Eddie Shore
Encyclopedia
Edward William Shore was a Canadian professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...

 of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

, iconic for his toughness and defensive skill.

Shore won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player four times, the most of any defenceman, and third overall behind Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe. Shore was named a season-ending NHL All-Star
NHL All-Star Team
The NHL All-Star Teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the All-Star Team at the end of the regular season.The career leaders in citations are...

 eight of the first nine seasons that the league named such teams; the only season he failed to do so he missed over half the schedule due to injury. A bruiser known for NHL violence
Violence in ice hockey
Violence has been a part of ice hockey since at least the early 1900s. According to the book Hockey: A People's History, in 1904 alone, four players were killed during hockey games from the frequent brawls and violent stickwork....

, Shore set a then-NHL record for 165 penalty
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

 minutes in his second season.

Playing career

Shore played with the Regina Capitals
Regina Capitals
The Regina Capitals were a professional ice hockey team originally based in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921.-Franchise history:...

 of the Western Canada Hockey League
Western Canada Hockey League
The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...

 in 1925. His team finished last in the league and folded at the end of the season. Shore moved to the league champion Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos (hockey)
The Edmonton Eskimos were a Canadian amateur and later professional men's ice hockey team that existed from 1905 to 1927. The Eskimos challenged three times for the Stanley Cup, losing each time; in 1908 versus the Montreal Wanderers, in 1910 versus the Ottawa Senators, and Ottawa again in 1923...

 in 1926, where he converted from forward
Forward (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...

 to defence and was given the nickname "the Edmonton Express."

When the Western Hockey League (renamed from the WCHL) folded in 1926, Shore was sold to the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 of the NHL. As a rookie, he scored 12 goals
Goal (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

 and six assists
Assist (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...

 for a total of 18 points and accumulated 130 penalty minutes. Shore helped the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 in 1929.

In the 1925–26 season, Billy Coutu
Billy Coutu
Wilfrid Arthur Coutu was a professional Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, the Hamilton Tigers, and the Boston Bruins...

 and Sprague Cleghorn
Sprague Cleghorn
Henry William Sprague "Peg" Cleghorn, , was a Canadian professional hockey player from Westmount who played for the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Renfrew Creamery Kings and Toronto St. Patricks in the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League...

 of the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...

 were traded to the Boston Bruins. During their first practice with the Bruins, Shore strutted back and forth in front of Coutu and Cleghorn. Coutu body-slammed, head-butted, elbowed and tried to torment Shore. Next Coutu picked up the puck and made a rush at Shore. The two players collided. Shore held his ground and Coutu flew through the air violently crashing to the ice. Shore's ear was almost ripped off but he barely noticed it. Coutu was out cold and was out of commission for a week. Shore visited several doctors who wanted to amputate
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...

 the ear, but found one who sewed it back on. After refusing anaesthetic
Anesthesia
Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...

, Shore used a mirror to watch the doctor sew the ear on. Shore claimed Coutu used his hockey stick to cut off the ear, and Coutu was fined $50. Shore later recanted and Coutu's money was refunded.

Another unusual incident involving Shore occurred in January 1930 when he was challenged to a boxing match by baseball player Art Shires
Art Shires
Charles Arthur Shires was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Boston Braves...

. While NHL President Frank Calder
Frank Calder
-External links:*...

 said that Shore's participation was up to Bruins' manager Art Ross
Art Ross
Arthur Howey "Art" Ross was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice rather than pass it to a forward...

 to decide, baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...

 vetoed Shires' participation, and the match was never held. On January 24, 1933, during a game against Montreal, Shore accidentally punched NHL referee-in-chief Cooper Smeaton
Cooper Smeaton
J. Cooper Smeaton was a Canadian professional ice hockey referee and head coach.Smeaton was born in Carleton Place, Ontario. In his first game in 1913, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Wanderers of the National Hockey Association, he was confronted by Newsy Lalonde after calling an...

 during a fight with Sylvio Mantha
Sylvio Mantha
Sylvio Mantha was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.-Playing career:...

 and was fined $100.

