My dad was born and raised in St. Louis. He was a kid when the Blues came into existence and fell in love with Red Berenson. He remembers when the Blackhawks were put into the same division as the Blues, and, in particular, he remembers hating Stan Mikita.
It's been over 40 years, and yesterday my father and I were walking down a street in Tampa (the Westchase area for anyone interested). My dad stopped mid-sentence to turn around and stare at an old man getting out of a car. It was Stan Mikita and his wife about to meet friends for dinner.
My dad rushed over and Mikita asked if we were Lightning fans. My dad explained that he was a Blues fan. Immediately, Mikita's face turned to disgust and he told my dad to bend over while making a kicking motion. Mikita gave me the same treatment before shaking both of our hands. In short, he's a pretty awesome guy, and his wife is really friendly.
TL;DR: Shook Stan Mikita's hand after being threatened by him.
Thanks for sharing that with us. I met Mr. Mikita at a memrobilia event here in St. Louis 20 or so years ago, a hell of a hockey player from back in the day, and a awsome guy.
Growing up in Illinois in the 60's, with a bunch of Eastern European relatives in Chicago, meant that Stan Mikita was one of my idols when I was a kid.
