My Bobby Hull Autograph Signing Experience 02/20/10

As some of you already know, last Saturday I took three of my kids to a Bobby Hull autograph signing at Hawk Ford car dealership in Oak Lawn on Chicago's south side. The signing was supposed to be between 1-3pm. We arrived at 1 o'clock and an employee tried to turn us away as I pulled into the parking lot because they were way over the limit. I played the "kid card" and told him that we had just driven in from Rockford (which was a total lie). He was cool and let us by. We were last in a line that went out the door and wrapped around the building. I figured "this ain't so bad" until I looked through the smoked glass windows and realized that there were at least 500 more people inside. This could take a while..

(click on photos to enlarge)

Outside, magpie Tommy Hawk kept coming by and terrorizing my 3 yr old son, who was having none of it. Also, one guy (probably about 40 yrs old) brought a Stanley Cup replica that he made out of fucking tinfoil and had it signed by Hull. (WTF? Dude! Move out of your mother's basement! I kept thinking of that line in Slap Shot "They brought their fucking toys!") He displayed "the cup" on top of this other guy's awesome Hawks Jeep. There are actually a few signatures on the hood. Lexus Club Seat parking at the UC? Fuck that. Give this man front row.

After about 2 hours and still outside, a man (whose name I would later learn was Jim) came outside and announced that "Bobby" would stay until everyone had a chance to get a signature. Cool. Soon after, we made it inside where you couldn't even see Hull amongst the mess. His table was also roped off, so there was no chance of getting a photo with him.

The line was moving slowly and the natives started getting restless. Complaining assholes were yelling obscenities and dropping f-bombs as often as Kopecky drops his helmet. A nice family atmosphere. I figured at least now I was able to put a face to the fucktards who yell "Shoot!" and "Campbell, you suck!" at home games. Maybe I had stumbled upon an Ozzie Guillen signing? South syyyyyyde!

I was able to work my way through the crowd and get this photo of Hull by holding my camera over my head. The gal in the foreground was yelling out numbers for the next group of 10 to get in line. The aforementioned ass-wipes were bitching at her so she finally just said "Screw it. Everybody get in line!" which caused instant mayhem. I'm sure a few fire codes were violated...

I'm not sure who this good looking young fellow is, but he seems quite happy to be legally getting his hands on a couple members of the Hawks ice crew. Hopefully his wife doesn't see this pic. At least he has his shirt on. (Are you reading this Madden??)

5pm rolled around and there were still hundreds of people in front of us. We had plans that evening, so unfortunately we needed to leave. Besides, my son was gonna need therapy if Tommy Hawk made him cry again. It appeared that the day was pretty much a complete waste.

On the way out, I worked my way through the crowd in front of Hull's table with my 3 yr old son. I noticed that the girl who had been sitting next to Hull had vacated her post (this was going to be a covert op). I told my son to go stand by Hull so I could take his picture. He slipped under the ropes undetected, until Hull noticed him sneaking up and burst out laughing.

Hull smiled for a photo and asked "What's the matter, you have to go?" I told him yes and he then inquired whether I had more kids. "Whaddaya got (to get signed)?" he asked. I told him we appreciated it, but "didn't want to piss off the angry mob." "Bring him over here," he told the girl who had returned and she put my son on her lap. Hull took off my son's hat, signed it, and shook his hand. My son wouldn't let go and it cracked Hull up again.

When my son passed back under the ropes, I told him to thank Mr. Hull. He turned and said "Thank you," but Hull didn't hear him, so he yelled "THANK YOU MISTER HULL!" Everyone around was laughing and Hull looked up and replied "See you soon, little buddy." You've never seen a kid's smile so wide.

The guy who had made the announcement earlier told me to give him what I had and that he would try to get it signed. I gave him my envelope which had paper-clipped notes attached to the photos of what I wanted signed on each. He said his name was Jim and gave me his number.

I had thought Jim was the sales manager or something at the dealership and I figured he'd forget and I'd never see the photos again. So I was expecting a letdown when I called him on Monday, but it turned out that he was in fact Bobby Hull's manager. He said that Hull had arrived at the dealership an hour early at noon and stayed until 8pm, even though he had an engagement in Indiana that started at 6. He still went to Indy afterward and made good on that commitment. Jim and I spoke for about 20 minutes. It was great hearing some old school Hull stories. Two days later I received two envelopes, one with my signed photos and another with a signed puck.

Now how cool is that?

Below are the signed photos (plus something at the end if you've made it this far)

Bobby Hull wore #16 since his first junior season with the Hespeler, Ontario Hawks during 1953-54. He was just 14 when a Hawks scout spotted him on an outdoor rink in Belleville. Many people don't realize that Hull wore this number for his first 4 years as a Hawk (1957-61). This was taken in 1960. Notice that he also signed the photograph as #16.

Signed:

Bobby Hull #16     The Golden Jet

Until about 4 yrs ago, I used to think that Hull posed for this photo in 1965-66 while on his way to a then record 54 goals. It was actually taken on March 25th (also my youngest son's birthday), during the 1961-62 season. That season, Hull switched from #16 to #7 and reached the 50 goal plateau for the first of five times in the NHL. You can barely see the #7 on Hull's sleeve, and of course, he signed it #7.

Signed:

Bobby Hull #7     1st 50th     03/25/62     H of F 1983

And finally, here's the familiar #9. Hull switched to #9 in 1962-63 in honor of his childhood hero, Gordie Howe. This quickly became one of my favorite Hull photos after I saw it posted about a year and a half ago by Killion. There are some great historical pics in that Google/Life Magazine archive if you haven't checked them out yet. I can't tell you how many people told me my photo was blurry when they saw this. Even the guy at CVS gave me this enlargement for free because he thought the printer fucked it up. Are you people serious? This is awesomeness!

Signed:

Bobby Hull #9     H of F 1983

Not much to say here... The puck.

Signed:

Bobby Hull #9     H of F 1983

And finally the pièce de résistance. I'm sure you Three Alcoholics have plenty of signed Hawks memorabilia, but I wasn't sure if you had an endorsement from Bobby Hull himself. Although I don't know you all personally, it's my small way of saying "thanks" for letting me take up space on your site and for giving a bunch of impassioned Hawks fans who "love to see ourselves talk" a place to refine our non-productivity skills. Just let me know who wants the original and it's yours. Here's to you, everyone who contributes to this site, and our beloved Hawks (except Kopecky of course).

Signed:

To All The Committed Indians at Second City Hockey

Best Always,

Bobby Hull #9

H of F 1983

Oh, I almost forgot. His manager Jim said that Hull laughed when he signed this. Jim was familiar with CI and said he wanted to check out the site.

Again, how cool is all that?