On This Date in Sports March 5, 1969: Hull 4:50
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks becomes the first player in NHL history to have four 50-goal seasons. The Golden Jet scores twice as the Black Hawks and New York Rangers skate to a 4-4 tie at Chicago Stadium. Bobby Hull, who had 50 goals in 1962, 54 in 1966, 52 in 1967, would set a record with 58 goals in 1969. He would have another 50-goal season in 1972.
Bobby Hull was on January 3, 1939, in Pointe Anne, Ontario. Blessed with great speed, Hull made his NHL debut at 18 in 1957 after playing with the St. Catherine Teepees in the Ontario Hockey Association. Hull became a star right away in Chicago, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Nicknamed the Golden Jet for his blonde hair and quick moves on the ice. Hull won his first Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer in 1960 with 81 points.
In 1962, Bobby Hull became the third player in NHL history behind Maurice Richard in 1945 and Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, once again winning the scoring title with 84 points. In 1966. The Golden Jet became the first player with more than 50 goals in a season, scoring 54 as he set a record with 97 points, and won the first of two Hart Trophies as the NHL’s MVP. Hull followed it up with 52 goals in 1967, winning a second straight Hart Trophy.
After a league-high 44 goals in 1968, Bobby Hull had his fourth 50 goal season in 1969, breaking his own record and finishing with 58 goals. Hull’s 50th goal came early in the third period when he slipped the puck past Gump Worsley of the New York Rangers. Bobby Hull would have one more 50-goal season in 1972. The following summer, he stunned the hockey world by signing with the Winnipeg Jets of the upstart World Hockey Association.
Bobby Hull continued to be among hockey’s top scorers in the WHA; he had topped the 50-goal mark in each of the league’s first four seasons. When the WHA folded in 1979, Hull rejoined the NHL as the Jets were one of four teams to join the NHL. That would be the Golden Jets' final season as he ended his career playing alongside Gordie Howe. At the time, two players were the top two goal scorers in NHL history, with Howe at 801 NHL goals and Hull with 610 NHL goals.