18 Facts About Stan Mikita

Stanley Mikita was born on Stanislav Guoth; May 20,1940 – August 7,2018 and was a Slovak-born Canadian ice hockey player for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s.

Stan Mikita was raised in a small farming community until 1948, when he moved to St Catharines, Ontario.

Stan Mikita was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Anna and Joe Mikita, who had emigrated from Slovakia to Canada 20 years earlier and were childless.

Stan Mikita's parents believed that there was a brighter future for him in Canada than in then Communist Czechoslovakia, whose borders had been reinstated at the end of World War II.

Stan Mikita considered himself Slovak, and mentioned in interviews how proud he was of his Slovak origin.

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Stan Mikita became a star as centre of the famed "Scooter Line", with right wing Ken Wharram and left wingers Ab McDonald and Doug Mohns.

Stan Mikita helped bring the Special Olympics to Chicago, bringing his family out to volunteer at races.

Internationally, Stan Mikita played two games of the Summit Series in 1972 for Canada against Soviet Union, both of them in Canada, as well as two exhibition games during the Summit Series, one against Sweden in Stockholm and one against Czechoslovakia in Prague.

Stan Mikita played several exhibition games for Czechoslovakia in summer 1967 when he came to his country of origin to visit his family.

Stan Mikita was one of the first players to wear a helmet full-time, after a December 1967 game in which an errant shot tore a piece off one of his ears.

Stan Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, and into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

Stan Mikita owned Stan Mikita's Village Inn in the 1960s and 1970s, located in the Oakbrook Shopping Center, Oak Brook, Illinois.

Stan Mikita became a goodwill ambassador for the Blackhawks' organization, and in fall of 2011, the Blackhawks raised a statue honouring Mikita at Gate 3½ at Chicago's United Center.

On May 24,2011, Stan Mikita was diagnosed with oral cancer and began external beam radiation therapy.

On January 30,2015, the Chicago Tribune released this statement from his wife: "Stan Mikita has been diagnosed with suspected Lewy body dementia, a progressive disease, and was under the care of compassionate and understanding care givers".

In June, 2015, it was stated that Stan Mikita had no memory of his former life and was being cared for by his wife Jill.

Stan Mikita was survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren.

Stan Mikita's ashes are interred at Bronswood Cemetery in Oak Brook, Illinois.