Joe Mullen
A New York City kid who defied the odds to become American hockey's first true scoring superstar, paving the way for a generation of U.S.-born players.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American ice hockey player·Birthday: February 26·Baby Boomers
Biography
Joe Mullen's story reads like a classic underdog tale from a forgotten hockey borough. Growing up in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, he learned to skate on the rink at Rockefeller Center, far from the traditional Canadian pipelines. His small stature led many to overlook him, but his hands and hockey sense were undeniable. After a standout college career at Boston College, he signed with the St. Louis Blues and immediately proved he belonged. Mullen was a pure goal-scorer, a right-shot winger with a knack for finding soft spots in coverage and releasing a quick, accurate shot. His career peaked with the Calgary Flames, where he won his first Stanley Cup in 1989, and later with the Pittsburgh Penguins, adding two more championships alongside Mario Lemieux. When he retired in 1997, he was the first American-born player to reach 500 goals and 1,000 points, shattering the ceiling for what U.S. players were believed capable of achieving in the NHL.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Joe was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Joe Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Joe's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
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
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Became the first American-born player in NHL history to score 500 career goals and accumulate 1,000 career points.
- Won the Stanley Cup three times: with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.
- Awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and high playing standard twice (1987, 1989).
- Inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
Did You Know?
He and his brother Brian Mullen are the first American-born brothers to each score over 200 NHL goals.
Mullen was originally drafted by the NHL's St. Louis Blues while he was still playing for Boston College in 1979.
He is one of the few Hockey Hall of Fame inductees who learned to play primarily on roller skates and outdoor rinks in New York City.
After retiring, he served as a long-time assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers.
“They said I was too small for the league, so I just kept scoring.”
