The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled as Black Hawks before 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10. The Blackhawks are one of the Original Six NHL teams, along with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.
Since 1994 the Blackhawks have played their home games at the United Center after having spent 65 years playing at Chicago Stadium.
The Chicago Black Hawks joined the NHL in 1926 as part of the league's first wave of expansion into the United States. They were one of three American teams added that year, along with the Detroit Cougars (now the Detroit Red Wings) and New York Rangers. Most of the Hawks' original players came from the Portland Rosebuds of the Western Hockey League (originally the Regina Capitals of the Western Canada Hockey League), which had folded the previous season.
Chicago (i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
Pat Foley (born 1954) is the television play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.
A native of Glenview, Illinois, Foley graduated from Loyola Academy and received a degree in telecommunications from Michigan State University. He joined the Blackhawks' broadcasting crew at the age of 26 after calling games for the now-defunct Grand Rapids Owls of the International Hockey League, and he quickly became recognized as the "Voice of the Blackhawks." In 1991, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Live Sports Program, and in 2001, he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, joining such local legends as Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray. From 1995 to 1998, he called NHL games on Fox-TV.
In May 2006, the Blackhawks organization made the controversial decision to withdraw their contract offer to the popular Foley, citing unspecified "personal" reasons. The team also ended their simulcasts, replacing Foley on radio with former New York Islanders broadcaster John Wiedeman and on television with former Columbus Blue Jackets voice, Dan Kelly, Jr..
Dale Tallon (born October 19, 1950) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and current General Manager for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
He began his career as a junior ice hockey player with the Oshawa Generals and later, the Toronto Marlboros, both of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). Drafted in the first round, second overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, Tallon spent parts of his ten-year NHL career with the Canucks, the Blackhawks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tallon is also a distinguished golfer. He won the 1969 Canadian Junior Golf Championship and was formerly the head professional at Highland Park Country Club in Chicago. He also played on the Canadian PGA Tour. He is a member at Conway Farms GC
Tallon was the Vancouver Canucks' first-round selection and the second player chosen overall (behind Gilbert Perreault) in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. In his rookie season, he scored 14 goals and led the Canucks with 42 assists. His 17 goals for Vancouver in 1971–72 was a career high. Tallon appeared in the 1971 and 1972 NHL All-Star Games.