When Bill Wirtz passed away in 2007, I sent the following letter to the editorial page of the Chicago Tribune. Now that the Chicago Blackhawks are experiencing a renaissance, particularly with regard to their fans, I resurrected that letter. Even if the Hawks don't win another game this year, it has been a fabulous season!
I had the opportunity to meet Rocky Wirtz a number of years ago and I told him this story. He chuckled as I related it, but I couldn't help but notice a bit of sad frustration in his eyes. I'm sure that today that feeling has been replaced with elation and excitement, something he readily shares with all Chicago Blackhawk fans.
Thinking of Bill Wirtz…
In the spring of 1971, I was a junior at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. I am the oldest of five children and each of us, and our parents, were die-hard Blackhawk fans. This was the era of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito, and Keith Magnuson, to name a few. This was also the spring of the Blackhawks’ march to the Stanley Cup playoffs. But without my rabid family around and pending final exams, I wasn’t keeping close track of the team’s progress.
One Sunday afternoon, my mother called me in my dorm to tell me that the entire family wanted to drive out from River Grove to see me. The thought of my dad popping for dinner at a restaurant instead of the usual dormitory fare was enough to get me at least a little excited about their visit.
Before I knew it, there was a knock on my door. I opened it to see my dad standing there, a portable black and white TV under his arm, and the rest of my family standing impatiently behind him. The word, “Hi!” was barely out of my mouth when they all rushed into my tiny room, looking for an outlet to plug in the TV. “They’re dropping the puck any minute!” one of my sisters said. Then it dawned on me. Of course! They weren’t really there to see ME, because once again the Hawks were blacked out in Chicago – but you could get the game in DeKalb.
Together we watched the whole game in that little room, yelling and screaming for the Blackhawks. I’m not sure, but I think it was the game they won against the New York Rangers. Sadly, the Cup went to the Canadiens that year.
When I heard Bill Wirtz passed away the other day, I thought of the Blackhawks and all the games we never got to see on TV. But thinking of him also made me think of that one Sunday in DeKalb when we found our own way around the blackout.
