1990-1994 CCM Big Block Ultrafil
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Jerseys |
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Manufacturer: CCM
Material: Ultrafil Away (Red): Dirk Graham Size 52 Home (White): Steve Larmer Size 48 Alternate "Turn Back the Clock": Chris Chelios Size 48 Alternate "Turn Back the Clock" (1993-94): Ed Belfour Size 48 |
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Jersey History |
When CCM manufactured more teams' jerseys in the 1983-84 season, they introduced the heavy weighted, durable Ultrafil material which was used by a majority of NHL teams until the mid 90's. The jerseys also included reinforced elbows and a tie down fight strap. Ultrafil material has been critically acclaimed across the board as the best material for jerseys by collectors. Like the manufacturers of the past, the CCM logo was first screen printed on the back bottom hem of the jerseys, then a CCM patch was sewn on, and eventually the CCM logo was embroidered which would be the norm until their contract ended. Until the 1990-1991 season, the embroidered was smaller in size hence the denotation between small and big block. When the 90's rolled around, the NHL shield was embroidered to the right of the CCM logo. Halfway through the 1993-94 season, the Hawks introduced Airknit home and away jerseys. A lighter weight and less absorbent material, Airknit material was being used by multiple teams and would later become the main material every team used.
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Embroidered Big Block with NHL Logo
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The tagging on the jersey is only located on the back neck section. These tags would show size numerically, material, and include the Center Ice Authentic tag. Only retail authentics has the center ice tags, team issued and game worn jerseys did not.
Home
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Away
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The home and away jerseys have been the same style since the late 70's. Authentics and replicas were sold at retail while game worn jerseys were sold at HawkQuarters, a team store in downtown Chicago. The main crest has been adapted from the original crest created by Irene Castle, the Hawks first owner's (Frederic McLaughlin) wife, which is a depiction of Black Hawk, a famous Native American warrior of the Sauk tribe. The shoulder patches, introduced in the 1955-1956 season, include a "C" for Chicago with two crossed tomahawks to keep up with the Native American theme.
Original
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1950's
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1990-1994
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1959-Present White
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1959-Present Red
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The 1991-92 season brought about the NHL's 75th Anniversary and the Original Six each introduced an alternate throw back jersey, which took after the MLB's "Turn Back the Clock" (TBTC) uniform program. The Hawks would wear these alternate jerseys only 19 times that season. In the 1993-94 season, the Hawks would bring these jerseys back for one game against the Detroit Red Wings who also wore their throwback uniforms. This was to commemorate the Chicago Stadium which the Hawks would be moving out of at the end of the season. There were only two slight differences with these jerseys than the ones wore two season ago. First, there was no 75th patch and second, the CCM logo embroidered at the back hem was white with red letters instead of the original white with black letters.
TBTC Logo
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1991-1992 TBTC CCM Logo
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Multiple patches were worn during these jerseys' time. The 1990-91 season had the Hawks host the NHL All-Star Game at Chicago Stadium. An All-Star Game patch would be worn on both the home and away jerseys for the entirety of the season. Again, the 1991-1992 season was the NHL's 75th Anniversary and a commemorative patch would be worn on the home, away, and alternate jersey throughout the season. Making the Stanley Cup finals, a patch was worn throughout the series on both home and away jerseys. Lastly, the 1992-1993 season was the Stanley Cup's 100th birthday. A special patch was worn on the home and away jersey for the season.
