Bob Pulford, a Hockey Hall of Famer who spent 30 years as a Blackhawks coach, general manager and executive in a variety of roles, died Monday. He was 89.<\/p>\n
The Ontario native had already enjoyed a lengthy playing career with the Maple Leafs and five-year stint as Kings coach before joining the Hawks in 1977, but it turned out his career was really just beginning. Over the course of the next three decades, Pulford had four different stints as Hawks coach and another four different stints as GM, frequently coming to the rescue as an interim fill-in option after abrupt firings during a tumultuous era for the franchise.<\/p>\n
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, but he still had one coaching stint and three GM stints ahead of him even at that point. \u201cBob Pulford was a towering figure in our organization and in the National Hockey League whose impact spans generations of the game,\u201d Hawks chairman Danny Wirtz said in a statement Monday. \u201cWhether coach, general manager, senior executive or even multiple at the same time, Bob wasn\u2019t afraid to serve in whatever role was most needed at the time and take on the different challenges associated with each that seem unthinkable by today\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we reflect on his life and legacy, I am particularly struck that Bob contributed to more than a quarter of the organization\u2019s 100-year heritage. We are grateful for his leadership and devotion to the sport, which will forever be part of our club\u2019s history. This is a tremendous loss for the Blackhawks and the hockey world at large, and on behalf of the Wirtz family, I extend our deepest condolences to the Pulford family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bob Pulford is the third-winningest coach in Hawks franchise history. Legendary Hawks players drafted by Pulford include Denis Savard, Jeremy Roenick, Eddie Olczyk, Troy Murray, Dave Bolland and Bryan Bickell. Pulford\u2019s long run finally came to an end in 2007, when Rocky Wirtz\u2019s first big move as Hawks chairman after Bill Wirtz\u2019s death was to shift Pulford away from the Hawks\u2019 day-to-day operations and into a vice president role within the Wirtz Corporation.<\/p>\n
Pulford had absorbed countless quantities of heat from fans and reporters by that point, but then-GM Dale Tallon was tellingly quick to offer praise. "[Bob] was very helpful, very positive when I came in with no experience as a general manager,\u201d Tallon told the Sun-Times. \u201cHe made it easy for me, as far as all the little things that had to get done and how to do them. He\u2019s been very influential in my life. He helped me get to a position where I feel comfortable in doing what I\u2019m doing.\u201d The NHL Alumni Association described Pulford as \u201cone of the most respected figures in the history of hockey\u201d in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n
He won four Stanley Cups and was a six-time All-Star with the Leafs in the 1960s, and he earned a Jack Adams Award as coach of the year with the Kings in 1975. Pulford was also the first president of the NHL Players\u2019 Union in 1967, where he played \u201ca key role in early collective bargaining and helping lay the foundation for the modern NHLPA,\u201d according to the alumni association. He\u2019s the third-winningest coach in Hawks history, although his 185 career wins trail far behind Billy Reay (516) and Joel Quenneville (452).<\/p>\n
Bob Pulford’s legacy will be remembered for generations to come, and his impact on the Blackhawks and the hockey world will never be forgotten. His dedication, leadership, and contributions to the sport have left a lasting impression on all who knew him and worked with him.<\/p>\n
Q: What was Bob Pulford’s role in the Blackhawks organization?
\nA: Bob Pulford served as a coach, general manager, and executive in various roles for the Blackhawks over the course of 30 years.
\nQ: How many Stanley Cups did Bob Pulford win?
\nA: Bob Pulford won four Stanley Cups.
\nQ: What award did Bob Pulford earn as coach of the year with the Kings?
\nA: Bob Pulford earned the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year with the Kings in 1975.
\nQ: What was Bob Pulford’s role in the NHL Players’ Union?
\nA: Bob Pulford was the first president of the NHL Players’ Union in 1967 and played a key role in early collective bargaining and helping lay the foundation for the modern NHLPA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Bob Pulford Bob Pulford, a Hockey Hall of Famer who spent 30 years as a Blackhawks coach, general manager and executive in a variety of roles, died Monday. He was 89. Early Career and Joining the Blackhawks The Ontario native had already enjoyed a lengthy playing career with the Maple Leafs and five-year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35025","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/af01de5\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1872x1069+0+22\/resize\/1461x834!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F7a%2Ff2%2F281672624a5a898d5f83c99ca919%2Fpulford-1.JPG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35028,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35025\/revisions\/35028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}