Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1983
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

Stanley Mikita^[1] (born Stanislav Guoth; May 20, 1940 – August 7, 2018) was a Slovak-born Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s.^[2][3] In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.^[4]

Early life

Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic, as Stanislav Guoth and raised in a small farming community there until late 1948,^[5] but moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, as a young boy. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Anna and Joe Mikita, who gave him their surname.^[6][5]

Playing career

After three starring junior seasons with the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association, Mikita was promoted to the parent Chicago Black Hawks in 1959–60. In his second full year, in 1961, the Black Hawks won their third Stanley Cup. The young centre led the entire league in goals during the playoffs, scoring a total of six.^[7]

The following season was his breakout year. Mikita became a star as centre of the famed "Scooter Line", with right wing Ken Wharram and left wingers Ab McDonald and Doug Mohns.^[6] 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, tying Bobby Hull's year-old single-season scoring mark in 1966–67 with 97 points^[8] (a mark broken two years later by former teammate Phil Esposito^[9] and currently held by Wayne Gretzky).^[10] The 1967–68 season, an 87-point effort from Mikita, was the last year a Chicago player won the scoring title until Patrick Kane's 106-point 2015–16 season.^[11]

In his early years, Mikita was among the most penalized players in the league, but he then decided to play a cleaner game and went on to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for 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?"^[5] The camera had just shown Mikita in the penalty box again.^[12]

During his playing career, in 1973, Mikita teamed up with Chicago businessman Irv Tiahnybik to form the American 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 the Special Olympics to Chicago, bringing his family out to volunteer at races.^[5]

Retirement

Mikita in 2009

Mikita's later years were marred by chronic back injuries, leading to his retirement during the 1979–80 season.^[6] At that time, only Gordie Howe and Phil Esposito had scored more points in the NHL, and just six players had appeared in more games. Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983,^[16] and into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

After retiring, Mikita became a golf pro at Kemper 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.^[5] He owned Stan Mikita's Village Inn in the 1960s and 1970s, located in the Oakbrook Shopping Center, Oak Brook, Illinois.^[17]

Mikita provided the foreword to the children's book My Man Stan by Tim Wendel.^[18] Mikita is featured as a main character in the book.

He became a goodwill ambassador for the Blackhawks' organization,^[19] and in fall of 2011, the Blackhawks raised a statue honouring Mikita at Gate 3½ at Chicago’s United Center.^[20] For three decades the Blackhawks Alumni Association has hosted an annual golf tournament named in Mikita’s honour.^[5]

Mikita ranks 14th in regular season points scored in the history of the NHL,^[21] and just three other players (Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio, and Nicklas Lidström) have appeared in more games while playing for only one team over their careers.^[22]

Mikita appeared as himself in a cameo role in the film Wayne's World, which featured a "Stan Mikita" doughnut shop, spoofing the Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons (co-founded by Hockey Hall of Fame member Tim Horton).^[5] A restaurant named "Stan Mikita's" and closely resembling the movie's version opened in 1994 at the Virginia amusement park Kings Dominion^[23] and at Paramount Carowinds in Charlotte.^[24]

Illness and death

On May 24, 2011, Mikita was diagnosed with oral cancer and began external beam radiation therapy.^[25] On January 30, 2015, the Chicago Tribune released this statement from his wife: "Stan has been diagnosed with suspected Lewy body dementia, a progressive disease, and was under the care of compassionate and understanding care givers".^[26] In June, 2015, it was revealed that due to his illness, Mikita had no memory of his former life and was being cared for by his wife Jill.^[27]

Mikita died at the age of 78 on August 7, 2018. He was survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren.^[28][29]

Career statistics

Statistics via HockeyDB^[30]

Awards and accomplishments

• Ranked 14th all-time in points, 18th in assists, 31st in goals, and 40th in games played (at end of 2017-18 NHL season)^[31]
• Won the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in 1967 and 1968^[32]
• Won the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer in 1964, 1965, 1967, and 1968^[32]
• Won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1967 and 1968^[32]
• Stanley Cup champion (1961)^[29]
• Named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968^[32]
• Named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in 1965 and 1970.^[32]
• Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975^[33]
• Won the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1976^[32]
• 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^[29]
• Was named to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series, but only played two games due to injuries^[6]
• In 1998, he was ranked number 17 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 greatest NHL players^[34]
• The Blackhawks retired number 21 on October 19, 1980; Mikita was the first Blackhawks' player to have his number retired^[35]
• Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983^[16]
• The ice rink in Ružomberok, Slovakia, is named after him^[36]
• In 2011, statues of Mikita and Bobby Hull were installed outside the United Center, where the Blackhawks currently play^[37]

See also

• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stan Mikita.

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database