WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 Welcome to the Deep Dive. I'm really excited 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:05.019 you're joining us today because we have got a 00:00:05.019 --> 00:00:07.639 massive one lined up. We really do. There's a 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:09.720 lot of ground to cover. Yeah. If you're looking 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.080 at your app right now, the title we're working 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:16.420 with is the Deep Dive. 100 Years of Chicago Blackhawks 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:19.960 History, Curses, Cups, and Controversies. It's 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:22.120 a heavy title, but honestly, it fits perfectly. 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:23.780 Yeah, it absolutely fits. And the description 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:26.420 promises a lot, too. It says, we're going to 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:28.960 dive into the fascinating century -long history 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:32.539 of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. We'll explore 00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:36.079 the wild origins in 1926, uncover the truth behind 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:38.759 the infamous curse of Muldoon, and track their 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:41.359 explosive rise to a modern Stanley Cup dynasty. 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:43.439 And we also have to get into the off -ice stuff. 00:00:43.740 --> 00:00:46.140 Exactly. The description points out we're unpacking 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:48.539 the complex aspects of the franchise, from the 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:50.780 2010 Kyle Beach scandal and the Wertz family 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.539 ownership drama, to the ongoing debate surrounding 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:55.789 their Native American logo. So whether you are 00:00:55.789 --> 00:00:58.170 a diehard hockey fan or just someone fascinated 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:01.350 by the business of sports, this deep dive is 00:01:01.350 --> 00:01:04.650 really your ultimate shortcut to being well -informed. 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:07.790 Yeah, that's the mission today. We are pulling 00:01:07.790 --> 00:01:11.129 all of this from a massive, highly detailed Wikipedia 00:01:11.129 --> 00:01:14.530 article detailing their entire 100 -year history. 00:01:14.689 --> 00:01:17.209 And it really is a remarkable timeline to examine 00:01:17.209 --> 00:01:20.909 because when you look at a century of any legacy 00:01:20.909 --> 00:01:23.859 organization, you weren't just looking at a timeline 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:26.319 of wins and losses. For you listening, this is 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.819 a masterclass in how an institution is shaped 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:32.799 by, well, colorful personalities, shifting eras, 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:35.340 and those inevitable moments where a sports entity 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:39.180 collides with broader societal issues. Let's 00:01:39.180 --> 00:01:40.920 start at the very beginning because, frankly, 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:44.359 it reads like a script for a bizarre 1920s movie. 00:01:44.500 --> 00:01:46.060 I'm looking at the source material and it says 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:49.859 the team was founded in 1926 by a Chicago coffee 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:52.099 tycoon. Frederick McLaughlin. Right, Frederick 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:53.879 McLaughlin. Yeah. But it doesn't sound like he 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:55.760 had any background in professional hockey whatsoever. 00:01:56.219 --> 00:01:58.400 So where did the team identity even come from? 00:01:58.750 --> 00:02:00.549 You're right. He was a coffee magnate, not a 00:02:00.549 --> 00:02:02.430 sports guy at all. But McLaughlin was also a 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:06.049 former commander in World War I. He led the 333rd 00:02:06.049 --> 00:02:08.990 Machine Gun Battalion of the 86th Infantry Division. 00:02:09.530 --> 00:02:12.370 And during the war, that specific division was 00:02:12.370 --> 00:02:15.129 nicknamed the Black Hawk Division. Ah, I see. 00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:17.770 Yeah, it was named in honor of Chief Black Hawk, 00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:20.289 who was a prominent historical leader of the 00:02:20.289 --> 00:02:23.569 Sauk Nation. So when McLaughlin bought this expansion 00:02:23.569 --> 00:02:26.449 hockey team, he simply named it after his old 00:02:26.449 --> 00:02:29.599 military unit. Okay. Let's unpack this. He names 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:31.819 a brand new professional sports team after his 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:34.340 machine gun battalion. How did that translate 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:37.840 to his management style? Because the notes here 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:39.960 suggest he ran the team with absolute chaos. 