CHICAGO — When former Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Verdi tagged Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz with the nickname “Dollar Bill,” a legend was born.
All the philanthropic endeavors in the world couldn’t help Wirtz escape his reputation as a cheapskate owner of a beloved team. When Verdi suggested in 2007 that the Hawks stage an outdoor game, he sarcastically noted: “If it’s really freezing, think of all the booze Dollar Bill will sell. Then, he could spring an outdoor surprise on his fans. Pay toilets!!”
Hawks fans never warmed up to the old man, who refused to televise home games and even neglected to televise those games in high-definition early on, preferring the standard view even after the Cubs, White Sox and Bulls had switched to high-def.
“For 30 years, people ask the same question,” Wirtz said in 2005 about the team’s stance on televising home games. “Everyone has their own point of view and we have ours.”
Dollar Bill was instrumental in the NHL lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season and, along with longtime general manager Bob Pulford, was seen as an impediment to the team’s chances of winning a Stanley Cup. But Hawks fans could do nothing about it, so they suffered year after year.
But when Wirtz died in ’07 and son Rocky took over, it was almost like the moment in “The Wizard of Oz” when the film abruptly switches from black-and-white to color. A new day had dawned for the Blackhawks, and Rocky finally had an opportunity to right the wrongs made by his father and grandfather, Arthur Wirtz, who blacked out the home games so season-ticket holders wouldn’t be paying for a product others could watch for free.
The first major move Rocky Wirtz made was to put some home games on Comcast Sports Net in 2007, opening the door for a full slate thereafter. He followed up by hiring John McDonough from the Cubs to run the team as president, and reassigned Pulford to a non-hockey position. McDonough persuaded Hawks greats Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita to rejoin the organization, ending an estrangement that had lasted for decades.
“It means after all the sweat and blood and operations we’ve put in for the Indian head, you’re welcomed back in the fold, no longer ostracized the way we have been for the last 28 years,” Mikita said. “We weren’t really wanted there, according to some people.”
Capping off the renaissance, the Hawks in 2008 brought back former play-by-play man Pat Foley, two years after he was fired for an alleged “lack of loyalty.”
Everything was falling into place, and when the Hawks ended their Stanley Cup drought in 2010, Wirtz was feted by fans for changing the perception of an organization that had been stuck in a time-warp since his grandfather was owner.
But all the goodwill Wirtz built up ended in 2021 with the revelation former Hawks player Kyle Beach alleged he was sexually abused by a video coach in 2010 and that management had hushed it up. The Blackhawks initially denied Beach’s claims had “merit” but eventually apologized and settled with Beach after an independent investigation concluded the team mishandled the situation.
It was then up to Wirtz to convince Hawks fans that lessons were learned and changes would be made.
The team last week announced a town hall meeting at the United Center in which Wirtz would be available to publicly answer questions for the first time since the independent investigation by Jenner & Block was released.
The results proved disastrous.
“Ranting Rocky” went on a tirade after being asked a question relating to the incident by The Athletic reporter Mark Lazarus, telling Lazarus the team’s response to the Beach incident was “none of your business.” Wirtz further embarrassed himself when Tribune reporter Phil Thompson tried again to get an answer, launching another tirade.
The rant was “Elia-esque,” as we say in the press box in reference to the famous 1983 tirade by former Cubs manager Lee Elia, though without the profanities. Though Wirtz issued a written apology a couple hours later, it was deemed by most as damage control.
Too little and too late.
So what now?
The easy way out for Wirtz would be to step down as chairman and hand it over to son Danny Wirtz, the current CEO. At the very least, Danny Wirtz seems more even tempered and understanding of the need for the Hawks to be transparent after the Beach incident.
Rocky could go down to Florida and relax on the family’s 123-foot yacht, Blackhawk, while studying the spreadsheets of CannTrust, a Canadian marijuana producer his company invested $9.2 million in.
But that seems unlikely. Handing over the Hawks after the town hall tirade would give the impression Wirtz is capitulating to fans and the media. He still is his father’s son, and apparently inherited a stubborn streak that’s part of Dollar Bill’s DNA.
Rocky likely will fade into the background again, maintaining control while declining to speak publicly and letting Danny and president of business operations Jamie Faulkner serve as the voices of the organization.
It’s the prudent move, considering how much criticism he has received over the last 24 hours. Even Wayne Gretzky criticized Wirtz for refusing to answer questions, saying on TNT Wednesday that any parent whose child was about to be be drafted by the Hawks would have concerns that needed to be addressed.
“I want to know my 18-year-old son is going to be protected,” Gretzky said.
You can’t change what happened Wednesday night. But you can change the way you talk to people — even those you disagree with.
If Rocky Wirtz wants to regain the respect of the fans and media, it’s on him to prove that transparency is not a word to throw around whenever it’s convenient for the organization. The incident can’t be buried just because you don’t care to discuss it.
Until that happens, Ranting Rocky will simply be following in the footsteps of Dollar Bill.
