EDITOR’S NOTE

Bobby Hull was a heroic figure back when I was a kid.

I remember anxiously waiting for autographs one night outside the Olympia after Chicago visited Detroit. Many of the Hawks signed the front of my game program as they passed by on their way to the team bus. Hull was different though. He actually stopped and spoke to me, asking me if I had fun at the game. He flashed that megawatt smile and said “See you next time!” before moving on to the next kid, and every other kid waiting outside in the cold. I didn’t know at the time that that’s what he did every night in every town, but that’s the kind of guy he was.