Hall of Fame Professional Hockey Player. He played the centre position for the National Hockey League's Chicago Black Hawks from 1958-59 to 1979-80. Born Stanislav Guoth, he was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Anna and Joe Mikita, after escaping Communist-controlled Czechosolvakia as a young boy and going to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada , He played three seasons with the junior hockey team St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association before moving on to the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL in 1958. He, along with Bobby Hull, would go on to provide the "spark" that the Black Hawks needed to win the Stanley Cup in 1961. The team would go on to the Stanley Cup finals four more times during his career, but was not successful. By the next season, he was teamed with Ken Wharram , Ab McDonald, and Doug Mohns on the original "Scooter Line" by coach Rudy Pilous. Combining skilled defense with his reputation of being one of the best face-off men using an innovative curved stick, he went on to lead the league in scoring four times during the 1960s. During his early years, he was among the most penalized players, but later decided to play a cleaner game. He was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsman-like conduct twice (1967 and 1968). Besides his innovative curved stick, he also one of the first players to wear a helmet full-time. He went on to play for the Black Hawks until retiring because of lingering back issues after the 1979-80 season. During his career, he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team six times (1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968) and to the NHL Second All-Star Team twice (1965 and 1970). He also earned the Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player) in 1967 and 1968 and the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1976. He played in nine NHL All-Star Games during his career. After retiring from playing, he became a golf pro at Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Illinois and later went into other business ventures. In 1980, he was honored by the Black Hawks by having his number 21 retired by the team and three years later, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2011, statues of him and Bobby Hull were placed outside of the Black Hawks' home arena, the United Center. In 2017, he was named as one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history. He passed away three years after his family announced that he had been diagnosed with Dementia with lewy bodies.