In Boston on December 12, 1933, Shore ended the career of Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 star Ace Bailey
Ace Bailey
Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey was an ice hockey player who competed for the Toronto Maple Leafs during eight seasons, from 1926–1933.-Playing career:...

 when he hit Bailey from behind. Shore had checked Bailey, apparently in retaliation for a hit that Shore had received from Bailey's teammate Red Horner
Red Horner
George Reginald "Red" Horner was an ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1928 to 1940. He was the Leafs captain from 1938 until his retirement. He helped the Leafs win their first Stanley Cup in 1932...

 moments earlier. When Bailey's head hit the ice he was knocked unconscious and went into convulsions. In retaliation, Leafs tough-guy Red Horner
Red Horner
George Reginald "Red" Horner was an ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1928 to 1940. He was the Leafs captain from 1938 until his retirement. He helped the Leafs win their first Stanley Cup in 1932...

 punched Shore, whose head hit the ice as he fell from the blow. Shore was knocked out and required seven stitches but wasn't seriously injured. Bailey was rushed to hospital in critical condition with a fractured skull, and was operated on for more than four hours and there were fears he could die. Following the incident, Shore was suspended for 16 games by the league. Shore apologized to Bailey after the game, and the two shook hands at centre ice before a benefit game
Ace Bailey Benefit Game
The Ace Bailey Benefit Game was the first all-star game in National Hockey League history. It was played on February 14, 1934 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to raise money to support Ace Bailey, whose career was ended by a violent hit by Eddie Shore during a game earlier in the 1933–34 season...

 at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...

 in Bailey's honour on February 14, 1934.

Shore and the Bruins won their second Stanley Cup in 1939. Shore retired and bought the Springfield Indians
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...

 of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

, where he was player-owner in 1939–40. He was persuaded to rejoin the Bruins and played four games for the team before being traded to the New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...

 on January 25, 1940. He stayed with the Americans through their elimination from the playoffs, and was simultaneously playing with the Indians in their playoff games.

Retirement and the Indians

Although Shore had played his last NHL game, he played two more seasons in Springfield. The Indians halted operations during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and Shore moved his players to Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 where he coached the Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons (AHL)
The Buffalo Bisons were an American Hockey League ice hockey franchise that played from 1940 to 1970 in Buffalo, New York. They replaced the original Buffalo Bisons hockey team, which left the area in 1936 after its arena collapsed...

 of the AHL to the Calder Cup
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League. The trophy is the world's second oldest continuous professional ice hockey championship, having first been awarded in 1937 following the 1936-37 AHL season, and continuously being awarded every year.The cup...

 championship in 1943 and 1944. After the war, the Springfield Indians resumed play in 1946
1946–47 AHL season
The 1946–47 AHL season was the 11th season of the American Hockey League. Ten teams played 64 games each in the schedule. The Cleveland Barons won their fifth F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy as West Division champions...

 and Shore returned.

As an owner, Shore could be cantankerous and was often accused of treating players with little respect. He commonly had players who had been out of the lineup perform maintenance in the Eastern States Coliseum, the Indians' home, referring to them as "Black Aces." The term has commonly come to mean, in current hockey usage, extra players on the roster who train with the team in case of injury. During the 1967 season
1966–67 AHL season
The 1966–67 AHL season was the 31st season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Pittsburgh Hornets finished first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship since being resurrected in 1961–62...

, the entire Indians team refused to play after Shore suspended three players without pay, including future NHL star Bill White
Bill White (hockey)
William Earl White is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. White was one of the most notable defensive defencemen of the 1970s.- Playing career :...

, for what he said was "indifferent play." When the team asked for an explanation, Shore suspended the two players who spoke for the team, one of whom was Brian Kilrea
Brian Kilrea
Brian Blair "Killer" Kilrea is an ice hockey head coach, general manager and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders' category, most notably with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League, with whom Kilrea has been associated for over 35 years...

. Alan Eagleson
Alan Eagleson
Robert Alan Eagleson is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, convicted felon in two countries, former politician, hockey agent and promoter...

, then a little known lawyer and sometime politician, was brought in to negotiate with Shore on the players' behalf. The battle escalated for months, ending with Shore giving up day-to-day operations of the club; the genesis of the National Hockey League Players' Association stems from that incident. Shore continued to be owner until he sold the team in 1976.

For his contributions to the game of hockey, Eddie Shore was awarded the vanity license plate
Vanity plate
A vanity plate or personalized plate , prestige plate, private number plate, or personalised registration or custom plate or personalised plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle...

