Remembering Bobby ‘the Golden Jet’ Hull in Waterloo region
Though Bobby Hull will forever be remembered for the excitement he generated on the ice, the late hockey star also had a local connection, launching his junior hockey career in Waterloo region.
Hull played in Cambridge in the 1950’s with the Hespeler Hawks and the Galt Black Hawks.
“He had a connection to Cambridge in his young days and whenever a legend passes away, a lot of people admire him and hero worship him,” said Dave Menary, co-founder of the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame.
Menary said Hull was scouted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953 to play with the Junior ‘B’ Hespeler Hawks at just 14 years old.
He later joined the Junior ‘A’ Galt Black Hawks up until the 1954-1955 season.
“Most of his practices were at Hespeler Arena but he did play half a dozen games with Galt Junior ‘A’ Black Hawks’ team, which was based out of Galt Arena,” said Menary.
The Galt Arena is believed to be the oldest continually operating arena in the world, having celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Some memories of Hull’s time there are still showcased.
“There’s been a lot of players and people that come through here and ended up in the NHL with great careers and Bobby Hull was one of the biggest,” said Dean Bevan, supervisor of Galt Arena Gardens.
Despite Hull’s short stint in Cambridge, Bevan said he left a lasting impact.
“A lot of people were great followers of him. He had a big fan base and I’m sure they became Chicago Blackhawks fans,” he said.
Throughout his illustrious career, Hull earned the Golden Jet nickname for a reason.
“He was working on his slap shot that he became famous for in the NHL later,” said Menary.
Off the ice, Hull was also an all around athlete, playing football at Preston High School and competing in track and field at Galt Collegiate. It was at a meet, where Hull pulled his hamstring.
“There he is out on the ice not performing very well. They ended up sending him to Woodstock which had a Junior B team,” said Menary.
According to Menary, even though Hull was initially upset, he went on to win the All Ontario Junior ‘B’ Championship there, propelling his career to eventually lead him to the NHL.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.