My memory is a bit fuzzy on this, but I saw Hull in either his rookie or second season when I went to my first Rangers game at the old MSG on 8th Avenue between 49th and 50th Sts. I know it was 1958 as still have the program from that game buried somewhere in the attic, but whether it was 57-58 his rookie season or 58-59 I don't recall. Can say that as a hockey-smitten kid, teen, and adult (I eventually covered NY/NJ NHL teams for a big city newspaper) I saw him play quite often. Scary shot. Big presence. We used buy $3 standing room tickets to old MSG and then scout out empty seats to sneak into between the first and second periods. If we were sitting at either end of arena somewhat above ice level, we and everyone else would duck when Hull wound up for a slap shot. Kind of the like the air raid drills we did in school.
Have never recovered from the drama of Game 7 of the 1971 semis, which followed the 3OT game-winner Pete Stemkowski delivered for the Rangers in Game 6, a goal that Stemmer has turned in an ongoing career as a hero/commentator in NYC. Game 7 was tied 2-2 going into the third, and yes, guess who delivered the game winner for the Hawks.
And then there was this: Hull with a broken jaw wired shut in 1969, an invitation to open season on his face. John Ferguson RSVP'd with a fight.:
For several years now, the flights of Bobby Hull have been more and more turbulent. Ever since he started averaging 50 goals a year, in 1966, the superstar of
vault.si.com
.
Hull was shit as a person as we know, just as was the person he was often compared to in looks and impact in the late 50s-early 60s: the Yankees' Mickey Mantle. Funny how each of these Neanderthals unwittingly drove each of their sports into the modern era.
