Bobby Hull

The infusion of new talent into the Blackhawks' line up did not pay dividends at first. Hull had just thirteen goals in seventy games in his debut season in 1957-58. The next season he improved his record to eighteen goals in seventy games. The 1959-60 season proved to be the turning point in Hull's NHL career. Hull shared the goal-scoring title with thirty-nine goals and led the league in total points as his forty-two assists gave him an overall score of eighty-one points. Although Hull was plagued by a knee injury the following season, he managed to score thirty-one goals in sixty-seven games; more important, he helped the Blackhawks to win the NHL championship, symbolized by the Stanley Cup, in a four-to-two-game series over the Detroit Red Wings. It was the first such victory for the team since 1938; the team had not even made the finals since 1944. Now hailed as "The Golden Jet" for his rapid plays on the ice as well as for his blond good looks, the feat turned Hull into one of hockey's biggest stars.

1960 was also a pivotal year in Hull's personal life. After a short-lived marriage as a teenager, Hull wed the former Joanne McKay, who had performed as an ice skater. The couple eventually had five children before divorcing in 1980. The latter event made headlines across North America for the allegations of adultery and spousal abuse leveled at Hull, including one incident that occurred in Hawaii in 1966. According to his wife, Hull had beaten her with a steel-heeled shoe before hanging her over a balcony ledge. She left him in 1970 but they reconciled and stayed together for another ten years. Joanne McKay Hull moved to Vancouver with their children and eventually remarried. After several years of estrangement, Hull started to rebuild his relationship with his children, who included NHL player Brett Hull. In 1984 Hull married for a third time; his marriage to Deborah Hull also made headlines when he was charged with assault and battery against his wife. The complaint was later withdrawn, but Hull pled guilty to a charge of assaulting a police officer who had come to make the initial arrest.