Hockey Hall of Fame Fathers and Sons

Much is being made this weekend about Brett Hull joining his father Bobby Hull in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But it must be noted that the Hulls are NOT the first father-son Hall of Fame players.

That honor goes to Olivier and Earl Seibert. Father Olivier was inducted in 1961. Just two years later son Earl joined dear old dad in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

More famously Lester Patrick (inducted in 1947) and his son Lynn Patrick (inducted in 1980) were also both inducted. To take that even further, Lynn, pictured to the right in 1940s Granger Tobacco advertising display, also had a son, Craig Patrick, inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 as a builder.

While the Patricks and now Hulls are the only father-son combination in the HHOF player category, there are a few other examples of fathers and sons in the Hall.

Foster Hewitt and his father William A. Hewitt were both inducted as builders. Foster's son Bill was also inducted as a broadcaster.

James Norris, Sr., who owned the Red Wings, and his two sons, James D. Norris a part-owner of the Blackhawks, and Bruce Norris, who also owned the Wings, are all in the builders category.

Dick Irvin Sr. is in the Hall as a player and his son Dick Jr. is in as a broadcaster.

Arthur Wirtz and his son Bill Wirtz, the Blackhawks owners, are both in as builders.

Same goes for George Brown and Walter Brown, who were deeply involved in Boston’s hockey scene, and Charles Adams and Weston Adams, who owned the Bruins.