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46-712: Birmingham Bulls may refer to: Birmingham Bulls (WHA) , a defunct ice hockey team from the World Hockey Association and Central Hockey League Birmingham Bulls (ACHL) , a defunct ice hockey team from the Atlantic Coast Hockey League Birmingham Bulls (SPHL) , an American ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League Birmingham Bulls (ECHL) ,

92-652: A Thanksgiving Day game in Birmingham against the Cincinnati Stingers . That game started with ten players in the penalty box within the first minute of play. The Bulls won 12–2 and the game was dubbed by a newspaper as the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre". This was the only one of the three WHA Birmingham Bulls teams to qualify for the WHA playoffs. Facing Bobby Hull and the Winnipeg Jets , who went on to win

138-525: A defunct American ice hockey team from the East Coast Hockey League Birmingham Bulls (American football) , a British American football team Birmingham Bulldogs or Birmingham Bulls, a British rugby league team Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Birmingham Bulls . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

184-765: A minor league expansion team was established using the Birmingham Bulls name. They currently compete in the Southern Professional Hockey League and play their home games at the Pelham Civic Center , located 20 minutes south of downtown Birmingham. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull OC (January 3, 1939 – January 30, 2023)

230-455: A number of previously underage members of the Bulls eligible for the 1979 NHL Entry Draft . The Colorado Rockies used the first overall pick to select a former member of the Bulls, Rob Ramage . A total of four former Bulls were selected in the first round (including three of the first six picks), with another two Bulls being selected in the second round. The last active NHL player from the Bulls

276-438: A season with 97, one more than the previous record set by Dickie Moore 7 years earlier. His point total was tied the next year by teammate Stan Mikita and their record was broken three years later by Phil Esposito . Hull led the league in goal-scoring seven times during the 1960s. In 1968–69 , despite Hull breaking his own goals in a season record by four goals (netting 58) and setting a career NHL high of 107 points (second in

322-595: A season, surpassing Maurice Richard 's, Bernie Geoffrion 's, and his own mark of 50 goals. His 51st goal, scored on Cesare Maniago of the New York Rangers , earned him a seven-minute standing ovation from the Chicago Stadium faithful. Hull eventually scored 54 goals that season, the highest single-season total of the Original Six era. That same year, Hull set the record for the most points in

368-420: A total of 142 points, five behind the league leader, one of two times he finished second in the point-scoring race in the WHA. In the five WHA seasons in which he played more than half the schedule, he was voted a First-Team All-Star thrice and a Second-Team All-Star twice, while tallying 50 goals and 100 points four times each. Because he joined the rival league, Hull was not allowed to represent Team Canada in

414-560: A tribute to his childhood idol Gordie Howe . By his third season (1959–60), he led the league in goal- and point-scoring (the Art Ross Trophy ), a double feat which he also achieved in 1961–62 and 1965–66. He led Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961 —their third overall and first in 23 years. He finished second in point-scoring three further times. On March 12, 1966, Hull became the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in

460-409: Is the player typically linked most to the rule that banned this practice because of the potential danger to goalies, few of whom wore masks in that era. The curved blade made the puck's trajectory unpredictable. The rule originally limited the blade curvature to between 0.5 in (13 mm) and 0.75 in (19 mm); in 1970, it was set at 0.5 in (13 mm). NHL Rule 10.1 currently limits

506-583: The 1972 Summit Series , which pitted Canada's top NHL players against the USSR's national team . Two years later, a second Summit Series was held in which Hull and other top WHA stars (including Gordie Howe , who had been retired from the NHL at the time of the initial Summit Series) competed against the Soviet national team. The WHA lost the series four games to one (three ending in a tie), despite Hull's seven goals. He

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552-625: The Hartford Whalers for future considerations, bringing the two-time Gordie Howe Trophy winner together with the 51-year-old Howe himself (who, after Hull's initial contest with the Whalers, told the press, "The kid looks good in his first game."). Hull played effectively in nine games (two goals and five assists) and three playoff games before retiring once more to care for his partner, who had been injured in an automobile accident. In September 1981, Hull attempted one final comeback with

