Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Stan Mikita-Hockey Legend
Several years ago, one
of the Belleville McFarlands hockey players shared a story with me.
Many of the players had all kinds of adventure stories from their
days behind the Iron Curtain, in the country then known as
Czechoslovakia. Tournament games, played in 1959, took place in
Bratislava or in Prague. Players were followed everywhere they went.
Some of the players even managed to “give the agents the slip”,
driving them crazy as they attempted to monitor every movement the
players made.
The Macs player their
final games in Prague, and they were sold-out affairs. According to
the story I was told, the Canadian players were escorted into the
rink for the final game. A man near them did not have a ticket. The
Macs were told that he was, in fact, Stan Mikita's father. The team
buried Mr. Mikita in their ranks, and he managed to get into the rink
without a ticket. That was the last they saw of him.
Stan Mikita was born in
Sokolce, in the Slovak Republic. His name at birth was Staislav
Guoth. He moved to St, Catharines in late 1948, when he was 8 years
old. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle. Their surname was Mikita,
and that is how Stan got his name.
Mikita broke into the
NHL in 1958 after playing three years for the St. Catharines Teepees.
The Teepees were affiliated with the Chicago Black Hawks. He put up
good numbers for the Teepees in his three junior seasons, racking up
more than 200 points in his three seasons. He also had a mean streak
at that time, spending more than 100 minutes in the penalty box each
year.
Mikita continued to
play “with an edge” for several years in the NHL. After watching
her dad on television, Mikita's young daughter once asked her mother:
“Why does daddy spend so much time sitting down? (in the penalty
box) Mrs. Mikita shared the information with Stan, and he
completely changed his game, winning two Lady Byng Trophies as a
player who combined sportsmanship and excellence on the ice.
Mikita was one of the
first players to use a curved stick. He discovered it could do
strange things to pucks, using a slap shot. Bobby Hull adopted the
style of stick shortly afterwards, making goaltenders even more
nervous. In 1970, the league limited the curvature to 1/2”.
Mikita was an all star
for many years. But he always played in Bobby Hull's shadow. Hull was
more flamboyant, more friendly with the fans. Mikita was an
outstanding face-off man, and was the first Black Hawk to have his
number retired. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in
1983.
He became a “goodwill
ambassador” for the Hawks. Tony Esposito, Denis Savard, and Bobby
Hull also serve in that capacity. Mikita's statue is located at Gate
3 ½ at the United Center.
Stan Mikita passed away
on August 7, 2018.
James Hurst September
18, 2018
# posted by James Hurst @ 4:36 PM 
