Perhaps, one of the more forgotten feats in National Hockey League history is Stan Mikita’s consecutive triple crown seasons, 1966-67 and 1967-68. Stan was the first and only player to win the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy in the same season. He is, of course, the only player to do it two years in a row. Wayne Gretzky won his fair share of each of the three major awards but never all three in the same year.
Mikita showed early scoring ability in junior hockey with the St. Catherines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association. In 1958-59, he was awarded the Eddie Powers Trophy after leading the league with 97 points in 45 games. He played with St. Catherines for three seasons from 1956-57 to 1958-59. The Teepees have moved on and, after several stops along the way, are now the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League. In a recent poll done by OHLAlumniCentral.com, Mikita came second second to just Bobby Orr on who should be the first inductee into a OHL Hall of Fame. See the full poll results here.
Topps commemorated this amazing accomplishment in their 1967-68 hockey card set. Card number 64 featured a mug shot of Mikita with the names of the three awards listed across the top. In my opinion, the card is undervalued at $30. Stan’s regular hockey card from the set is valued at $10 more.
For Topps, 1967-68 was the last year as the lone ranger in the hockey card market. The following year, O-Pee-Chee would ride again. The set featured 132 cards and pictured only players from the ‘Original 6’ teams despite the fact that six expansion teams entered the league for 1967-68. The full set is valued at $3000, with a common card going for $8.
Mikita finished the 1966-67 season with 32 goals, 62 assists and 97 points over 70 games while sitting just 12 minutes in the penalty box. The 97 points tied the league record, shared with teammate Bobby Hull. Just four short years later, Phil Esposito would add 55 points to the record. He finished 17 points ahead of second place Hull and 27 ahead of Norm Ullman of the Detroit Red Wings. Stan also finished first in the assists category. He was second in goals to teammate Bobby Hull who scored 52.
What is simply outstanding about Mikita winning the triple crown is that just two years before, he finished with 154 PIM, good for seventh in the league. He was also the Art Ross Trophy recipient that season. The year before that, 1963-64, he also led the NHL in scoring and finished fourth in PIM with 146. In his rookie season, 1959-60, his 119 PIM were good for fourth in the league.
As for the team, the 1966-67 Chicago Black Hawks finished in first place in, 17 points ahead of second place Montreal. However, the third place Toronto Maple Leafs took out the Black Hawks in the opening round, 4-2. The Leafs then beat the Canadiens in the finals to win their last Stanley Cup.
Stan played in the NHL from 1959-60 to 1979-80, all with Chicago. His number 21 was retired by the club in 1980 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, fittingly along with long time teammate Bobby Hull.