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:42.870 Chaos is probably an understatement. He was an 00:02:42.870 --> 00:02:45.189 incredibly hands -on owner, which is always dangerous 00:02:45.189 --> 00:02:46.810 when you don't actually know the sport. Yeah, 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:49.310 right. He fired coaches constantly, almost on 00:02:49.310 --> 00:02:52.490 a whim. And he had this fierce, somewhat eccentric 00:02:52.490 --> 00:02:54.949 obsession with promoting American -born players. 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:57.389 Which was rare back then. Practically unheard 00:02:57.389 --> 00:03:00.389 of. Canadian players entirely dominated the NHL 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:02.909 in that era. But that unpredictability is exactly 00:03:02.909 --> 00:03:05.030 what led to some of the most bizarre situations 00:03:05.030 --> 00:03:07.629 in early sports history. Which brings us to the 00:03:07.629 --> 00:03:11.599 1937 -38 season. The notes here say the team 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:13.979 was just terrible. They barely made the playoffs 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:18.240 with a record of 14 -25 -9. Yet somehow, they 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.259 stumble all the way to the Stanley Cup Final 00:03:20.259 --> 00:03:22.979 against the heavily favored Toronto Maple Leafs. 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:27.199 And then, wait, right before Game 1, their starting 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.889 goalie gets hurt. Mike Karakis, he breaks his 00:03:29.889 --> 00:03:32.650 toe hours before the championship game. What 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:34.330 happens next? It's one of those stories that 00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:36.810 sounds like absolute fiction. The team is in 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:39.729 Toronto, desperate without a goalie. The management 00:03:39.729 --> 00:03:42.569 team literally scours the city and tracks down 00:03:42.569 --> 00:03:44.830 a minor league goalie named Alfie Moore. Out 00:03:44.830 --> 00:03:46.610 of nowhere. The legend goes that they found him 00:03:46.610 --> 00:03:49.849 sitting on a bar stool in a Toronto tavern having 00:03:49.849 --> 00:03:52.569 a few drinks. No way. Yes. They pull him out 00:03:52.569 --> 00:03:54.889 of the bar, sober him up just enough, put him 00:03:54.889 --> 00:03:57.009 in the net, and he miraculously wins game one. 00:03:57.449 --> 00:03:59.610 Hold on, was that even legal under NHL rules 00:03:59.610 --> 00:04:01.849 at the time? To just grab a guy out of a bar 00:04:01.849 --> 00:04:03.830 and put him in a Stanley Cup final? Under the 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:06.490 incredibly loose emergency goalie rules of the 00:04:06.490 --> 00:04:09.469 1930s, yes. But only if the opposing team agreed 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:12.250 to it. Oh, and Toronto agreed. Initially, yes. 00:04:12.669 --> 00:04:14.870 Toronto's management probably figured a minor 00:04:14.870 --> 00:04:17.029 leaguer pulled from a tavern would be an easy 00:04:17.029 --> 00:04:19.839 target. But after Moore actually won the game, 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:23.579 Toronto was absolutely furious. I bet. They immediately 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:25.980 revoked their permission and banned Chicago from 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:28.199 using Moore for game two. So what did Chicago 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.240 do? They had to scramble again. They used a completely 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:33.740 different emergency goalie and they lost game 00:04:33.740 --> 00:04:36.730 two. Naturally. But then, for the rest of the 00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:39.529 series, their original goalie, Mike Karakis, 00:04:39.769 --> 00:04:42.350 returned to the ice wearing a specially fitted 00:04:42.350 --> 00:04:45.649 skate equipped with a crude steel toe protector, 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:48.490 and they ended up winning the championship. That 00:04:48.490 --> 00:04:51.990 is wild. A guy finishes his drink, wins a finals 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:54.269 game, gets banned, and they still take the cup. 00:04:54.389 --> 00:04:56.910 To this day, they remain the team with the poorest 00:04:56.910 --> 00:04:59.509 regular season record to ever win a Stanley Cup. 00:04:59.769 --> 00:05:03.360 Incredible. But, as strange as that is, It's 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.339 not even the most famous myth from the McLaughlin 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:09.180 era. We need to talk about the curse of Muldoon. 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:12.600 According to the timeline here, this curse dictated 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:15.519 the franchise's fate for decades. What's fascinating 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.459 here is how this story perfectly illustrates 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:20.060 the psychology of sports fans. Well, whenever 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:23.379 there is prolonged, unexplained failure, people 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:26.860 crave a supernatural explanation. The story goes 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:29.939 back to 1927. McLaughlin fired his head coach, 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:33.060 Pete Muldoon, after a bad playoff exit. Right. 