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Legendary NHL Star Bobby Hull Receives Terrible Posthumous Diagnosis: Gary Bettman Faces Major Heat

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Daniel Lucente
February 19, 2025  (9:26)
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Bobby Hull seen in a Chicago Blackhawks jersey holding a puck
Photo credit: Edit from CBC

A posthumous diagnosis on Bobby Hull came back showing some shocking results, that the legendary NHL player had CTE, which is pointing the finger at Gary Bettman.

Two-time Hart Trophy winner and Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull was diagnosed posthumously with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the highest-profile former NHL player to be confirmed with the brain disease linked to repeated head trauma.

The Concussion Legacy Foundation made Hull's diagnosis public on Wednesday, in collaboration with his widow, over two years following his death at the age of 84.

18 of 19 players who donated their brains were found to have CTE

His family silently donated his brain to the UNITE Brain Bank at the CTE Center of Boston University. Of 19 former NHL players who have donated their brains to research, 18 have been diagnosed with CTE.

"Seeing the pain and heartache suffered by his lifetime friend Stan Mikita's family, Bobby felt strongly no other family should have to endure CTE," Hull's wife of 39 years, Deborah Hull, told the CLF. "He insisted on donating his brain, feeling as though it was his duty to help advance research on this agonizing disease."

"Hull struggled with many of the cognitive symptoms of CTE, such as short-term memory loss and impaired judgment over the last 10 years of his life."



While other well-known players such as Stan Mikita, Bob Probert, and Derek Boogaard also battled the disease, Hull's legacy stands on its own. Nicknamed "The Golden Jet," Hull dominated the NHL, leading the league in goals seven times and winning three Art Ross Trophies.

He finished in the top three in Hart Trophy voting eight times, winning twice. In 1972, he became the first professional hockey player to sign a million-dollar contract when he left the NHL for the WHA's Winnipeg Jets.

Including his WHA totals, Hull scored 1,018 regular season and playoff goals, a figure only surpassed by Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe in professional hockey history.

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Legendary NHL Star Bobby Hull Receives Terrible Posthumous Diagnosis: Gary Bettman Faces Major Heat

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