Associated Press
12/5/2006 10:51:57 PM
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis Blues didn't stop at retiring Brett Hull's No. 16 jersey on Tuesday night. They also arranged to name a street after him.
Just the jersey would have been plenty for Hull, who thanked his enforcers for taking good care of him, admitted to his old coaches that he knew he could be a handful, and even thanked the media while bragging that his exploits certainly made their job easier.
''To have an organization think that much of you is more than one guy can ask,'' Hull said.
Hull's nickname, ''Golden Brett'' was a takeoff of father Bobby Hull's moniker, ''Golden Jet.'' The pair are the only father-son combination to each score 600 goals and 1,000 points, and now they're the only father and son to have their jerseys retired in any sport.
The banner with Hull's number was slowly raised to the rafters to a Neil Young rock song with appropriate lyrics: ''Old man take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you.''
The team also arranged to call the street that borders outside their arena ''Brett Hull Way.''
Hull outscored his dad, 741-610. Bobby Hull's No. 9 was retired by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983.
Adam Oates was among the 20 former teammates who attended the ceremonies before the Blues-Red Wings game. The present roster all wore No. 16 during warmups, just as they all wore No. 2 during Al MacInnis' jersey retirement ceremony last April.
''Brett, nothing compares to the three years I got to play with you,'' Oates said. ''It was the highlight of my career.''
Chairman David Checketts made honouring Hull a top priority when his ownership group took over last summer. He was hopeful that the occasion, which prompted the first sellout crowd of the season for a struggling franchise often playing to half-capacity or less, would spur the beginning of a revival.
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