On today’s date in 1966, Bobby Hull became the first National Hockey League (NHL) player to score more than 50 goals in one season.
Born in Point Anne, Ont., Hull quickly rose through the minor hockey ranks and then to the top of NHL. At the age of 14, he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks but wouldn’t enter the league for another four years.
In 1966, Hull became the first NHL player to score more than 50 regular-season goals in more than one season.
He eventually jumped to the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he was a two-time MVP with the Winnipeg Jets.
Hull scored 913 goals with 895 assists for 1808 points in both the NHL and WHA. In 1965, he won the Lady Byng Trophy for good sportsmanship and speaking out against violence in hockey.
When he retired in 1980, Hull’s #9 was retired by both the Blackhawks and Jets.
Hull is the father of former NHLer Brett Hull; together, they are the only father and son to score 50 goals in one NHL season.
Hull became the first National Hockey League player to score more than 50 goals in a season on March 12, 1966.
2001 HULL STAMP
Hull was featured alongside five other NHL legends on a souvenir sheet of six domestic rate stamps issued by Canada Post in 2001.
Designed by Stéphane Huot, the sheet includes lithographs of Jean Béliveau, Terry Sawchuk, Eddie Shore, Denis Potvin and Syl Apps, each with matching stamps.
The 47-cent Hull stamp (Scott #1885e) depicts the 12-time all-star in his #9 Blackhawks jersey.