Bobby Hull, the Golden Jet of hockey
Bobby Hull, the Golden Jet of hockey. Bobby Hull is both intense to watch and elegant in his style of play. There is something about this guy that makes it easy to see why he was given the nickname “Golden Jet.” He has all the qualities that professional athletes must have today, but also has a certain charisma which sets him beyond the game. His color, class, size, speed and forcefulness are unmatched in today’s game.
In terms of attendance and popularity, there is no player in hockey more beloved than Bobby Hull. Chicago fans are known for their hatred of opposing players, but it is clear Hull is equally popular in the rinks and the road. This is because the fans are willing to pay to see Hull on the ice and because he usually puts up points. He may have been a villain during his days with Chicago, but few players can say that their stats actually improve during their playing time on the road for rivals.
Robert Marvin Hull is 27 years old and is nearing to his prime. He has accomplished a variety of accolades, including four All-Stars, one Art Ross Trophy, one Hart Trophy, and one Lady Byng Trophy. Hull has scored over 300 goals in his career to date.
With goals in his fifth season, Mikko Koivu may have broke the NHL all-time record for most goals in a season. Joined by fellow Montrealers Maurice (Rocket) Richard and Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, Koivu has surpassed that mark and could surpass it even more by the end of the regular season, never to be eclipsed again.
Buffalo Sabres recently played a game in Toronto after winning the Stanley Cup a few weeks before against the Carolina Hurricanes. After they won, singer and actor Bing Crosby said, “Hockey is really something.” However, that Buffalo! Man, he’s something else.” And to the delight of hockey fans everywhere and in particular those who were on hand at Air Canada Centre, the scruffy teenager from Prince Edward Island is still the affable, agreeable, cooperative guy he was when he broke into hockey in 1957.
Hull never sidesteps the opportunity to sign an autograph for someone. He always signs a lot of letters after a game, sometimes with teammates urging him to finish signing off before he catches his plane.
Most of them ask for an autographed picture. Bobby’s wife, Joanne, helps him with it. They answer every one, Bobby said.
The word hobby is used to describe Hull’s rapidly growing herd of polled Hereford cattle – which have become more than a hobby and a business for him. They’re an obsession. Hull carries a picture of a Hereford bull in his wallet.
Lou Angotti, a teammate who came to the Hawks in a trade with the New York Knicks, says “If you want to get Bobby talking about the Hereford cows,” ask him about the farm.
When they were all on a bus, Bobby pulled out the photo of a bull and showed it to Adolph. “Hey, Lou,” he said, pulling out his wallet and fishing out the photo, “did you ever see such a beautiful bull?”
Bobby Hull of Beef Boys Inc. has done what many people in the farming industry have dreamed about. He has grown about 100 head and does not plan on stopping there. The company is now scattered over five farms with plans to expand to six by the spring, putting their total herd at 300 heads. Farmer Bobby grows all of his own feed and expands his operations each year.
Hull is still owned by the farm, growing and caring for their herd of prize-winning yearlings. Born in 1939 and one out of eleven children from his father, who also played hockey at Point Anne.
Young Bobby was on skates at the age of three. His father, Robert Hull Sr., said that young Bobby looked like a hockey player the first time he stepped onto the ice and was playing against kids 14 or older when he was 10 years old.
Hull’s skill and passion for the game helped him carry over from Junior B to Junior A, where he made a name for himself on his way to becoming one of Eastern Canada’s top prospects. While playing Junior A Hockey, Hull was introduced to Bob Wilson of Chicago, who would go on to discover him. The remainder of his career from here on out spanned the following summers with the Belleville Bulls in the OHL.
Hull was working for just $60 a week and attending school full time. He regrets not finishing high school as he would have rather done that when he was 18. It was too tough to even try to enroll in a school at the time, but this is one of his few regrets.
Bobby wants his sons to have the opportunities he never had. Hull has an amazing physique – thick and muscular muscles, broad back, biceps, and muscles that are bulging out of his chest.
Hard to move in front of him, one NHL defenseman said. He can hold you off with one arm, like a telegraph pole.
Hull has had a serious injury-free career, with the exception of his knee health. His teenage years were riddled with injuries and he even lost his teeth as a young player. Most recently, he’s been split open 200 times.
The rough tackle of Toronto defenseman Bobby Baun knocked Hull out for an extended period of time last season. He came back from the injury, but another hit injured the other knee. A knee injury this past season that caused Hull not to reach 50 goals in 50 games.
Hockey players tend to play through injures that would sideline other people despite the risks, such as breaking their nose with one of the errant sticks before game 3 and not having vision out of one eye for game 4. He played in these adverse conditions and scored 8 goals in that series.
Looking back at the time a few seasons ago when Hull was hit in the mouth with a stick, it left him bleeding from his mouth and unable to speak. The doctor asked to remove any wood still in Hull’s teeth, but said that he could complete the rest of the game without stitching up Hull. Then like in a movie, Robert Marvin Hull scored a great goal to win the game just before time expired.