"At the Winnipeg airport, another crowd awaited, and then another motorcade brought the troupe to the Fort Garry Hotel. Here Hull signed and then the clan departed for Portage and Main, the city’s busiest intersection. where a healthy throng watched The Golden Jet don his No. 9 jersey—Winnipeg style—for the first time."
The following THN Archive story by Bob Verdi takes a look back at June 27, 1972 - the day Bobby Hull signed his famous contract with the Winnipeg Jets.
(You can read all of THN’s new Archive by subscribing to the magazine.)
Bobby Hull Becomes a Winnipeg Jet
August 1, 1972 – Vol. 25, Issue 34
By Bob Verdi
Considering that the Chicago Black Hawks opened the summer in quest of fortification at left wing, one would have to say that their rebuilding blueprint struck a serious snag on the morning of June 27.
That was the day that Robert Marvin Hull, the most famous Black Hawk of them all, severed his 15-year ties with the Windy City Six and joined the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association. The fee for his transfer to the other network: $2.75 million for ten seasons.
Hull’s switch snatched from the National Hockey League the most electric and personable athlete it ever enjoyed, and deprived the Black Hawks of the best player they ever had and a public relations man par excellence. Plus, it brought the embyronic World Hockey Association a fair share of credibility, just one year and one day after word of its birth leaked out of Hollywood, Fla.
There was a tinge of Hollywood on June 27, too, when the Golden Jet signed the most historic of his many autographs and became a Winnipeg Jet. Hull’s contract—the largest known in sports history—was so prolific that it warranted an international extravaganza featuring motorcades, speeches, and of course, a cocktail party.
“This has been the greatest day, the great thrill of my hockey career,” beamed Hull, who couldn’t help looking prosperous over his windfall. First, he accepted a certified check in St. Paul, Minn., for $1 million from World Hockey Association Properties Ltd. This was Hull’s bonus for signing, and it was unconditionally his.
Then Hull and wife Joanne, plus three of his five children, plus a bevy of WHA officials, plus media folks, enplaned on a chartered flight for Winnipeg, where the 33-year-old Hull autographed the Jets’ portion of his pact: $250,000 a season for five years as a player or, if he wishes, as player-coach; and $100,000 a season for five more years as a member of the Winnipeg front office.
Besides Hull, the two most relieved gentlemen in the entourage were Ben Hatskin, the 54-year-old owner of the Jets, and Harvey Wineberg, Hull’s classy financial advisor from Chicago. This was the pair of negotiators who hammered out the detailed contracts—39 pages in all—which included provisions should Hull get injured, should either or both the WHA or Jets collapse, or should the Black Hawks sue (a strong possibility) and win.
“No matter what situation arises, Bobby will be well taken care of,” said Wineberg, who handled his pressurized tasks with so much dignity that he even earned frequent plaudits from the Black Hawks brass, notably President Bill Wirtz.
For the good-natured, roundish Hatskin, the Hull Happening provided a good last laugh. When he started the whole thing by drafting Hull, nearly everyone in the shinny world emitted loud giggles that this was all a stunt and, if Hatskin was indeed serious, he couldn’t steal Hull anyway.
“But we did it,” grinned Hatskin. “Didn’t we?”
Indeed he did, and the entire event was first class.
The day dawned with Hull wheeling toward a St. Paul private club in a 1934 Rolls Royce. Smiling, shaking hands and characteristically charming, Hull inked the WHA portion of his contract there.
It was consummated in the United States as a tax break to Hull. The maximum bite in America on the million can be half; in Canada, this “up front” bonanza could have dwindled by up to 70 percent.
Hull signed his WHA contract with 11 different pens—symbolic of the eleven other league members which contributed to the treasury to obtain Hull’s signature. Not all clubs chipped in equal amounts.
“Benny wants these pens back,” grimmed Hull at Hatskin. “He’s gonna sell them. He needs the money.”
Hatskin, delighted at it all despite his hollowed pockets, just smiled.
The procession then took off for Winnipeg. The chartered airliner was packed full, and it was not a 727. But Hatskin kept everyone in good spirits by popping for steak and champagne. And Hull made a point of thanking everyone aboard, not for anything in particular, but just because he’s that kind of guy.
At the Winnipeg airport, another crowd awaited, and then another motorcade brought the troupe to the Fort Garry Hotel. Here Hull signed and then the clan departed for Portage and Main, the city’s busiest intersection. where a healthy throng watched The Golden Jet don his No. 9 jersey—Winnipeg style—for the first time.
“I’m going to try my darndest to make the WHA go.” said Hull. “I think a number of other NHL players will come over before the season starts, and you’ll see some fine hockey. I sincerely believe that by the end of the year, we’ll have a few WHA teams capable of beating some NHL expansion teams.”
Hull stressed that, as good as the Winnipeg ofter was, he felt he might have remained in Chicago had the Black Hawk brass been more aggrssive in its desire to sign him. Wineberg, who declined to discuss at length the Hawks’ negotiation posture, said that a very fine offer was made to Hull (reportedly $1 million for five years). But Wineberg admitted that it was offered only two weeks before Hull signed with Winnipeg.
Hull signed with the Hawks at age 18, thus becoming the youngest athlete in the team’s history. After a couple of modest seasons—13 and 18 goals—he bloomed into a fantastic scoring machine which he still is today. He totaled 666 goals in a Hawk uniform, was the top active NHL scorer, and second only to Detroit’s retired Gordie Howe on the all-time list. Hull reached or surpassed the 50-goal mark in a record five campaigns, the last being last season.
The Saga between Hull and the WHA began late last November, when Hatskin confronted Hull in Vancouver, where the Hawks were playing he Canucks. Hatskin dangled $1 million for five years. There was some interest expressed by Hull, but under Wineberg’s watchful eye, the contract grew to is $2.75 million proportions over the next seven months.
Hull expressed delight at the idea of living in the wide open spaces of Winnipeg (he’s a farm boy at heart), and said his plans included moving out of Chicago during the summer and into a ranch “where the kids can have plenty of fresh air and freedom.”
“I have no regrets about leaving Chicago,” he said, “and I look forward to the challenge of the WHA.”
Meanwhile, the Black Hawks resumed—make that accelerated—their search for left wing help. But they’ll never find another Robert Marvin Hull.