1991 All Star Game
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NHL 75th Anniversary
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1992 Stanley Cup Final
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Stanley Cup 100th Anniversary
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Team History |
1990-1991: Well not much was celebrated at the start of the new decade in the NHL. The only big news is that Ottawa and Tampa are awarded franchises to start in the 1992-93 season. But what a year for the Blackhawks! I'm always surprised the early 90's Hawks never won a Stanley Cup. Coached by Mike Keenan and led by Captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 1st in the Norris Division, 1st in the Campbell Conference winning the President's Trophy, and ended the season with a record of 49-23-8 (W-L-T). The hawks also got some more hardware with Graham winning the Selke and Ed Belfour winning the Calder, Jenning's, and Vezina trophy. If that wasn't enough, Dominik Hasek was the backup goaltender! Season scoring was lead by Steve Larmer who was able to break 100 points by just 1 followed by a young Jeremy Roenick (94pts), Michel Goulet (65pts), and Chris Chelios (64pts). Belfour and Chelios would be named to the 1st All Star Team. The Hawks post season was cut surprisingly short as they lost in the first round to the Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars would eventually go on to the Stanley Cup Finals only to lose to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
1991-1992: This season was the NHL's 75th Anniversary which introduced the expansion of a new team, the San Jose Sharks. A 10 day strike also happened during this season for players to earn more money in bonuses, have more control over their likeness, and to change free agency. The games would be made up later as the season would go on to end in June. Upset by this, the owners would remove the current NHL President, John Ziegler, and would be forced to take the NHLPA more seriously. Still coached by Mike Keenan and led by Captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 2nd in the Norris Division, 3rd in the Campbell Conference, and ended the season with a record of 36-29-15 (W-L-T). Roenick would lead scoring this year breaking the 100 point barrier by 3 followed by Larmer (74pts), Goulet (63pts), and Chelios (56pts). The Hawks would make a deep playoff run beating St. Louis in the first round, sweeping both Detroit and Edmonton in the next two rounds, and faced off against Mario Lemieux and the Penguins once again. The Hawks would end up getting swept in the finals but each game was as close as you could get with three games being won by a single goal and the other by two.
1992-1993: This season was the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup and each team would wear a special patch to commemorate it. The league expanded once again with the introduction of the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gary Bettman was hired to the newly appointed position of NHL Commissioner which he still holds today. Having stated the previous season that he'd like to focus more on GM work, Mike Keenan resigned and was replaced by the former Hawk Darryl Sutter. Hasek would also be traded to the Buffalo Sabres this year, going on to be one of the most dominant goaltenders of all time. Still led by captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 1st in the Norris Division, 1st in the Campbell Conference, and ended the season with a record of 47-25-12 (W-L-T). Roenick again would lead scoring breaking the 100 point mark by 7 followed by Chelios (73pts), Larmer (70pts), and Steve Smith (57pts). The Hawks would collect some more hardware with Chelios winning his second Norris and Belfour winning his second Vezina and Jenning's trophy. Chelios and Belfour would again be named to the 1st All Star Team. ALAS! The Hawks would again fall short in the post season getting swept by the St. Louis Blues in the first round. The Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens would meet in the Stanley Cup final with the Canadiens winning.
1993-1994: Lots of shakeups this year as the conferences were renamed by geographical location to Eastern and Western and the divisions to Northeast, Atlantic, Pacific, and Central. Teams were realigned to best fit the geographical divisions as travel was becoming an issue. The league would expand again bringing in the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Florida Panthers. Minnesota would lose their beloved team as the North Stars were relocated to Dallas, Texas to become the Dallas Stars. The Hawks would also say goodbye to Steve Larmer as he was traded to the New York Rangers. Still coached by Darryl Sutter and led by captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 5th in the Central Division, 6th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 39-36-9 (W-L-T). Roenick would yet again lead scoring by again breaking the 100 point barrier by 7 followed by Chelios (70pts), Joe Murphy (60pts), and Brent Sutter (38pts). The Hawks would go on again to lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Vancouver Canucks would go on to face the New York Rangers who bested Vancouver in 7 games giving Larmer his first and only Stanley Cup with New York.
1991-1992: This season was the NHL's 75th Anniversary which introduced the expansion of a new team, the San Jose Sharks. A 10 day strike also happened during this season for players to earn more money in bonuses, have more control over their likeness, and to change free agency. The games would be made up later as the season would go on to end in June. Upset by this, the owners would remove the current NHL President, John Ziegler, and would be forced to take the NHLPA more seriously. Still coached by Mike Keenan and led by Captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 2nd in the Norris Division, 3rd in the Campbell Conference, and ended the season with a record of 36-29-15 (W-L-T). Roenick would lead scoring this year breaking the 100 point barrier by 3 followed by Larmer (74pts), Goulet (63pts), and Chelios (56pts). The Hawks would make a deep playoff run beating St. Louis in the first round, sweeping both Detroit and Edmonton in the next two rounds, and faced off against Mario Lemieux and the Penguins once again. The Hawks would end up getting swept in the finals but each game was as close as you could get with three games being won by a single goal and the other by two.