 "MR HOCKEY" by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

On February 28, 1985, Shore checked into a Springfield hospital. His condition gradually deteriorated, and he died on March 16, 1985, at age 82.

Shore was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

 in 1947. The Boston Bruins retired his number 2. The Eddie Shore Award
Eddie Shore Award
The Eddie Shore Award is presented annually to the AHL's best defenceman. The award winner is chosen by AHL media and players. The award is named after Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Shore.-Winners:-Other Eddie Shore Award:...

 is given annually to the AHL's best defenceman. In 1998, he was ranked number 10 on The Hockey News
The Hockey News
The Hockey News, commonly abbreviated to THN, is a North American ice hockey magazine published by Transcontinental. The Hockey News was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Bill Côté, and has since been the most recognized hockey publication in North America...

 list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, making him the highest-ranked pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 player.

Cultural references

In the film Slap Shot
Slap Shot (film)
Slap Shot is a 1977 film comedy starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean directed by George Roy Hill. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.- Plot :...

, Eddie Shore's name, along with Toe Blake
Toe Blake
Hector "Toe" Blake, CM was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League .-Nickname:His nickname came out of his childhood for his younger sister was unable to pronounce his name...

 and Dit Clapper
Dit Clapper
Aubrey Victor "Dit" Clapper was a Canadian Hall of Fame ice hockey player....

, is considered synonymous with "Old-time hockey." Shore is also featured in the Don Cherry
Don Cherry
Don Cherry may refer to:* Don Cherry hockey player, coach, and commentator* Don Cherry , trumpeter* Don Cherry...

 biopic Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story.

Awards and achievements

  • Played on two Stanley Cup championship teams – 1928-29, 1938-39.
  • Named to the WHL
    Western Canada Hockey League
    The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...

     First All-Star Team 1925-26.
  • Won the Hart Memorial Trophy
    Hart Memorial Trophy
    The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", is awarded annually to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League . The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded 86 times to 53 different...

     as the NHL's Most Valuable Player in 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38.
  • Named to the NHL First All-Star Team
    NHL All-Star Team
    The NHL All-Star Teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the All-Star Team at the end of the regular season.The career leaders in citations are...

     in 1930-31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938-39.
  • Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1933-34.
  • Won the Lester B. Patrick Award
    Lester Patrick Trophy
    The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, coaches, officials, and other personnel outside the NHL...

     for contributions to hockey in 1970.
  • Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
    Hockey Hall of Fame
    The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

     in 1947.
  • Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
    Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
    Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...

     in 1975.
  • In 1998, he was ranked #10 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
  • His number, 2, was retired by the Boston Bruins in 1947.

NHL career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...

Team League GP G
Goal (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

A
Assist (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...

Pts
Point (ice hockey)
Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one...

PIM
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

GP G A Pts PIM
1926–27 Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

40 12 6 18 130 8 1 1 2 40
1927–28 Boston Bruins NHL 43 11 6 17 165 2 0 0 0 8
1928–29 Boston Bruins NHL 39 12 7 19 96 5 1 1 2 28
1929–30 Boston Bruins NHL 42 12 19 31 105 6 1 0 1 26
1930–31 Boston Bruins NHL 44 15 16 31 105 5 2 1 3 24
1931–32 Boston Bruins NHL 45 9 13 22 80
1932–33 Boston Bruins NHL 48 8 27 35 102 5 0 1 1 14
1933–34 Boston Bruins NHL 30 2 10 12 57
1934–35 Boston Bruins NHL 48 7 26 33 32 4 0 1 1 2
1935–36 Boston Bruins NHL 45 3 16 19 61 2 1 1 2 12
1936–37 Boston Bruins NHL 20 3 1 4 12
1937–38
1937–38 NHL season
-European tour:After the Stanley Cup final finished, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens played a nine-game exhibition series in Europe, becoming the first NHL teams to play outside North America. Six games were played in England, three in France...

Boston Bruins NHL 48 3 14 17 42 3 0 1 1 6
1938–39 Boston Bruins NHL 44 4 14 18 47 12 0 4 4 19
1939–40 Boston Bruins NHL 4 2 1 3 4
1939–40 New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...

NHL 10 2 3 5 9 3 0 2 2 2
NHL totals 550 105 179 284 1047 55 6 13 19 181

External links

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