He was best known as the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League, who are part of Wirtz Corp's holdings.
[5] For a short time during the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons, Wirtz introduced Hawkvision, a pay-per-view service that operated in conjunction with Chicago's local SportsChannel outfit, which cost $29.95 per month and broadcast Blackhawks home games.
[6] In 1993, he established Blackhawk Charities which has donated millions of dollars to the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, among other groups.
In 1999, the Illinois State Legislature passed the Wine and Spirits Fair Dealing Act, ("The Wirtz Law").
The bill was passed after more than $700,000 was contributed to politicians by liquor distributors according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
The law was on the books for less than three years before a U.S. district court judge struck it down on the grounds that it violated the commerce clause of the Constitution.
Newspaper editorials at the time often called the Wirtz Law a corrupt document, and it has since become a case study for campaign finance reform.
[11] During a tribute and moment of silence for Bill Wirtz during the Blackhawks' home opener on October 6, 2007, the crowd booed the proceedings.