Positive Protection

ICE HOCKEY

At 5 ft. 10 1/2 in. and 195 lbs., the Chicago Black Hawks' Bobby Hull has been called the "perfect muscular mesomorph." He is the National Hockey League's Most Valuable Player, its fastest skater (upward of 23 m.p.h.) and hardest shooter (his lefthanded slap shot rockets toward the net at 118 m.p.h.). Goalies complain that getting in the way of a Bobby Hull shot is "like being slugged with a sledge hammer," and practically everybody agrees with Montreal's Claude Provost that Hull is "the strongest guy in hockey." He even looks mean when he smiles, because he is missing his three front teeth.

The truth is that Bobby Hull used to be a good-natured fellow who wouldn't hurt a flea. But people were taking advantage of him. Things came to a head last year, when Bobby picked up only 32 min. in penalties and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship--although he was hooked, held, tripped and checked so unmercifully that he missed nine games with injuries. Healthy, Hull scored 32 goals in his first 35 games; hobbled, he scored only seven goals the rest of the season, lost the scoring title to Teammate Stan Mikita. The Black Hawks wound up third, and Coach Billy Reay angrily accused Bobby of playing "pamby" hockey.

By last week a new Bobby Hull was sporting a 15-stitch gash on his forehead --souvenir of a brawl with New York Defenseman Jim Neilson. He already had spent 49 min. in the penalty box, and the Chicago Black Hawks, who have never won an N.H.L. championship, were leading the league by 1 1/2 games over Montreal. "Something was bound to blow," exulted Coach Reay. "Bobby had to do something to protect himself."

At the rate Hull is going, what needs protection most is the N.H.L. record book. With the aid of a specially curved stick designed by Stan Mikita, Bobby has developed his shooting skills to the point that he can make a puck do practically anything he wants: curve, sail, flutter unpredictably like a knuckleball in baseball, or dip suddenly about 6 in. just before it reaches the net.

Last week against fourth-place Toronto, Hull sent a 35-footer whistling past Goalie Terry Sawchuck for his 32nd goal in 34 games, as the Black Hawks won, 5-3. That gave him a 13-point lead over Detroit's Frank Ullman in the scoring race--and, with 36 games still to play, a clear shot at the N.H.L. record of 50 goals in one season, which Hull shares with Montreal's Maurice Richard and Boom Boom Geoffrion.

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