Glenn Hall

Though the Blackhawks struggled throughout the 1950s and, in fact, the league had a special draft to stock it with players, Hall and some of the "banished" quality players arrived in Chicago at the right time. The Hawks were building around such up-and-coming stars as forwards Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, and defenseman Pierre Pilote.

Hall's consecutive-game streak, which started in Detroit, gathered steam in Chicago. "During those years, Glenn Hall was a durable superstar for the Hawks," McFarlane wrote. "Season after season, he never missed a game … He did miss a few preseason games, however; every fall, he'd report to camp as late as possible. 'I'm painting my barn,' was his excuse when the (general) manager called, pleading for him to report. 'Glenn's either got the best-painted barn in Saskatchewan or he's the slowest painter on earth,' the manager would tell reporters."

Hall's streak finally ended on November 7, 1962, when his back tightened up while he allowed a goal to Boston's Murray Oliver at Chicago Stadium. Out he came, and a string of more than 30,000 consecutive minutes in the net ended. (Doug Jarvis, who played center for the Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers, owns hockey's longevity mark at 964. It ended only when the Whalers—now the Carolina Hurricanes—sent him to the minors in 1987).

In 1961, the Hawks finished third in the regular season, and drew in the opening round of the playoffs the first-place Canadiens, who were going for their sixth straight Stanley Cup championship. Montreal's five in a row is still pro hockey's benchmark. The series turned in the third game, when Murray Balfour's goal gave host Chicago a 2-1 victory in triple overtime and a 2-1 series lead. Hall had lost his shutout when Henri Richard tied the game in the dying seconds of regulation play, but the goalie got his revenge against Richard in overtime, stopping the "Pocket Rocket" on a breakaway. Hall recorded 3-0 shutouts in games five and six as Chicago advanced. "The Habs' dynasty was over," McFarlane wrote. "It was one of hockey's greatest upsets."

Chicago also broke a 2-2 series tie in the final against Hall's old team, the Red Wings, capturing its first championship since 1938 with a 5-1 win in game six in Detroit's Olympia. "What a sweet feeling!" Hall wrote in his foreword to McFarlane's book. "There is no sense of accomplishment quite like it."

To this day, it is the Blackhawks' last championship, though Hall backstopped Chicago to appearances in the 1962 and 1965 finals. In 1967, as hockey teams began alternating goalies, Hall and teammate Denis DeJordy shared the Vezina Trophy, as Chicago's goals-against was the best in the league.