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:36.000 The legend stated that as Muldoon was being escorted 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.759 out, he screamed at McLaughlin, cursing the organization 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:41.860 to never finish in first place ever again. And 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:44.360 looking at the stats, that curse completely tracked. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.060 For 40 years, no matter how good the team was 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:50.449 or even when they won the Stanley Cup, They inexplicably 00:05:50.449 --> 00:05:52.750 never finished the regular season in first place. 00:05:52.910 --> 00:05:55.610 It became gospel in Chicago. Everyone believed 00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:58.069 in the curse of Muldoon. So where did the story 00:05:58.069 --> 00:06:00.329 actually come from? It came from the typewriter 00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:02.769 of a sports writer named Jim Coleman in 1943. 00:06:03.470 --> 00:06:05.949 And the twist is that Coleman casually admitted 00:06:05.949 --> 00:06:09.009 years later in the late 1960s that he had entirely 00:06:09.009 --> 00:06:11.620 fabricated the interaction. Wait, what? He was 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:13.920 staring down a severe writer's block deadline, 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.240 needed copy for his column, and just invented 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:19.100 the curse out of thin air. He just made it up 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:21.240 to beat a deadline and an entire city believed 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:25.180 it for decades. Exactly. It wasn't until 1967 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:27.439 when the Blackhawks finally finished a regular 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.300 season in first place that Coleman felt comfortable 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:32.899 enough to publicly confess that the whole thing 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:36.040 was a deadline -induced fiction. That is amazing. 00:06:36.339 --> 00:06:39.410 Well... While the curses were fake, the structural 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:41.449 issues with the team's management in the mid 00:06:41.449 --> 00:06:45.029 -20th century were very real. Very much so. McLaughlin 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:48.509 passes away in 1944. The team eventually falls 00:06:48.509 --> 00:06:50.470 under the sphere of influence of the Norris family. 00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:53.810 And looking at the business mechanics here, the 00:06:53.810 --> 00:06:56.689 conflict of interest is staggering. Can you explain 00:06:56.689 --> 00:06:59.050 how James E. Norris essentially controlled two 00:06:59.050 --> 00:07:01.509 competing teams in the same league? If we connect 00:07:01.509 --> 00:07:03.800 this to the bigger picture, It is a textbook 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:06.259 example of a monopoly destroying competitive 00:07:06.259 --> 00:07:09.439 integrity. James E. Norris was the patriarch 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:11.980 of a massively wealthy family, and he already 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:14.019 owned the Detroit Red Wings. Right, a major rival. 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:16.120 But he also happened to own the Chicago Stadium, 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:19.540 which made him the Blackhawks landlord. Furthermore, 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:22.379 the Chicago franchise was deeply in debt, and 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:24.480 Norris held that debt. So he owned the building 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:27.730 and the debt. Yes. So while he installed a man 00:07:27.730 --> 00:07:30.550 named Bill Tobin as the president of the Blackhawks, 00:07:30.589 --> 00:07:34.310 Tobin was widely understood to be a puppet. Norris 00:07:34.310 --> 00:07:36.290 controlled the building, he controlled the money, 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:39.110 and therefore he controlled the team. So if I'm 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.870 understanding this correctly, they were theoretically 00:07:41.870 --> 00:07:44.870 rivals in the NHL, but behind the scenes, Chicago 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:47.629 was effectively functioning as a minor league 00:07:47.629 --> 00:07:50.550 affiliate for Detroit. Functionally, yes. For 00:07:50.550 --> 00:07:53.029 years, any time the Blackhawks developed a genuinely 00:07:53.029 --> 00:07:56.430 promising young player, a deeply lopsided trade 00:07:56.430 --> 00:07:58.750 would miraculously occur, sending that prime 00:07:58.750 --> 00:08:01.069 talent to the Red Wings for aging veterans or 00:08:01.069 --> 00:08:03.350 minor leaguers. Just fleecing them. Exactly. 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:07.199 Between 1945 and 1958, Chicago only made the 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.560 playoffs twice. They were completely hollowed 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:11.620 out to ensure Detroit remained a powerhouse. 