering slap shot and golden hair flowing behind him, he was hockey's original jet-powered superstar, shattering scoring records and changing the game's economics.
1939–2023 (age 84)·Canadian ice hockey player·Birthday: January 3·The Silent Generation
Biography
Bobby Hull didn't just play hockey; he exploded through it. Emerging from rural Ontario, he brought a combination of raw power and breathtaking speed to the Chicago Black Hawks that the NHL had never seen. His slap shot was clocked at over 118 mph, a weapon that forced goaltenders to start wearing masks. Hull's blond mane and electrifying rink-length dashes made him the league's first true matinee idol, filling arenas and boosting television ratings. But his most seismic impact came in 1972, when he jumped to the upstart World Hockey Association for an unprecedented $1 million contract. This move shattered the NHL's monopoly on talent, drove up player salaries across both leagues, and paved the way for European stars to enter North American professional hockey. While his later years were complicated, his on-ice legacy is indelible: a force of nature who made hockey faster, more dangerous, and far more lucrative for those who followed.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Bobby was born in 1939, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bobby Was Born
The biggest hits of 1939
#1 Movie
Gone with the Wind
Best Picture
Gone with the Wind
Bobby's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1939Born
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1944Started school
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1952Became a teenager
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1955Could drive
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1957Could vote
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Turned 21
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1969Turned 30
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 40
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 50
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 60
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 70
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 80
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2023Died at 84
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
Key Achievements
- Won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP twice (1965, 1966).
- Became the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a season, netting 54 in 1965-66.
- Led the Chicago Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup championship in 1961.
- Signed a landmark $1 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA in 1972, revolutionizing player compensation.
Did You Know?
He and his son Brett Hull are the only father-son duo to each win the Hart Trophy as league MVP.
His slap shot was so powerful it reportedly broke the cheekbone of a goalie through his mask.
He was known for curving his stick blade illegally, a practice he defended as a competitive advantage.
He briefly had a cameo role in the 1975 hockey film 'Slap Shot'.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.”