1992-1993: This season was the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup and each team would wear a special patch to commemorate it. The league expanded once again with the introduction of the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gary Bettman was hired to the newly appointed position of NHL Commissioner which he still holds today. Having stated the previous season that he'd like to focus more on GM work, Mike Keenan resigned and was replaced by the former Hawk Darryl Sutter. Hasek would also be traded to the Buffalo Sabres this year, going on to be one of the most dominant goaltenders of all time. Still led by captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 1st in the Norris Division, 1st in the Campbell Conference, and ended the season with a record of 47-25-12 (W-L-T). Roenick again would lead scoring breaking the 100 point mark by 7 followed by Chelios (73pts), Larmer (70pts), and Steve Smith (57pts). The Hawks would collect some more hardware with Chelios winning his second Norris and Belfour winning his second Vezina and Jenning's trophy. Chelios and Belfour would again be named to the 1st All Star Team. ALAS! The Hawks would again fall short in the post season getting swept by the St. Louis Blues in the first round. The Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens would meet in the Stanley Cup final with the Canadiens winning.
1993-1994: Lots of shakeups this year as the conferences were renamed by geographical location to Eastern and Western and the divisions to Northeast, Atlantic, Pacific, and Central. Teams were realigned to best fit the geographical divisions as travel was becoming an issue. The league would expand again bringing in the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Florida Panthers. Minnesota would lose their beloved team as the North Stars were relocated to Dallas, Texas to become the Dallas Stars. The Hawks would also say goodbye to Steve Larmer as he was traded to the New York Rangers. Still coached by Darryl Sutter and led by captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 5th in the Central Division, 6th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 39-36-9 (W-L-T). Roenick would yet again lead scoring by again breaking the 100 point barrier by 7 followed by Chelios (70pts), Joe Murphy (60pts), and Brent Sutter (38pts). The Hawks would go on again to lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Vancouver Canucks would go on to face the New York Rangers who bested Vancouver in 7 games giving Larmer his first and only Stanley Cup with New York.
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Player History |
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Dirk Graham: Well for starters I never saw Graham play, but from everything I've heard, seen, and read about him, he's a Hawks legend. His mustache alone is hall of fame worthy. Chicago mustache legacy: Ditka, Jackson, Quenneville, Graham. Born in Regina, SK, Graham was drafted 89th overall in 1979 by the Vancouver Canucks and would spend time in the CHL and IHL before signing a deal with the Minnesota North Stars in free agency. Graham would only play a handful of games with the North Stars before being sent down and spending yet more time in the CHL and AHL. He made his mark in the minors having a couple 100+ point seasons while scoring 70 goals in one of them. He was eventually called up to the North Stars full time and played a season and two half season before being traded to the Blackhawks for Curt Fraser in 1988. Graham would be named Blackhawks captain in 1989 after Denis Savard had a falling out with head coach Mike Keenan. He's the first captain of African descent and would hold captaincy with the Hawks until his retirement in 1995.
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Graham was a warrior and a considered a great teammate. Always willing to stick up for his teammates and lead by example, he would fight through injuries as much as he fought the opposing team. The craziest story I've read is him playing through a cracked kneecap because he felt he sat out long enough. Racking up a couple 100+ PIM seasons with the Hawks, Graham played a defensively minded, hard-nosed, grinding game. He wasn't afraid to back down to heavyweights like Scott Stevens and Joey Kocur. He wasn't all grit though. Graham would have multiple 20 goal seasons and even potted 33 in 1989. 10 of those 33 would be shorthanded thus joining Wayne Getzky, Mario Lemieux, and Marcel Dionne to be the only players scoring 10+ shorthanded goals in a season. This would be a Hawks record still unbeaten today. He even went on to win the Selke in 1991.
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Graham would represent Canada internationally in the 1987 IIHF World Championship and won gold in the 1991 Canada Cup. Shortly after his retirement, Graham would become an assistant coach for the Hawks for a season. He would take a season off after this season to scout, but would return as head coach for the 1998-1999 season. He would be fired after 59 games with a record of 16-35-8 (W-L-T). Graham is currently a scout for the San Jose Sharks.