598-658: The Idaho Steelheads . Bobby Jr. and Blake both played junior and senior hockey. Bobby Jr. won the Memorial Cup with the 1980 Cornwall Royals . Later, the brothers played together for the Allan Cup -winning Brantford Mott's Clamatos of the OHA Senior A Hockey League (AAA Men's Amateur) in 1987. Hull's daughter, Michelle, was an accomplished figure skater, becoming British Columbia Pre-Novice Champion at

644-520: The Minnesota North Stars . His team finished last in the league, but was in the middle of a youth movement in transitioning from being overly physical to highly skilled and was known among the fans as the "Baby Bulls". Wayne Gretzky was heavily recruited by Birmingham Bulls owner John Bassett to be part of the youth movement. Bassett wanted to confront the NHL by signing as many young and promising superstars as possible and saw Gretzky as

690-716: The National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Chicago Black Hawks , Winnipeg Jets , and Hartford Whalers . He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player twice and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading point scorer three times, while helping the Black Hawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961. He also led the WHA's Winnipeg Jets to Avco Cup championships in 1976 and 1978. He led

736-528: The New York Rangers at age 42, at the suggestion of Rangers coach Herb Brooks , who wanted to try reuniting Hull with his former Jets teammates, Hedberg and Nilsson. The comeback attempt lasted five exhibition games, during which Hull had one goal and one assist, before he and the Rangers both decided it was best to end the comeback. It was the second time in Hull's career that he had played exhibition games with

782-685: The 1955 Sutherland Cup as Ontario champions. Later, he played for the Galt Black Hawks and the St. Catharines Teepees in the Ontario Hockey Association , before joining the Chicago Black Hawks in 1957 at the age of 18. Hull had a solid debut year, finishing second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy . Hull originally wore numbers 16 and 7 as a Black Hawk but later switched to his famous number 9,

828-503: The Birmingham Bulls joined the Central Hockey League , playing during the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons. The CHL team included returning coach John Brophy , and six players carried over from the previous season's WHA team, including Paul Henderson , Pat Riggin , Rick Adduono , and Dave Hanson . The team disbanded during its second season. Simultaneous with the merger, the NHL lowered its minimum age from 20 to 18, making

874-498: The Chicago Black Hawks for eight seasons, scoring over 300 goals in his own right. When Bobby was excluded from the 1972 Summit Series because he had signed to play in the WHA, Dennis initially planned to boycott the event as well as a show of support for his brother, but Bobby persuaded him to stay on Team Canada. Hull's marriage to Joanne McKay ended in divorce in 1980 after several abusive incidents. In 1986, he

920-467: The Coyotes, they unretired the number for Brett to wear during his brief stint there to honour his father. Evander Kane , who wore number 9 for the current Winnipeg Jets franchise, sought and received Hull's permission to wear the number. In 2003, he was named the figurehead commissioner of a new World Hockey Association , intended to operate during the 2004–05 NHL lockout ; it never entered play, and

966-629: The NHL in goals seven times, the second most of any player in history, and led the WHA in goals one additional time while being the WHA's most valuable player two times. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and received the Wayne Gretzky International Award in 2003. In 2017 Hull was named one of the ' 100 Greatest NHL Players ' in history. Off

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1012-618: The Rangers; in 1959, after missing the playoffs the previous spring, the Rangers and the Boston Bruins had been sent on an exhibition tour of Europe, and then-emerging star Hull and Eddie Shack were added to the Rangers' roster for the tour. Hull and Shack co-led the Rangers in scoring, each netting 14 goals over the 23-game tour. Hull ended his career having played in 1,063 NHL games, accumulating 610 goals, 560 assists, 1,170 points, 640 penalty minutes, three Art Ross Trophies , two Hart Memorial Trophies (he finished second or third in

1058-567: The WHA's greatest star winning the Gordie Howe Trophy as league MVP in 1972–73 and 1974–75. With Swedish linemates Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson he formed one of the most formidable forward lines of the 1970s (known as "The Hot Line"), leading the Jets to two AVCO Cups during his time with the club. His best performance was during the 1974–75 season , when he scored 77 goals to set a new professional mark, while adding 65 assists for

