Stan Mikita

Stanley Mikita(bornStanislav Guoth;May 20, 1940 – August 7, 2018) was aSlovak-born Canadianice hockeyplayer for theChicago Black Hawksof theNational Hockey League,generally regarded as the bestcentreof the 1960s.In 2017, he was named one of the100 Greatest NHL Players. In 1961, he became the first Slovak-born player to win theStanley Cup.

Stan Mikita
Hockey Hall of Fame,1983
Mikita with theChicago Black Hawks,1960s
Born	(1940-05-20)May 20, 1940 Sokolče,Slovak Republic
Died	August 7, 2018(2018-08-07)(aged 78) Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	169 lb (77 kg; 12 st 1 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Chicago Black Hawks
National team	Canada
Playing career	1958–1980

Early life

Mikita was born as Stanislav Guoth inSokolče,Slovak Republic,during the brief period it was in existence as aclient stateofNazi Germany.He was raised in a small farming community until 1948,when he moved toSt. Catharines,Ontario. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Anna and Joe Mikita, who had emigrated from Slovakia to Canada 20 years earlier and were childless. They came to Czechoslovakia to visit the Guoth family before Christmas in 1948 and took the 8-year-old Stan with them when they went back to Canada. His parents believed that there was a brighter future for him in Canada than in thenCommunist Czechoslovakia,whose borders (including the area of Slovakia) had been reinstated at the end of World War II. His aunt and uncle also gave him their surname, and he anglicized his first name to Stanley. He attended high school atSt. Catharines Collegiate.

Playing career

After three starring junior seasons with theSt. Catharines Teepeesof theOntario Hockey Association,Mikita was promoted to the parent Chicago Black Hawks in1959–60.In his second full year, in1961,the Black Hawks won their thirdStanley Cup.The young centre led the entire league in goals during the playoffs, scoring a total of six.

The following season was his breakout year. Mikita became a star as centre of the famed "Scooter Line", with right wingKen Wharramand left wingersAb McDonaldandDoug Mohns.Combining skilled defense and a reputation as one of the game's best faceoff men using his innovative curved stick, Mikita led the league in scoring four times in the decade, tyingBobby Hull'syear-oldsingle-season scoring mark in1966–67with 97 points(a mark brokentwo years laterby former teammatePhil Espositoand currently held byWayne Gretzky).The1967–68season, an 87-point effort from Mikita, was the last year a Chicago player won the scoring title untilPatrick Kane's 106-point2015–16season.

In his early years, Mikita was among the mostpenalizedplayers in the league, but he then decided to play a cleaner game and went on to win theLady Byng Memorial Trophyfor particularly sportsmanlike conduct combined with excellence twice. Mikita's drastic change in behavior came after he returned home from a road trip. His wife told him that while their daughter, Meg, was watching the Black Hawks' last road game on television, she turned and said, "Mommy, why does Daddy spend so much time sitting down?"The camera had just shown Mikita in the penalty box again.

During his playing career, in 1973, Mikita teamed up with Chicago businessman Irv Tiahnybik to form theAmerican Hearing Impaired Hockey Association(AHIHA), to bring together deaf and hard-of-hearing hockey players from all over the country, and he founded the Stan Mikita School for the Hearing Impaired, inspired by a friend's deaf son who was an aspiring goalie. He also helped bring theSpecial Olympicsto Chicago, bringing his family out to volunteer at races.

Internationally, Mikita played two games of theSummit Seriesin 1972 for Canada againstSoviet Union,both of them in Canada, as well as two exhibition games also during the Summit Series, one against Sweden in Stockholm and one against Czechoslovakia in Prague. He also played several exhibition games for Czechoslovakia in summer 1967 when he came to his country of origin to visit his family.

Curved stick use

Mikita and teammate Bobby Hull were a well-known forward duo in the 1960s, gaining notoriety for using sticks with curved blades.Such sticks gave a comparative advantage to shooters versus goaltenders. As a result, the NHL limited blade curvature to ½ "in 1970.Mikita reportedly began the practice after his standard stick got caught in a bench door, bending the blade before he hit the ice; he soon was borrowing a propane torch from team trainers to create a deliberate curve.

Mikita was also one of the first players to wear a helmet full-time, after a December 1967 game in which an errant shot tore a piece off one of his ears (it was stitched back on).

Retirement

Mikita in 2009

Mikita's later years were marred by chronic back injuries, leading to his retirement as an active player on April 14, 1980.At that time, onlyGordie HoweandPhil Espositohad scored more points in the NHL, and just six players had appeared in more games. Mikita was inducted into theHockey Hall of Famein 1983,and into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

After retiring, Mikita became a golf pro atKemper Lakes Golf Club.His other business interests, under Stan Mikita Enterprises, included making the small plastic sauce containers that accompany chicken nuggets at McDonald's.He owned Stan Mikita's Village Inn in the 1960s and 1970s, located in the Oakbrook Shopping Center, Oak Brook, Illinois.

Mikita provided the foreword to the children's bookMy Man Stanby Tim Wendel.Mikita is featured as a main character in the book.

