Stan Mikita (born May 20, 1940) is a Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player. He was born in Slovakia as Stanislav Gvoth, but moved to Ontario, Canada as a young boy to avoid the political troubles in the area due to the Communist control. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle who gave him their name, Mikita.
Mikita became an NHL hockey player, playing his entire career with the Chicago Black Hawks from 1959 to 1980 as a center. In his early years he was often among the most-penalized players in the league, but he then decided to play a cleaner game and went on to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanlike conduct twice. He won many other awards over his career, including the Hart Trophy (most valuable player) twice, the Art Ross Memorial Trophy (most scoring points — goals and assists) four times, and a Stanley Cup in 1961. Upon his retirement he had the second-highest career scoring point total of any NHL player, after Gordie Howe.
Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and also into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