00:08:11.779 --> 00:08:14.379 Wow. It wasn't until the 1960s, after the senior 00:08:14.379 --> 00:08:16.699 Norris passed away and new ownership took true, 00:08:16.819 --> 00:08:19.620 invested control, that Chicago finally escaped 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:22.000 that grip. They ushered in a golden age with 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.560 legends like Bobby Hall and Stan Mikita and won 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.779 the cup in 1961. But that golden age eventually 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:30.439 crashes into what fans refer to as the Dark Ages. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.559 And this brings us to Bill Wurtz. infamously 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:36.279 known as Dollar Bill. A very controversial era. 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:40.399 Looking at the 1990s and early 2000s, it seems 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:43.159 like ownership actively declared war on its own 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:46.159 fan base. The most glaring example in the source 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:49.580 material is the television blackout policy. Why 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:51.980 would an owner refuse to televise his team's 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:54.580 home games in their own city? Well, What's -His 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:57.929 strategy was economically disastrous. But his 00:08:57.929 --> 00:09:00.830 logic was based on a fiercely stubborn old school 00:09:00.830 --> 00:09:03.750 mentality. He believed that broadcasting home 00:09:03.750 --> 00:09:06.110 games on local television was fundamentally unfair 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:08.610 to the season ticket holders who paid premium 00:09:08.610 --> 00:09:11.789 prices to sit in the arena. I see. In his mind, 00:09:11.809 --> 00:09:15.009 giving the product away for free on TV devalued 00:09:15.009 --> 00:09:16.590 the live ticket. But didn't that just completely 00:09:16.590 --> 00:09:18.629 alienate anyone who couldn't afford a ticket? 00:09:18.789 --> 00:09:21.429 Our notes show he also raised ticket prices astronomically. 00:09:21.929 --> 00:09:23.830 Precisely. For you listening, think about your 00:09:23.830 --> 00:09:26.309 own favorite childhood brands for a second. The 00:09:26.309 --> 00:09:28.690 way you build lifelong loyalty is through accessibility. 00:09:29.470 --> 00:09:32.429 By blacking out home games for decades, Bill 00:09:32.429 --> 00:09:35.049 Wurtz effectively hid his own product from an 00:09:35.049 --> 00:09:37.509 entire generation of potential young fans in 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:40.049 the Chicago area. Kids couldn't come home from 00:09:40.049 --> 00:09:42.409 school and watch their local hockey team. Because 00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:45.669 of that barrier, brand loyalty simply evaporated. 00:09:45.809 --> 00:09:47.830 The cultural apathy in Chicago seems like it 00:09:47.830 --> 00:09:52.090 was overwhelming. By 2004, ESPN literally named 00:09:52.090 --> 00:09:54.610 the Blackhawks the worst franchise in all of 00:09:54.610 --> 00:09:57.590 professional sports. The stadium was empty. There's 00:09:57.590 --> 00:09:59.610 even a detail here about a local minor league 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:02.309 hockey team, the Chicago Wolves, openly mocking 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:05.370 them. Their marketing slogan was, we actually 00:10:05.370 --> 00:10:08.409 win. It's a profound business lesson. You can 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:11.009 possess a legacy brand with decades of deep -rooted 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:12.970 history, but if your leadership intentionally 00:10:12.970 --> 00:10:15.549 puts up walls between the product and the consumer, 00:10:15.769 --> 00:10:19.210 the market will replace you. By the mid -2000s, 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:21.090 they were practically irrelevant in a city that 00:10:21.090 --> 00:10:23.669 historically adored them. But then, here's where 00:10:23.669 --> 00:10:26.059 it gets really interesting. The timeline shows 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:28.700 a whiplash -inducing turnaround. Bill Wurtz passes 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:31.840 away in 2007, and his son Rocky Wurtz takes over. 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:34.480 And Rocky practically flips the entire business 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.480 model overnight. He did. Rocky Wurtz instantly 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:39.700 modernized the franchise. The very first thing 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:42.720 he did was put the home games back on local television, 00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:45.759 tearing down that wall his father built. He reconnected 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.019 with alienated franchise legends, bringing them 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:50.789 back as ambassadors. And critically, his front 00:10:50.789 --> 00:10:53.649 office managed to draft two generational franchise 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:56.230 -altering talents in Jonathan Toews and Patrick 00:10:56.230 --> 00:10:59.129 Kane. The results were immediate. They go from 00:10:59.129 --> 00:11:01.429 the worst franchise in sports to leading the 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:04.250 NHL in attendance. And on the ice, they build 00:11:04.250 --> 00:11:06.450 a modern dynasty. They win the Stanley Cup in 00:11:06.450 --> 00:11:09.850 2010, breaking a 49 -year drought. A massive 00:11:09.850 --> 00:11:12.250 moment for the city. Then they win again in 2013, 00:11:12.570 --> 00:11:15.110 famously scoring two goals in 17 seconds in Game 00:11:15.110 --> 00:11:18.009 6 to stun the Boston Bruins. And they capture 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:21.190 a third cup in... 2015. Three titles in six years 00:11:21.190 --> 00:11:23.629 is incredible. It is. But we have to pause here 00:11:23.629 --> 00:11:25.970 because to fully understand the legacy of that 00:11:25.970 --> 00:11:28.370 franchise, our sources require us to look at 00:11:28.370 --> 00:11:30.370 what was happening off the ice during that time. 00:11:30.490 --> 00:11:33.149 And this is a very difficult, very serious chapter. 