Bobby Hull: An uncomplicated man with a complicated legacy

On the ice, Hull was, "a rebel for all the right reasons," and would be on any hockey fan's Mount Rushmore short list, but Hull's personal life sabotaged his accomplishments in so many ways

Even the Chicago Blackhawks were somewhat muted in their tribute to Bobby Hull. (Photo courtesy Chicago Blackhawks Twitter account)

On the 50^th anniversary of Paul Henderson’s goal that won the 1972 Summit Series, nine players from that team gathered at the Hockey Hall of Fame to celebrate their accomplishment. Brad Park couldn’t be there because of heart problems and Serge Savard said his good friend and former teammate Guy Lapointe was so riddled with cancer that he couldn’t get out of bed. “We were really conscious of it for the last five or 10 years, that this was the last hurrah,” said Ken Dryden, who was 75, but looked 65. “You can make an excuse for the 60^th, but that’s in 10 years. That’s a long time when you’re our age.”

Bobby Hull was not at that celebration because some small minds in the game prevented him from playing in 1972. But a little over a week later, Hull was at another 50^th anniversary to mark a different, but equally seismic, hockey accomplishment. On the other side of the country, in Whistler, B.C., former players were celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the formation of the World Hockey Association. It didn’t receive anywhere near the same attention or adulation as the Summit Series celebration, just as Hull’s death at the age of 84 likely won’t receive the universal outpouring of grief and fond memories that others such as Guy Lafleur and Borje Salming have elicited.