Chicago Blackhawks fete their inaugural Hall of Fame class of Duncan Keith, Steve Larmer and Troy Murray
Chicago Blackhawks players and fans on Friday trickled their way to the USG Arena, the new home of USHL’s Chicago Steel. The event on the Near West Side was more prestigious than a junior hockey league game. It was a special evening full of tear-jerking speeches, lengthy applause and a trip down memory lane of 100 years of Hawks hockey.
Sitting in the front row were legendary players and their families, soaking in a long list of historic moments. Retired Hall of Fame broadcaster Pat Foley kicked things off the only way he could — thanking the players for their contributions to the centennial franchise. Their names already etched in Hawks history, they now can say it officially.
Duncan Keith, Steve Larmer and the late Troy Murray were inducted into the inaugural class of the Hawks Hall of Fame on Friday evening. The trio joined the “automatic inductees” who already have their sweaters hanging in the United Center rafters. “It’s an incredible honor,” said Larmer, the former right wing.
“To be part of this, to have played 11 years here, (I) come in as a young kid and left as a man. It was a lot of fun playing in the old Chicago Stadium. ” After giving some love to the retired sweaters, Foley turned his attention to Murray, the benevolent and beloved Hawks great who died of cancer last month at age 63 .
Before a video of Murray highlights aired, Foley closed his introduction: “He was everything you want a Blackhawk to be. ” The Hawks drafted Murray in the third round (No. 57) of the 1980 draft.
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