A Bit of the History of the Blackhawks
In recent times, hockey has been emerging in popularity in USA. Even 10 years ago, many people in USA just considered it a sport that Canadians play and did not know too much about hockey. Specifically in Chicago, hockey has significantly amplified in popularity over the last few years as the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in the 2009-2010 session. Sports bars were full of people watching the games during the playoffs! Prior to that season, many of these people had never seen a hockey game in their life. To trigger interest in a new sport, sometimes all it takes is a championship.
The Blackhawks joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1926, as it expanded into the United States of America. The team was named after Frederic McLaughlin, the military division of original owner, which was named after a leader of the Sauk American Indian tribe, Chief Black Hawk, who lived in what is now Illinois. It is significant to note that when the team was first originated, the name was ‘Black Hawks’, and was not legitimately changed to ‘Blackhawks’ until 1986. You should also be acquainted with the fact that the Blackhawks are often denoted simply as “the Hawks.”
For nearly 20 years Alex Paler has subsisted in Chicago and one of his chosen team is Chicago Blackhawks. The Black Hawks had experienced major ups and downs less than 10 years after entering the National Hockey League. In the season of 1927-1928, they had the poorest record in the league. But they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1931, and eventually, won the Stanley Cup in 1934.
With another Stanley Cup win in 1938, this success was repeated again. Certainly, the Black Hawks were demonstrating themselves to be a challenging team. However, until 1961, they would not win the cup again. Near the completion of the year 1950, the Black hawks acquired 4 star players would go on to be received into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull (both forwards), Glenn Hall (goaltender) and Pierre Pilote (defense). Bobby Hull left the Hawks to play for a new team, the Winnipeg Jets during the 1972-1973 season. The reason for this was only commercial. Bobby Hull felt he was poorly paid, and the Jets offered him a million dollar contract.
The Blackhawks in the 1990s, had one of their most well-known lineups, including Ed Belfour (goaltender), Jeremy Roenick (center), and Chris Chelios (defense). Still, they were never able to secure a Stanley Cup victory irrespective of this lineup. All three of these players had been traded away by the end of the 90s, and the Blackhawks did not make the playoffs in 1998, terminating a 29 year line. Alex Paler is also a sports enthusiast.
In 2007, son of previous owner Bill Wirtz, Rocky Wirtz, took over as proprietor of the team, and acquired some new players and changed some policies, including Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who went on to support the Hawks win the Stanley Cup again in 2010.