1104-542: The age of 11. After many knee injuries, she ended her figure skating career and is now an attorney licensed in two states. She works with battered women as a result of witnessing her father's treatment of her mother, Joanne McKay. The Town of Cicero, Illinois created a public outdoor rink in his name. The rink hosts skating lessons, public skate, public Stick & Puck, High School Hockey games, and more. On January 30, 2023, Hull died at his home in Wheaton, Illinois , at

1150-562: The championship, they were eliminated in the first round. During Sonmor's tenure as general manager, he successfully negotiated the first "cross-league" player trade with the NHL in a deal with the Detroit Red Wings . John Brophy , who later went on to coach the Maple Leafs, had joined head coach Glen Sonmor as an assistant for the second year in Birmingham. Brophy became head coach in the 1978–79 season when Sonmor joined

1196-412: The curvature to 0.75 in (19 mm). Long unhappy with his poor salary despite being one of hockey's preeminent superstars, Hull responded to overtures from the upstart World Hockey Association 's Winnipeg Jets in 1972 by jesting that he would jump to them for a million dollars, a sum then considered absurd. Gathering the other league owners together to contribute to the unprecedented amount on

1242-412: The grounds that inking such a major star gave instant credibility to the new rival league that was competing directly against the entrenched NHL, Jets owner Ben Hatskin agreed to the sum, and signed Hull as a player-coach for a contract worth $ 1.75 million over 10 years plus a $ 1 million signing bonus. Although his debut with Winnipeg was held up in litigation by the NHL, Hull instantly became

1288-592: The ice, Hull was noted for domestic violence allegations and allegedly making comments supporting Adolf Hitler . Hull was born in Point Anne, Ontario , on January 3, 1939. He was the son of Lena Cook and Robert Edward Hull, a cement company foreman. He played his minor hockey in nearby Belleville , and then Junior B hockey for the Woodstock Warriors in the fall of 1954. Hull led the Warriors to

1334-483: The league for their rough play. They set a team record for penalty minutes that stood for decades in all of professional ice hockey . They were often called the "Birmingham Bullies", a play off of the nickname " Broad Street Bullies " that the Philadelphia Flyers had earned years earlier, whose own record for penalty minutes the Birmingham Bulls had broken. This new approach to being the bullies debuted on

1380-839: The league in goal scoring (Bobby seven times and Brett three times). While playing for the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005, Brett donned his father's retired No. 9 for the last five games of his career. Bart Hull was a standout running back for the Boise State University ' Broncos football team and played with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as well as one season of professional indoor football prior to recurring injuries. Post football, he briefly played professional hockey with

1426-627: The league that year), the Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. By his final NHL season , he had scored 50 goals or more a remarkable five times. This was only one time less than all other players in NHL history combined up until that point in time. In his 15 full NHL seasons he was voted the First-Team All-Star left winger ten times and the Second-Team All-Star left winger twice. His slapshot

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1472-410: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Birmingham_Bulls&oldid=1137915960 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Birmingham Bulls (WHA) Prior to being in Birmingham,

1518-416: The most promising young prospect. Although Bassett failed to sign Gretzky, the Bulls included several future NHL stars at the beginning of their professional careers such as Rick Vaive , Michel Goulet , Rob Ramage , Pat Riggin , Craig Hartsburg , Gaston Gingras and Rod Langway , as well as a 36-year-old Paul Henderson . Even though his team was the only one in the league not to make the playoffs, Brophy

1564-405: The move to Birmingham, general manager, Gilles Leger coached the team for a few games until Pat Kelly was brought in to coach the bulk of that first season (1976–77) in Birmingham. In the 1977–78 season, former Minnesota Golden Gophers coach Glen Sonmor was hired to lead the team as head coach and general manager. Sonmor organized a very physical and aggressive team that was the most penalized in

1610-562: The organization subsequently ran several ephemeral low-minor league and unsanctioned Tier II junior leagues. Hull served as an ambassador for the Blackhawks through part of the 2021–22 season until the organization announced, "When it comes to Bobby, specifically, we jointly agreed earlier this season that he will retire from any official team role." Hull's younger brother Dennis (nicknamed "the Silver Jet") starred alongside him with