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Steve Larmer: Just like Graham, I never saw Larmer play, but he's another Hawks legend I needed for my collection. Born in Peterborough, ON, Larmer was drafted 120th overall in 1980 by the Chicago Black Hawks. He would finish his junior career in the OHL before joining the Hawks for 4 games at the end of the 1980-81 season. The next season he would play 3 games for the Hawks before being sent to their AHL team, the New Brunswick Hawks. He would helps these Hawks win the Calder Cup that year. He would join the Black Hawks full time during the 1982-83 season. This would officially be his rookie season where he would dominate scoring 90 points and winning the Calder Trophy. For only being 5' 10" he would be a dominate power forward excelling at both ends of the ice. He would become a leader on the Hawks and would remain with the team for 11 seasons. As the Hawks transitioned from Mike Keenan and started to alter the roster, Larmer felt it was time to move on and was part of a three team trade where he ended up in New York with the Rangers. Larmer would spend two seasons with the Rangers before he retired in 1995 but would go out with a bang winning his first and only Stanley Cup with the team in 1994.
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Larmer was a threat every time he got on the ice. He was an all around skill player that brought consistency to the team. He would play 1006 games in the NHL racking up 441 goals and 1012 points over his 13 seasons in the NHL. He saw the postseason every year playing in 140 games scoring 56 goals and 131 point. He only scored under 20 goals once in his last season. Otherwise he scored 40+ goals five times, 30+ goals five times, and 20+ goals three times. Surprisingly he only broke 100 points during one season notching 101 points in 1990-91. During this span too he basically never missed a game. The only time he missed games was when he was about to be traded which ended his iron man streak of 884 consecutive games played. Besides winning the Stanley Cup and Calder Trophy, Larmer did not collect much hardware outside of that. He was selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1993 and was a 2x All Star in 1990 and 1991.
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Larmer did get nominated for the Selke five times and the Lady Byng five times but never won either. He currently holds the Blackhawks franchise record of most career power play goals with 153. Larmer did compete internationally representing Canada. He won silver during the 1991 IIHF World Championship and he won gold during the 1991 Canada Cup where he ranked second in points only behind Wayne Gretzky. After he retired, Larmer spent seven years as the NHLPA's director of player relations. He currently resides in his hometown of Petersborough. There's been a recent push for his number to be retired by the Blackhawks and for him to join the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Chris Chelios: Hey I actually did see Chelios play considering he played forever! Chris Chelios was a local boy born in Chicago, IL. He was drafted 40th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1981, but would play for the Wisconsin Badgers before joining the Habs during the 1983-84 season. He would solidify his spot on the team the next season scoring 64 points in 74 games and finishing just behind Mario Lemieux for the Calder. He would continue his excellent play and helped the Habs to his first Stanley Cup in 1986, his first Norris Trophy in 1989, and became co-captain in 1989-90 before he was traded to his hometown Chicago Blackhawks in 1990 with a second round pick for Hawks legend Denis Savard. He would have some of his best years points wise with the Hawks winning two more Norris trophies and becoming team captain after Dirk Graham retired in 1995. He would play for EHC Biel in the Swiss National League during the 1994-95 lockout. Turning 37, Chelios would be traded to the rival Detroit Red Wings for Anders Eriksson and two first round picks. Chelios would be more of a veteran presence with the Wings but would still go on to win two more Stanley Cups and play 10 years with the team. He would play in the UHL for the Motor City Mechanics during the 2004-05 lockout. During his last year he would get sent down to the AHL affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Wings announced they wouldn't re-sign Chelios so he went back to Chicago playing in the AHL with the Wolves. He saw one more stint in the NHL playing 7 games with the Thrashers but would retire in 2010 at the age of 48.
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Playing till 48, Chelios would play in 1651 games scoring 185 goals and 948 points over his 26 NHL seasons! For a smaller guy, Chelios played a chippy, physical game racking up 2891 PIMs. Playing so long he would see a lot of the postseason playing in 266 games scoring 31 goals and 144 points. He would continue his chippiness here as well racking up 423 PIMs. He would achieve everything you could as a defenseman winning 3 Norris trophies (1989, 1993, 1996) and 3 Stanley Cups (1986, 2002, 2008). He would also collect the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2007 and the Bud Light Trophy in 2002. Chelios earned many All-Star accolades joining the All-Rookie Team in 1985, being an All-Star in the Rendez-vous '87, and playing in the All-Star Game in 1985, 1990-94, 1996-98, 2000, and 2002. He was an NHL First All-Star in 1989, 1993, 1995-96, and 2002 and Second All-Star in 1991 and 1997.