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:36.279 It is. We are going to address the 2010 Kyle 00:11:36.279 --> 00:11:39.500 Beach scandal. And to do so, we will rely strictly 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:42.139 on the facts established in the 2021 independent 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:44.899 investigation conducted by the law firm Jenner 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:47.299 & Block, as outlined in our source text. Right. 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:50.179 During that 2010 championship run, a prospect 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:52.759 named Kyle Beach was sexually assaulted by the 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.919 team's video coach, Brad Aldrich. According to 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:58.600 the timeline in the Jenner & Block report. The 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.440 Blackhawks' core leadership did not address this 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:04.059 immediately. There was a specific meeting held 00:12:04.059 --> 00:12:07.919 on May 23, 2010. Correct. The investigation revealed 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:10.559 that top executives, including then -President 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:12.840 John McDonough, general manager Sam Bowman, and 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:15.220 head coach Joel Quinville, met to discuss the 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:17.340 allegations against Aldrich. Right before the 00:12:17.340 --> 00:12:19.659 finals. This meeting occurred just days before 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:21.860 the 2010 Stanley Cup final was set to begin. 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.539 And the findings show that this brain trust of 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:26.940 executives chose to defer any action regarding 00:12:26.940 --> 00:12:29.159 Aldridge until after the Cup final was completed. 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.200 And because of that delay, the timeline shows 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.700 Aldridge was allowed to quietly resign after 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:36.840 the playoffs, but not before he was permitted 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:39.000 to actively participate in the team's Stanley 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.019 Cup victory parade and celebrations. Yes. When 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:44.159 the full scope of this institutional failure 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:47.840 came to light 11 years later in 2021, the fallout 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:50.929 was severe. The NHL fined the Blackhawks organization 00:12:50.929 --> 00:12:54.529 $2 million for their inadequate internal procedures 00:12:54.529 --> 00:12:57.610 and untimely response. Significant consequences. 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:00.850 Key figures from that 2010 era, including Stan 00:13:00.850 --> 00:13:03.710 Bowman and Joel Quenville, resigned in disgrace 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:06.570 from their current NHL positions. The team reached 00:13:06.570 --> 00:13:09.090 an undisclosed settlement with Kyle Beach. And 00:13:09.090 --> 00:13:11.690 at the organization's request, Brad Aldrich's 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:13.809 name was permanently crossed out and removed 00:13:13.809 --> 00:13:16.509 from the Stanley Cup itself. Looking at the totality 00:13:16.509 --> 00:13:19.070 of this event, it casts an... incredibly long 00:13:19.070 --> 00:13:22.409 dark cloud over that entire era of winning. It 00:13:22.409 --> 00:13:25.070 serves to remind you, the listener, of the devastating 00:13:25.070 --> 00:13:28.450 human cost involved when an organization prioritizes 00:13:28.450 --> 00:13:30.950 its immediate goals, like winning a championship 00:13:30.950 --> 00:13:34.210 or protecting public relations over basic ethics 00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:37.210 and the safety of its personnel. The institutional 00:13:37.210 --> 00:13:39.690 rot required to let something like that be swept 00:13:39.690 --> 00:13:42.230 under the rug is a profound failure of leadership 00:13:42.230 --> 00:13:45.370 at every level. It fundamentally changes how 00:13:45.370 --> 00:13:48.279 history views that dynasty. And as the organization 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:50.960 grapples with that recent history, they're also 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:53.740 currently navigating a massive ongoing cultural 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:57.100 debate regarding their core identity. Yes. This 00:13:57.100 --> 00:14:00.340 brings us to another highly complex issue. The 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:02.980 team's name and logo. Looking at the source material, 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:04.980 there is a deep divide here. And I want to be 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:06.980 incredibly clear with you listening right now. 