History of Chicago Blackhawks

Information about the NHL team Chicago Blackhawks.

Comprising one of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) five teams in the Western Conference Central Division is the Chicago Blackhawks, hitting goals in their black, red, and white uniforms. The Blackhawks play their home games at the United Center. Previously, the team played their games at Chicago Stadium, until they moved to the United Center in 1994.

How Chicago Blackhawks started out

The team started out as the Portland Rosebuds playing in the Western Canada Hockey League, until Major Frederic McLaughlin bought it in 1926 and transferred it from Portland, Oregon to Chicago, Illinois. Drawing inspiration from the 33rd Machine Gun Battalion of the US Army’s Blackhawk Division, which he commanded during the First World War (1914 to 1918), McLaughlin changed the team’s name to Blackhawks. With the Blackhawk Division being named after Chief Black Hawk, a Native American of the Sauk nation and an important historical figure in Illinois, the franchise is one of the several sports teams named after Native American icons.

Since its inception in 1926 as the Blackhawks, the team has already garnered 13 division titles and three NHL Championships. The team joined the National Hockey League in that year as an expansion team when the NHL management expanded its seven-team league to ten. The other two expansion teams were the Detroit Red Wings (then the Detroit Cougars) and the New York Rangers. These two teams were the Blackhawks’ co-members in a group of hockey teams called the Original Six. The Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs were the other three teams to form the hockey team hexagon.

The Chicago Blackhawks' glorious years

The franchise had its peak in the 1930s, playing in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 1931. They hit their first Stanley Cup Championship three years later by utterly defeating the Detroit Red Wings, also of the NHL Western Conference Central Division. Led by defense an Earl Seibert and goalie Mike Karakas, the Blackhawks grabbed the Stanley Cup Championship again in 1938, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs despite having a 14-25-9 win-loss-tie record. They won the NHL title, coached by their 12th head coach in 11 seasons, Bill Stewart, who, at that time, had already refereed in NHL and played as a baseball umpire in the American League.

Except for the team’s championships and participation in the NHL playoffs, the 1930s also witnessed a number of the Blackhawks’ players’ receiving of various awards and trophies. In 1932 and 1934, goalie Charlie Gardiner bagged the longed-for Vezina Trophy. Capturing the judges’ and evaluators’ attention with his remarkable work at anchoring the team’s strong defense, Gardiner was recognized as the NHL’s best goalie in both hockey seasons. Goalie Mike Karakas, on the other hand, received the Calder Trophy in 1936, getting recognition as the NHL rookie of the year.

The Stanley Cup and Hall of Famers

After their 1930s glory, the Chicago Blackhawks went back to play in the Stanley Cup Finals only in 1944, bringing along a three-member line in its force known as the Pony Line. With Doug Bentley at the left wing, Bill Mosienko at the right wing, and Max Bentley at the center, the Pony Line was labeled so because of these three players’ speed. All three of them eventually made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Their grabbing the Stanley Cup for the third time was blocked by their opponents, the Montréal Canadiens.

The years from 1945 to 1960 were almost dry for the Blackhawks. The team landed on the bottom spot in their division for 9 out of 16 seasons. They qualified for the NHL playoffs only four times within that 16-year period. Still, Max Bentley and Al Rollins both won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1946 and 1954, respectively.

In 1961, however, the team hit another winning goal that gave them their third Stanley Cup Championship under the direction of head coach Rudy Pilous. With the team featuring four pillar players, who were to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame eventually, the Blackhawks were able to soar again from 16 years of flying low. Stan Mikita at center and Bobby Hull at the left wing led the team’s powerful offense, while defenseman Pierre Pilote and goalie Glenn Hall anchored the team’s almost impenetrable defense.

The Blackhawks played again hoping to snatch the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1965, 1971, and 1973. However, the team lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962, and to the Montreal Canadiens in the other three tries. Tony Esposito, who was also to become a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, replaced Glenn Hall as goalie in 1969.

During this period (from the 1960s to the early 1970s), Bobby Hall and Stan Mikita received two Hart Memorial Trophies each, getting recognition as the most valuable player (MVP) of NHL.

The Chicago Blackhawks continued to qualify for the NHL playoffs in the next decades, though it hasn’t gotten another NHL Championship title since 1961. The team, however, also continued to be the home of a number of the most remarkable hockey players of all time, including Denis Savard, one of NHL’s top scorers in the 1980s, and Doug Wilson, who was also one of the toughest defensemen the National Hockey League has ever seen.

The Blackhawks’ Ed Belfour won the Vezina Trophy for being the league’s outstanding goalie in 1991 and 1993. Chris Chelios, on the other hand, bagged the James Norris Memorial Trophy for being the league’s outstanding defenseman in 1993 and 1996.

In 1992, the Blackhawks once again played in the Stanley Cup Finals, making a one-season playoff record for winning 11 games consecutively. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to keep their title as the defending champions by defeating the Blackhawks in the championship round.

Another dry season for the Chicago Blackhawks

The entry of the 21st century seemed to be yet another dry season for the Blackhawks, not longer qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs, except for a swift exit in 2002 after the first round. In February 2004, the team was hit by a media blow, with the ESPN naming it as the worst franchise in professional sports. Several hockey fans chose to go for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, who publicized themselves with the motto: "We Play Hockey the Old-Fashioned Way: We Actually Win." The Blackhawks’ lack of popularity among the Chicagoans was due to certain policies made by the team’s late owner Bill Wirtz, who was sardonically called "Dollar Bill." For one, he refused to have home games televised in Chicago, while increasing ticket prices to about $50 average.

Today's Chicago Blackhawks

When Wirtz died in 2007, he was replaced by his son, Rocky, who reversed most of his unpopular policies, allowing the Blackhawks’ home games to be televised. He acquired new players and was able to get back hockey legends Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Tony Esposito as ambassadors for the franchise. The three didn’t want anything to do with the team when Bill Wirtz was in control. In the 2008-09 hockey season, the Blackhawks tasted their first win since 2002, playing in the Western Conference. However, they finished three points short of the Nashville Predators’ who got the last spot.

With his strategy of bringing back Blackhawks’ well-loved icons to the team, Rocky was able to bring the team atop the NHL’s list according to home attendance. Today, the Chicago Blackhawks managed to bring an average of about 21,492 fans each game.