“It’s like I just lost a close friend. However, I am not a hockey player. »
• Also read: Ice hockey legend Bobby Hull dies at the age of 84
Pierre Racine, son of Paul, who was one of the founders of the Quebec Nordiques during the World Hockey Association (WHA) era, is touched by the death of Bobby Hull at the age of 84.
Thanks to his father, he met the man behind the ice hockey player.
“We were eight kids at home,” said Pierre Racine. Bobby loved being part of our gang. From 1973, when he came to AMH, he knew my father very well.
“They met in the summer and in the winter. It’s happened a dozen times. He visited us at the cabin and we went boating with him. In 1974 my father had received the presidency of the Traversée du Lac-Saint-Jean and Bobby had come there with my brother as driver in his Rolls-Royce.
“Almost 50 years later, people are still talking about it. »
Mr. Racine will always remember his first and last encounter with the “Golden Jet”.
“He came home from a Jets game in Quebec. I was 11 years old. He had told me: “We will be best friends for life”. After that, every time we met, it was like we’d seen each other the day before. He remembered all my brothers and sisters.
“The last time he visited Quebec in October, he recognized me immediately. I was allowed to have an unforgettable time. I had a special relationship with him. »
A history of dentures
Racine has several anecdotes about Bobby Hull. He always had his heart on his sleeve.
“I remember a story with my six-year-old sister, Marie-Hélène. She spoke to him and covered her mouth with her hand. Bobby says to him, “Why are you doing that?”
“She didn’t have her palettes with her and didn’t think it was nice. »
The suite is pictured from Hull.
“He removed all three partial dentures before giving her the biggest smile possible. He only had five or six teeth left in his mouth! He’s the coolest guy I’ve ever known. »
A good fork
Hull was a good fork too. “I always had to sit next to him in restaurants. He ended up clearing everyone’s plates at the table. One night at the Continental I had an arm wrestling match with my two brothers against him. »
“While we forced him to bend his arm, he ate all the desserts with his other arm. »
A transfer of $1 million
In the 1970s, Hull had set a precedent by moving from the NHL to the WHA. He had asked for a $1 million bonus to make the jump. The Winnipeg Jets had raised their hand to pay him that amount.
Archive photo
The Winnipeg Jets offered Bobby Hull a $1 million bonus to make it into the WHA.
“That was a ridiculous request,” stressed Pierre Racine. Back then there weren’t millions in professional sports.
“To ensure his arrival at the track, Bill Hunter, Dennis Murphy and my father decided to ask the other teams to contribute $62,400. The Jets paid the balance. It’s a transfer that revolutionized hockey because the players were a bit exploited back then. »
During his life, Hull will have shaped the hockey world, but also a Quebec family who opened their doors to him.