Posted on 08/07/2018 3:19:13 PM PDT by airborne
Stan Mikita, arguably the greatest player in Blackhawks history, died Tuesday after a long illness. He was 78.
“There are no words to describe our sadness over Stan’s passing,” the team said in a statement. “He meant so much to the Chicago Blackhawks, to the game of hockey, and to all of Chicago.”
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Stan was also an assistant pro golfer at Kemper lakes when it was being built.
And had you been lucky enough to be born on the South Side (and lived to tell about it!), you could add Billy Pierce, Minnie Minuses and Nellie Fox to the list.
But I do have to agree with the rest of your list, especially Ernie Banks, despite my antipathy for the Cubbies. And I’m still amazed the Bears were able to get Butkus and Sayers in the same draft (having had the good sense to pass on Tucker Fredrickson) - and then never win anything with them.
Minuses?
RIP.
RIP. Growing up in Chicago, south side, he was a hero to many, My favorite Blackhawks player. Prayers up for him and his family.
Yes we survived, 111th and Avenue M.
How about it. The only player in the history of the NHL to win the trifecta all in one season. And then he does it again the next year. Truly a remarkable player and person...
..saw him play once in early 70s. Great hands. Bobby Hull was power Stan was precision. RIP
Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull revolutionized the game of hockey. Back in the day, hockey sticks blades were straight. One day with about 20 minutes left for practice, the blade on Mikita’s stick broke, he didn’t want to have to go down stairs to the locker to get another stick so he got some duc tape and taped it up. When he taped it up the blade was curved. He was skating all over the ice with the puck and nobody could take it from him. Mikita noticed he could control the puck much easier with the curve in the stick.
Then after practice he tried to break the stick with slap shots. Bobby Hull was watching him from the bench and noticed the puck was raising up to the top of the net. Before the curved stick most slap shots only traveled about knee high. And the two of then talked after practice about bending a stick.
At first they broke a few sticks and then Mikita remembered to bend wood, you need to soak it in water for a few hours. So they stayed late and soaked a stick in water for a while and stuck the blade under a door and held it up with a chair. The next day the blade on the stick was curved. But Bobby Hull was a lefty so he did the same thing the next night for a lefty. Now Bobby Hull at the time had the hardest slap shot in the NHL. Goalies who didn’t wear mask back then were seeing pucks shot at them at 100 MPH’s coming right for their head from the blue line. How terrifying would that be? Although Bobby Hull had a huge banana curve and his shots would fly upward. So the NHL put a restriction on the curve...you can only have a one inch curve on the blade of your stick. And the game has never been the same since....
My second favourite Blackhawk after Tony Esposito, and still in my top 10 list of favourite players. Gretzky, Messier, Cournoyer, Belliveau, Keon, Sittler, Howe, Sakic.
Condolences to family and friends of Stan Mikita. One of the greats from hockey.
East Side! Annunciata? Washington or De Sales?
It was only a few years ago I learned Pat Sajak grew up on the East Side - explains a lot, particularly how he’s such a straightforward, stand-up guy.
(PS - I used to work at Republic)
Announcing and Washington. Dad worked 37 1/2 years at republic
Too bad, because if you were a Sox fan instead, your list would be twice as big as it is now. /s
Congrats on the WS win.
Neato - gotta admire your dad; it takes a real man to survive 37+ years in the mills.
Mikita makes some excellent power tools... I know, just foolin’.
He was in the 11 inch as I recall. Yes tough Serb.
RIP, Stan...thanks for the memories. Now you are doing pick-up games in the sky...:)
Czech. Inspired Jagr, Hasek, and a host of other Cz. hall of famers
Jesus saves. And Perrault scores on the rebound
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