This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/31/2005.
Bobby Hull is perhaps the most beloved Blackhawk to have ever skated in Chicago. More importantly though, are the indelible marks that his career left on the game of hockey. Hull, the owner of the league's most feared slapshot in the 1960s, invented the idea of the curved stick, allowing players to put greater velocity on their shots. After entering the league in 1957-58, Hull led the previously dismal Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup Championship in 23 years with a brilliant playoff performance in 1961. The next year he became the third player in NHL history to record more than 50 goals in a single season, something Hull would do so four more times in his NHL career. In 1965-1966 he set a record for most goals in a season with 54 and rewrote the record in 1968-1969 with 58 goals. Hull was twice awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player. He joined the WHA Winnipeg Jets in 1972, and though his NHL career spanned only 14 seasons, his professional hockey career spanned a much longer 22. As a result, reviewing Hull's career stats necessitates that one recognizes not only the 1170 points he tallied while in the NHL, but also the 639 points he amassed while in the WHA, during which time he recorded four seasons of 50 or more goals and one in which he scored 77. On December 11, 1963 at Madison Square Garden versus the New York Rangers, Hull scored his 200th career goal using this stick. The "NORTHLAND" manufactured 51 inch wooden hockey stick has the black stamp markings "MADE BY NORTHLAND SKI MFG. CO. ST. PAUL, MINN., U.S.A", "NORTHLAND PRO", "GUNZO'S SPORTS CENTER BERWYN, ILL.", "LIE NO 5 1/2", "B. HULL" and "GLASS FUSED". There is also a number "9" written in green marker. The knob end has a thick layer of black tape wrapped around it. The blade has been wrapped in a layer of fiberglass and black tape. The stick shows nice game use with hit and puck transfer marks on the handle and on the black tape covering the blade. Accompanied by a LOA from Bobby Hull.