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:08.779 It's important to state this up front. We are 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:10.639 not taking sides here. We aren't endorsing any 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.659 viewpoints. We are simply conveying the ideas 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:15.440 and arguments exactly as they appear in the source 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:18.399 text impartially. To properly map out the debate, 00:14:18.539 --> 00:14:20.740 we first have to look at the name itself. As 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:22.600 we discussed, Frederick McLaughlin originally 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:25.320 named the team after his military division honoring 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:28.789 historic leader Black Hawk. One interesting detail 00:14:28.789 --> 00:14:31.929 from the text is that in 1986, the organization 00:14:31.929 --> 00:14:34.570 actually discovered a typographical error in 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:38.509 their original 1926 NHL franchise contract. Oh, 00:14:38.529 --> 00:14:40.750 really? Yeah, it was printed as a single compound 00:14:40.750 --> 00:14:43.690 word, Blackhawks, instead of the two separate 00:14:43.690 --> 00:14:46.230 words they had been using for 60 years. They 00:14:46.230 --> 00:14:48.389 officially changed the spelling to one word to 00:14:48.389 --> 00:14:50.889 match that foundational document. But the real 00:14:50.889 --> 00:14:53.110 contention today isn't about the spacing of the 00:14:53.110 --> 00:14:55.870 letters. It's about the logo, which prominently 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:59.090 features a Native American head. Over the last 00:14:59.090 --> 00:15:02.090 few years, as societal consciousness has shifted, 00:15:02.409 --> 00:15:05.250 legacy franchises have completely rebranded, 00:15:05.250 --> 00:15:08.590 dropping their Native American imagery. The Blackhawks 00:15:08.590 --> 00:15:11.070 have not. What is the organization's official 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:13.549 stance based on the text? The source material 00:15:13.549 --> 00:15:15.850 provides a clear look at their defense. In a 00:15:15.850 --> 00:15:17.789 2020 press release, the Blackhawks organization 00:15:17.789 --> 00:15:20.889 explicitly defended their name and logo. Their 00:15:20.889 --> 00:15:22.990 stated position is that the logo symbolizes an 00:15:22.990 --> 00:15:25.049 important and historic person, Blackhawk of the 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:27.470 Sac and Fox Nation, whose leadership in life 00:15:27.470 --> 00:15:29.370 has inspired generations of Native Americans, 00:15:29.629 --> 00:15:31.950 veterans, and the public. So they view it as 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:34.129 an honor. The organization views the imagery 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:37.269 as a respectful tribute and has pledged to use 00:15:37.269 --> 00:15:39.549 their platform to expand awareness of indigenous 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:42.549 cultural contributions. but looking at the other 00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:45.840 side of the debate in our notes. There is heavy, 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:49.179 sustained opposition from numerous Native American 00:15:49.179 --> 00:15:52.159 organizations and advocates who completely reject 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:54.960 that premise. Exactly. The National Congress 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.399 of American Indians has long maintained that 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.059 all Native -themed sports logos, regardless of 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:03.000 intent, continue to profit from and perpetuate 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:06.259 harmful stereotypes. Locally in Chicago, the 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:08.700 American Indian Center completely severed its 00:16:08.700 --> 00:16:10.700 philanthropic ties with the Blackhawks Foundation, 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:13.620 publicly stating they will not affiliate with 00:16:13.620 --> 00:16:16.169 an organization. that continues to use this imagery. 00:16:16.529 --> 00:16:18.370 Furthermore, there is a statement here from the 00:16:18.370 --> 00:16:21.049 Chinese Youth Council in Chicago. They argue 00:16:21.049 --> 00:16:23.289 that the logo does not honor anyone, but rather 00:16:23.289 --> 00:16:26.169 symbolizes a painful legacy of imperialism and 00:16:26.169 --> 00:16:28.629 genocide. And perhaps most directly. Go ahead. 00:16:28.730 --> 00:16:30.690 The text notes that actual descendants of Black 00:16:30.690 --> 00:16:32.690 Hawk himself have publicly demanded that the 00:16:32.690 --> 00:16:35.049 team change its name and logo. They are explicitly 00:16:35.049 --> 00:16:37.470 asking the franchise to stop profiting off their 00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:40.590 ancestors' image and legacy. It highlights an 00:16:40.590 --> 00:16:43.620 incredibly complex tension. You have a massive 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.460 corporate entity arguing intent and tribute, 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:49.159 while the actual communities represented by that 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:51.740 imagery are arguing that the impact is exploitative. 