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He holds the NHL record for most postseason games played by a defenseman. He's second all time in regular season games played by a defenseman after Zdeno Chára surpassed him in 2022. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013, the IIHF All-Time USA Team in 2020, and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017. Chelios would play internationally with Team USA. He played in the IIHF World Junior Championship in 1982. He played in the Canada Cup in 1984, 1987, and won silver in 1991. He played in the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 and won gold in 1996. Lastly, he would play in the Olympics in 1984, 1996, 2006, and won silver in 2002. Chelios was as interesting off the ice as he was on ice. It's been said Chelios can drink more than a horse, but always was the first one at the rink. He has had a couple run-ins with the law getting a DUI in 2009 and receiving a criminal complaint in 1990 for fighting with police. After his retirement, Chelios would work in the Red Wings front office in 2010 as an Advisor to Hockey Operations. He had a short stint as an analyst in 2013 and even moved into a coaching role in 2015 for the Wings and in 2016 for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He would move back to Chicago in 2018 and join the Blackhawks organization as an ambassador where he resides still. The Blackhawks would officially retire his number as well on February 25, 2024.
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Edward "Ed" Belfour: The Eagle has landed! This will most likely be the only goalie I have in my collection as his career with the Blackhawks, and in general, was phenomenal. Ed Belfour was born in Carman, MB and very surprisingly went undrafted into the NHL. He started his junior career in Manitoba with the Winkler Flyers, before coming to the states to play for the University of North Dakota where he only played one season, but won the NCAA championship doing so. He was soon signed by the Blackhawks and was sent to their minor team, the Saginaw Hawks, in the IHL. He split his time the second season between the Blackhawks and Saginaw and decided to join the Canadian National team for his third season rather than going back to Saginaw. He would join the Blackhawks full time the next season having a fantastic rookie season winning the Calder, Jennings, AND Vezina trophies. Belfour would spend six more season with the Hawks until his contract was soon to be up and, as a pending unrestricted free agent, he would be traded to the San Jose Sharks for Ulf Dahlén, Michal Sýkora, Chris Terreri, and a conditional second. Belfour would finish the season with the Sharks, but would sign with the Dallas Stars the following season where he spent five seasons winning his first and only Stanley Cup! Having a poor last season with the Stars, Belfour would go on to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs where he played for three seasons. Coming to the end of his career, he would sign and play for one season with the Florida Panthers before going over seas to play his last professional season in Sweden with Leksands IF. He would retire after this season in 2008. Shortly after, he would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
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Belfour is one of the greatest Blackhawks goaltenders in the history of the franchise and makes a strong case for top goaltender in the NHL, maybe top 20. For the Hawks goalies, he ranks third in games played (415) and wins (201), fourth in shutouts (30), second in assists (17), and is the leader in PIMs (242). For the NHL, he ranks fifth in wins (484), fifth in games played (963), seventh in points (34), and fourth in PIMs (380). Belfour would have a long career overall playing with his 963 games, winning 484 games, and finishing with a 2.50 GAA and .906 SV%. He would do even better in the post season playing in 161 games, winning 88 games, and posting a 2.17 GAA and .920 SV%. Belfour has racked up the hardware collection as well winning the Calder in 1991, the Vezina in 1991 and 1993, the Jennings in 1991/1993/1995/1999, and of course the Stanley Cup in 1999. He would play in the All-Star Game in 1992-93, 1996, 1998-99, and 2003. He would be an NHL First All-Star in 1991 and 1993 and on the Second All-Star Team in 1995.
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Belfour has competed internationally for Canada a couple times, but always ended up being the backup or third goalie so he never played an actual game. He would win gold in the 1991 Canada Cup and the 2002 Olympic Games. Belfour would earn himself a couple nicknames throughout his career. The first was Eddie the Eagle as he always had an eagle on his helmets. The second was Crazy Eddie as he had some quirks, to say the least, and had some problems off the ice. He would have issues with his backup goalies throughout his career. He would also get arrested multiple times with disorderly intoxication. First in Dallas during the 2000-01 season, second in Florida in 2006-07, and third in 2020 in Kentucky. Today, Belfour has started a company called Belfour Spirits and is working as active CEO.
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