1656-812: The team was known as the Ottawa Nationals and the Toronto Toros . The Birmingham Bulls' name has been used for other hockey teams such as the Birmingham Bulls of the East Coast Hockey League and the Birmingham Bulls of the Southern Professional Hockey League . The Toros had been modestly successful on the ice since moving to Toronto before the start of the 1973–74 season and had drawn fairly well by WHA standards. However, onerous lease terms at Maple Leaf Gardens led owner John F. Bassett to move to Birmingham. After

1702-540: The third most of all-time after Wayne Gretzky (1,072) and Gordie Howe (1,071), although the NHL does not recognize scoring statistics from the WHA in players' career totals. In 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada . Besides his Hall of Fame induction, Hull's no. 9 jersey has been retired by the Black Hawks, the Jets, and their successor team, the Arizona Coyotes . When Bobby's son Brett Hull joined

1748-399: The voting an additional six times), a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy , and a Stanley Cup Championship, adding 62 goals and 67 assists for 129 points in 119 playoff games. He played in 411 WHA games, scoring 303 goals, 335 assists, and 638 points, adding 43 goals and 37 assists in 60 playoff games. His North American major league professional total of 1,018 goals (NHL and WHA including playoffs) is

1794-594: Was Michel Goulet and Rob Ramage, who both retired in 1994 as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers . In 2001, Rick Vaive came out of retirement to play in the Allan Cup Hockey until retiring in 2003. Major professional hockey has never returned to Birmingham, although the NHL returned to the South in the 1990s in a series of expansions and franchise re-locations. In 2017,

1840-482: Was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blond hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high velocity all earned him the nickname " the Golden Jet ". His talents were such that an opposing player was often assigned just to shadow him. During his 23-year playing career, from 1957 to 1980, he played in both

1886-616: Was a key member of the Canadian squad that won the 1976 Canada Cup , though, scoring five goals and three assists in seven games. Slowed by injuries and age, Hull played only a few games in the WHA's final season of 1978–79 . However, after the 1979 merger of the two leagues (including the Jets) and reportedly in financial straits, Hull came out of retirement to play once more for the NHL Jets. He played in eighteen games before being traded to

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1932-403: Was also a hockey star, finishing his NHL career with 741 goals (currently the fifth-highest goal total in NHL history). Bobby and Brett are the only father-and-son tandem to achieve the marks of more than 50 goals in an NHL season and more than 600 NHL goals. They are also the only father-and-son duo to win the Hart Memorial Trophy (Bobby twice and Brett once) and Lady Byng Trophy , and to lead

1978-515: Was arrested and charged with assault and battery after allegedly hitting his third wife, Deborah, after an argument. She eventually dropped the charges. Hull was romantically involved with a woman named Claudia Allen. In 1980, Hull retired from the Hartford Whalers to take care of Allen, who was injured in a severe automobile accident. The couple never married. In 1998, Hull allegedly made pro- Nazi comments to The Moscow Times . He

2024-620: Was awarded the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy as the WHA's coach of the year. The Bulls were not included in the NHL–WHA merger of 1979. Even without the WHA's insistence that all of its surviving Canadian teams be included, the NHL was skeptical about putting another team in the south due to the struggles of the Atlanta Flames (who moved to Calgary a year later). After the WHA ceased operations in 1979,

2070-411: Was once clocked at 118.3 mph (190.5 km/h) and he could skate 29.7 mph (47.8 km/h). During his drive to be the first to eclipse the 50 goal mark, Hull's wrist shot was said to be harder than his slapshot . Hull and teammate Stan Mikita were catalysts for a 1960s craze where players curved the blades of their hockey sticks, which became widely referred to as "banana blades". Hull

2116-446: Was quoted as saying, " Hitler , for example, had some good ideas. He just went a little bit too far." Hull later denied having complimented Hitler and said journalists had raised the subject. The incident was parodied on the Canadian news satire show This Hour Has 22 Minutes , with Rick Mercer reading a spot saying Hull had been misquoted, and had actually said, " Sittler had some good ideas." Brett Hull (the "Golden Brett"),

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