One Goal: Chicago's Resurgent Blackhawks

by Blackhawks Publishing, Bobby Hull (Foreword), Pat Foley (Foreword)

The Chicago Blackhawks have come back to life over the past twelve months by embracing the past, forging ahead towards the future with young players like Patrick Kane, and reigniting their fan base. One Goal is a Blackhawks official commemorative book that chronicles the revitalization of this Original Six franchise under new Chairman Rocky Wirtz and President John McDonough. It features captivating photographs from past and present, details of the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, profiles of current and former players, including Jonathan Toews and Glenn Hall, and legends Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, and Tony Esposito’s take on being re-embraced by the organization and their appointments as official Blackhawks ambassadors. From the 300 percent increase in season tickets to the fact that all home games are being televised for the first time in franchise history, Chicago is once again buzzing about hockey and long-suffering fans finally have something to cheer about. One Goal celebrates the new era in Blackhawks history and is a must-have keepsake for fans of all ages.

Genres: Sports

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2008

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a document of their rise into a dominant franchise in the NHL, this document is brilliant. Any winning team can look back on their past few years and say they were critical to their eventual success; what this book does is foresee their own success, success that arrived only one season after ('09-'10) the season the book was published ('08-'09).

The book celebrates all of the changes that happened in the franchise after owner Rocky Wirtz took over from his father, the Luddite who opposed televising Blackhawks home games for fear it would decrease attendance at home games. The team was young in age and to the franchise. Take this quote about Brent Seabrook: "Even though he has just three previous seasons of NHL hockey to his credit, he's one of the longest-tenured Blackhawks and has seen the team revitalized before his eyes." (110) Here's a play-by-play of the monumental turnaround for the organization:


Oct 5, 2007: Rocky Wirtz takes over. He puts Hawks on TV. Fans can watch rookies Kane and Toews.
Nov 20, 2007: Wirtz hires John McDonough (who had worked with the Cubs) as President. After his hiring, McDonough get bigger TV deals. He also invites back estranged Hawks legends Bobby Hull (estranged from the team for well over 30 years), Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito back as team ambassadors. This helps further repair the team's image for local fans.
2007-2008 season. Kane beats out fellow finalist Toews to win the Calder for most outstanding rookie. Hawks fall short of playoffs.
May 29, 2008: Hawks awarded opportunity to host the Winter Classic at Wrigley in Jan 2009.
July 2008. First fan convention.
2008-2009 season: The first season all Hawks games are broadcast. Announcer Pat Foley returns after having his contract withdrawn at the end of the 2005-2006 season by the previous regime.
Oct 2008: Joel Quenneville starts his career with the Blackhawks.
Oct 25, 2008: Record set for largest regular-season crowd, 22,690.


This book also takes time to pay tribute to several names in Blackhawks history. For someone who wasn't raised in a place that watched hockey, these write-ups explained the significance of some of the big names I know as a Blackhawks fan, but who came well before my time. Highlights include:


Stan Mikita. '58-'80. Retired number (#21)Hall of Fame. Stanley Cup Winning team in '61. Four-time Art Ross winner, two-time Hart Trophy winner (MVP), two-time Lady Byng winner. Has more games and more points than any other Hawks player. Credited with inventing the curved hockey stick. First Czechoslovakian-born NHL player. Was first in points among European-born players before being passed by Jaromir Jagr.

Bobby Hull. '57-'72. Retired number (#9). Hall of Fame. Stanley Cup Winning team in '61. Has more goals than any Hawk. Three-time Art Ross winner (most points), two time Hart Trophy winner (MVP), one-time Lady Byng winner (sportsmanship).

Pierre Pilote. '55-'68. Retired number (#3), co-retired with Keith Magnuson. Hall of Fame. Stanley Cup Winning team in '61. Team captain for eight years. Won the Norris Trophy (for top defenseman) three times.

Glenn Hall. '57-'67. Retired number (#1). Hall of Fame. Stanley Cup Winning team in '61. Won Vezina Trophy three times. Played 503 consecutive games! Calder winner (Rookie of Year) and one-time Conn Smythe winner (Playoffs MVP) for other teams.

Tony Esposito. '69-'84. Retired number (#35). Hall of Fame. Franchise leader in shutouts and career victories. Won the Calder (Rookie of Year) and set NHL record of 15 shutouts in a season, both in same season '69-70. Esposito won the Vezina Trophy (for best goalie by vote) three times. He also made numerous legal innovations to goalie equipment used today, including using a mask, adding a cage for eye protection, neck and head protection (though not yet a full helmet), larger glove and larger leg padding to help block. Also, at one time he used a net between his legs to block the five hole...until the made a rule preventing it.
(Extra source: http://www.legendsofhockey.com/Legend...)

Keith Magnuson. '69-'79. Retired number (#3), co-retired with Pierre Pilote. Spent a lot of time in the penalty box. His efforts after his career as President of the Blackhawks Alumni Association made him a humanitarian. Was killed by his vehicle's driver in a car accident.

MPH Line: Seven seasons, late '60s through early '70s. A third line that could produce points in an era when it was typically two offensive lines and one defensive. Made up of Pit Martin (67-78), Jim Pappin and Dennis Hull (64-77). Stanley Cup Finals in 1971 and 1973.

Steve Larmer. '80-'93. Calder winner in 1983 (rookie of year). Member of Hawks squad to capture President's Trophy in 92-93. Is in top five on many franchise records, but under-recognized. Teamed with Denis Savard in the 80s on the "Party Line," which holds franchise record of most points by a line in a season.

Bob Probert: '95-'02. An enforcer who finished with a career fourth in penalty minutes (3,300 in 16 seasons).

Tony Amonte. '93-'02. Led the team in scoring from '96-'00.



Where the book falls short as a historical document is how it paints too bright a picture, avoiding certain subjects. The biggest is how Hall of Famer Denis Savard (Retired number #18) is not present, though he's now a team ambassador alongside Hull and the rest. This is because at the start of the '08-'09 season when this book was published, Savard was fired as coach. It's all water under the bridge now, but his absence here was obvious to even me, a newer fan of the sport. This is almost made up for by the real talk analysis of each of the team's players, citing the ways they haven't met expectations in the past, while still arguing their continuing significance to the roster. Many were on the 2010 Cup-winning team; others were not (like Cam Barker, who was traded to the Wild before the trade deadline that season).

The other flaw of this book are that most of the photos are amateurish, especially when the one to three photos used are meant to represent a classic player's career. Quality of the photos aside, it is fun to see the Hawks players that went on to win one, two or three championships looking so young and baby-faced.