Chicago Blackhawks Legend Stan Mikita Dies at 78

Recently Chicago and the National Hockey League (NHL) lost one of it’s iconic superstars. More importantly, the world lost a true gentleman.  Chicago Blackhawks legend and Hockey Hall of Fame forward Stan Mikita passed away after a long illness.  Mikita spent his entire storied 21-year NHL career with the Blackhawks. He retired in 1980.   “Stan made everyone he touched a better person,” Blackhawks Team President Rocky Wirtz said. “Stosh will be greatly missed but never forgotten.” 

Hockey Hall of Famer Stan Mikita 

Mikita is generally regarded as the best center of the 1960s.  He remains the Blackhawks all-time scoring leader and all-time leader in assists.  Mikita is the first player in NHL history to win the Hart (League MVP), Art Ross (League Scoring Leader), and Lady Bing (Sportsmanship & Gentlemanly Play) trophies in one year and the only player to win all three in consecutive years.  Former teammate and fellow Blackhawk Team Ambassador Bobby Hull described Mikita as “Pound for pound, the greatest player who ever played.  He was tougher than a night in jail.”   In 1983, Mikita and Hull were both inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame together.

 

Mikita left a lasting impact on the game he played so well.  An errant shot during a 1967 game tore a piece of his ear of. Because of this injury, he developed his own helmet and became one of the first players in the league to wear one all the time.  When asked about wearing a helmet when the majority of NHL players did not, Mikita responded, “Next summer I want to be mowing the grass not pushing up daisies.”  Mikita was also a pioneer of the curved stick after watching how the puck moved differently after bending his stick in the player box door. 

Mikita’s fame reached outside of hockey circles.  He was an accomplished golfer.  However, much of his non-hockey fame came from the movie, Wayne’s World, which featured the fictional “Stan Mikita’s Donuts” as a hangout.  Mikita also made a cameo in the movie.

I first met Mikita when we worked together on several Stan Mikita Hockey Camps on behalf of the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA).  Inspired by the special needs of the son of a friend, Mikita started a hockey school for hearing impaired players in 1973, enlisting his teammates as fellow teachers.  “This has become an important part of my life,” said Mikita.  “We call it a hockey school, but it is really a whole lot more than that.  The way I look at it, these kids have been rejected so many times in their lives.  You know how cruel kids can be.  We like to think we can help them believe in themselves.”  I was asked to put together some teams to scrimmage AHIHA camp players as part of the camp. I remember one year I brought in a team of 8-10 years for a scrimmage game.  The game was close, both teams traded the lead and ultimately it went into overtime.  Frankly, I don’t remember who won but all the kids had a blast. In Mikita’s eyes all the players were the same, hearing or no. 

Mikita Started the Stan Mikita Hockey Camps for Hearing Impaired Players

Mikita and Hull made sure younger players on the Blackhawks understood their responsibility to the fans. One day after practice Mikita went up to rookies Keith Magnuson and Cliff Korrell and said to come with him.  The rookies thought they were going out to lunch and a few beers. Instead, Mikita took them to a charity event at a nearby church, where the players spent several hours signing autographs and having their pictures taken.  “This is part of your obligation as a hockey player,” Mikita told the young players. “This is one of your responsibilities as a pro athlete.  You have to give back to the community.”

 

Mikita played during a different era for professional athletes.  Like Gale Sayers and Ernie Banks, he spent his entire professional career in Chicago.  He passed on a lucrative contract to play in the WHA, instead taking “a nice raise” to remain with the Blackhawks.  He was accessible to fans.  He mowed his own lawn, shoveled his own (and sometimes the neighbors) sidewalks, and pumped his own gas. Most importantly, Mikita reflected Chicago values of grit, loyalty, and getting things done.  In return, Chicagoans adopted this Slovak-born Canadian as their own.

Mikita Remains a Chicago Sports Icon

On August 12, 2018, the Blackhawks and Mikita family hosted a public visitation inside the United Center atrium.  A steady stream of Blackhawks fans, from near and far, passed through to sign a memorial poster and pay their final respects to one of the greatest athletes in Chicago sports history.  “Stan Mikita lived a remarkable live and was a wonderful man, respected and revered by many,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.  “He was one of the greatest players in NHL history and a Chicago icon.  He was a pioneer of the game in so many ways.”

 

Thanks for all the memories Stan Mikita.