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:54.460 It is a debate the franchise will undoubtedly 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.860 have to continue navigating. And speaking of 00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:59.340 the future, the On Ice product is currently undergoing 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:02.340 a total rebuild. Yeah, the era of twos and cane 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:05.000 is officially over. According to the timeline, 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:07.660 the franchise's hopes are now entirely pinned 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:10.059 on their 2023 number one overall draft pick, 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:13.359 Conor Bedard. They are hoping he can be the catalyst 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:16.180 for a new era as the team approaches its 2025 00:17:16.180 --> 00:17:19.359 -26 centennial season. This raises an important 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:22.299 question. When a 100 -year -old institution tries 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:25.460 to reinvent itself for a new century, what pieces 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:28.599 of its culture actually survive? How do you carry 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:30.839 the weight of modern championships while addressing 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:33.500 severe organizational failures and intense pressure 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:36.079 to evolve your visual identity? It's a massive 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:38.859 balancing act. It is. But before we wrap up, 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.180 there is one final detail in the source material 00:17:41.180 --> 00:17:43.079 about teen culture that I think is essential 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:46.059 for you to consider. If you have ever watched 00:17:46.059 --> 00:17:49.680 a Chicago Blackhawks home game on TV, you are 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.539 likely familiar with their famous national anthem 00:17:52.539 --> 00:17:55.200 tradition. Oh, absolutely. The crowd absolutely 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:58.579 erupts. They cheer and scream wildly during the 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.509 entire singing of the anthem. It is deafening 00:18:01.509 --> 00:18:03.509 inside that arena. It's one of the most recognizable 00:18:03.509 --> 00:18:06.390 traditions in sports, but what the text reveals 00:18:06.390 --> 00:18:09.630 is how that tradition actually started. It wasn't 00:18:09.630 --> 00:18:12.529 a corporate mandate. No marketing executive sat 00:18:12.529 --> 00:18:14.730 in a boardroom and decided it would be good for 00:18:14.730 --> 00:18:17.769 branding to have the fans scream during the anthem. 00:18:17.950 --> 00:18:20.670 How did it start? It happened completely organically 00:18:20.670 --> 00:18:23.309 during the 1985 playoffs against the powerhouse 00:18:23.309 --> 00:18:26.230 Edmonton Oilers. The Chicago fans, feeling the 00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:28.250 raw energy of the moment, just started cheering 00:18:28.250 --> 00:18:31.109 through the song and it permanently stuck. So 00:18:31.109 --> 00:18:33.329 the fans essentially created the defining atmospheric 00:18:33.329 --> 00:18:35.549 culture of the building entirely on their own. 00:18:35.690 --> 00:18:37.890 Precisely. And it leaves you with something highly 00:18:37.890 --> 00:18:41.089 provocative to mull over when you look at a hundred 00:18:41.089 --> 00:18:43.740 year old sports brand who really owns it. That's 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:46.059 a great question. Is it the billionaires who 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:48.779 hold the legal deed, dictate the TV contracts 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:51.980 and defend the logo? Or is it the community of 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.839 fans who spontaneously invent the traditions, 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.160 the energy and the passion that actually gives 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:00.359 that brand its value in the first place? The 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:02.819 tension between the corporate boardroom and the 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.440 people in the seats. Well, that wraps up our 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.579 deep dive into the century -long roller coaster 00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:10.779 of the Chicago Blackhawks. From the WWI inspiration 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:13.019 and barroom goalies to the modern heights of 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:16.059 three Stanley Cups, contrasted against deep organizational 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:18.880 failures and cultural controversies. It's quite 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:20.619 a story. Thank you so much for joining us on 00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:22.839 this deep dive. Keep exploring the history around 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:24.440 you, and we will catch you next time.