He became a goodwill ambassador for the Blackhawks' organization,and in fall of 2011, the Blackhawks raised a statue honouring Mikita at Gate 3½ at Chicago'sUnited Center.For three decades the Blackhawks Alumni Association has hosted an annual golf tournament named in Mikita's honour.

As of January 2022,Mikita ranks 15th in regular-season points scored in the history of the NHL,and just three other players (Steve Yzerman,Alex Delvecchio,andNicklas Lidström) have appeared in more gameswhile playing for only one teamover their careers.

Mikita appeared as himself in a cameo role in the 1992 filmWayne's World,which featured a "Stan Mikita"doughnutshop, spoofing the Canadian doughnut chainTim Hortons(co-founded by Hockey Hall of Fame memberTim Horton).A restaurant named "Stan Mikita's" and closely resembling the movie's version opened in 1994 at the Virginiaamusement parkKings Dominionand atParamount Carowindsin Charlotte.

Illness and death

Mikita's gravestone

On May 24, 2011, Mikita was diagnosed withoral cancerand began external beam radiation therapy.On January 30, 2015, theChicago Tribunereleased this statement from his wife: "Stan has been diagnosed with suspectedLewy body dementia,a progressive disease, and was under the care of compassionate and understanding care givers ".In June, 2015, it was stated that Mikita had no memory of his former life and was being cared for by his wife Jill.

Mikita died at the age of 78 on August 7, 2018. He was survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren.Mikita’s ashes are interred at Bronswood Cemetery in Oak Brook, Illinois. On September 14, 2019, it was reported by the Boston University CTE Center, that upon performing a posthumous study of Mikita's brain, it was found that he suffered from stage 3chronic traumatic encephalopathy,or CTE, at the time of his death.This marked Mikita as the first Hall of Famer to ever have been diagnosed with the disease.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1956–57	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA		52	16	31	47	129		14	8	9	17	44
1957–58	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA		52	31	47	78	146		8	4	5	9	46
1958–59	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA		45	38	59	97	197		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		3	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		67	8	18	26	119		3	0	1	1	2
1960–61	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		66	19	34	53	100		12	6	5	11	21
1961–62	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	25	52	77	97		12	6	15	21	19
1962–63	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		65	31	45	76	69		6	3	2	5	2
1963–64	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	39	50	89	146		7	3	6	9	8
1964–65	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	28	59	87	154		14	3	7	10	53
1965–66	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		68	30	48	78	58		6	1	2	3	2
1966–67	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	35	62	97	12		6	2	2	4	2
1967–68	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		72	40	47	87	14		11	5	7	12	6
1968–69	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		74	30	67	97	52		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		76	39	47	86	50		8	4	6	10	2
1970–71	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		74	24	48	72	85		18	5	13	18	16
1971–72	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		74	26	39	65	46		8	3	1	4	4
1972–73	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		57	27	56	83	32		15	7	13	20	8
1973–74	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		76	30	50	80	46		11	5	6	11	8
1974–75	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		79	36	50	86	48		8	3	4	7	12
1975–76	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		48	16	41	57	37		4	0	0	0	4
1976–77	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		57	19	30	49	20		2	0	1	1	0
1977–78	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		76	18	41	59	35		4	3	0	3	0
1978–79	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		65	19	36	55	34		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		17	2	5	7	12		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1,394	541	926	1,467	1,270		155	59	91	150	169

Statistics via HockeyDB

Awards and accomplishments

• Ranked 14th all-time in points, 18th in assists, 31st in goals, and 40th in games played (at end of2017-18 NHL season)
• Won theHart Memorial Trophyas most valuable player in1967and1968
• Won theArt Ross Trophyas leading scorer in1964,1965,1967, and 1968
• Won theLady Byng Memorial Trophyin 1967 and 1968
• Stanley Cup champion (1961)
• Named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in1962,1963,1964,1966,1967, and 1968
• Named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in 1965 and1970.
• Played inNHL All-Star Gamein1964,1967,1968,1969,1971,1972,1973,1974,and1975
• Won theLester Patrick Trophyin1976
• The only player in NHL history to win the Hart, Art Ross, and Lady Byng trophies in the same season, doing so in consecutive seasons, in 1966–67 and 1967–68
• Was named toTeam Canadafor the1972 Summit Series,but only played two games due to injuries
• In 1998, he was ranked number 17 onThe Hockey News'list of the 100 greatest NHL players
• Mikita's number 21 was retired by the Blackhawks on October 19, 1980; he was the first player to have his jersey number retired by the Blackhawks
• Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983
• Mikita was inducted into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002
• The ice rink inRužomberok,Slovakia,is named after him
• In 2011, statues of Mikita and Bobby Hull were installed outside theUnited Center,where the Blackhawks currently play
• The first player ofSlovakorigin who won the Stanley Cup

See also

• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL players with 1,000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL players with 1,000 games played

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL,orEliteprospects,orEurohockey,orHockey-Reference,orLegends of Hockey,orThe Internet Hockey Database