Hall of Famer Bobby Hull dies at age 84

(AP Photo/les)

Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, a 12-time All-Star and two-time Hart Trophy winner, has died at age 84, the Chicago Blackhawks announced Monday.

He played 15 seasons in Chicago and is the team’s all-time leader in goals scored with 604. Hull won back-to-back Hart Memorial Trophies as the league’s most valuable player in 1964-65 and 1965-66, when he won the NHL scoring title for the third time in his career.

In 1972, Hull signed the first $1 million contract in the history of professional hockey, leaving the Blackhawks and the NHL to join the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA as a player/coach.

He announced his retirement during the 1978-79 season but returned the next season after the WHA merged with the NHL. He played 18 games with the Jets in 1979-80 and was traded to the Hartford Whalers, playing nine games for the team before retiring again.

Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. His son Brett also is in the Hall of Fame, inducted in 2009 after a 19-season career. Bobby and Brett Hull are the only father and son to each win the Hart Trophy.