Eddie Shore

Professional Hockey Player

• Born: November 25, 1902
• Birthplace: Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Died: March 16, 1985
• Place of death: Springfield, Massachusetts

Sport: Ice hockey

Early Life

Edward William Shore was the son of John T. Shore, a rancher, and Katherine Spanier Shore, a homemaker. Growing up on a ranch in western Canada, Eddie tamed wild horses, herded cattle, and performed tasks that some considered too difficult for grown men. Eddie’s interest in farming led him to enroll in the Manitoba Agricultural College in Winnipeg. Although he had played soccer and baseball, Eddie had no any interest in hockey until his brother, Aubrey, challenged him to go out for the college hockey team. Eddie played defense and liked the game; his strong, muscular body helped him succeed. He played briefly with the college team but gained more valuable experience playing the 1923-1924 season with the Melville Millionaires, an amateur team. Here he began to build his legend. During one game he sustained a broken jaw, a broken nose, and the loss of six teeth. However, Eddie did not leave the game until he was carried unconscious off the ice. When his family ran into financial difficulties, Eddie quit school and became a professional hockey player.

The Road to Excellence

Eddie played with teams in Regina, Saskatchewan; Edmonton, Alberta; and Victoria, British Columbia, all in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). With the Regina Capitals in 1924-1925, he skated as a forward, but he shifted back to defense the following season with the Edmonton Eskimos. By 1926, his rushes up the ice with the puck earned him the nickname “the Edmonton Express.” In addition to his speed, Eddie acquired a reputation for toughness. One night in Edmonton, he played with fourteen fresh stitches in his thigh, which popped open during the game; Eddie continued skating. At the end of the 1925-1926 season, the WCHL folded, and Charles F. Adams, owner of the Boston Bruins in the NHL, bought Eddie’s contract.

The Emerging Champion

During one of his first practices with the Bruins, in 1926, Eddie was hit by a teammate, Billy Coutu, in an effort to put the “new guy” in his place. Billy nearly severed Eddie’s ear. Eddie, who refused to have the ear removed, found a doctor who sewed it back and refused anesthesia during the procedure. Eddie established his right to be with the team and went on to establish records. That first year, he amassed 130-penalty minutes and scored 12 goals. In his second season, Eddie led the Bruins to victory, winning the first Stanley Cup in team history. Eddie married Catherine Macrae in 1929; they had one son. Over the years with the Bruins, Eddie won the Hart Memorial Trophy, given for the player judged most valuable to his team, four times, in 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1938.

An incident on December 12, 1933, labeled Eddie one of the “bad boys” of hockey. That night at the Boston Garden against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the game had turned physical. Eddie was bloodied in a fight early in the game, and, following a hard hit by King Clancy, he was dazed. He charged the nearest Toronto player, crashing into Irvine “Ace” Bailey at top speed, then cross-checked him and flipped him into the air. Ace landed on his head. Hockey players did not wear helmets then, and Ace suffered a double skull fracture. Ace almost died but recovered, although he never played hockey again. Eddie was suspended for sixteen games. At a benefit game for Ace, Eddie and Ace shook hands as the crowd roared its approval.

In 1939, Eddie led the Bruins to the team’s second Stanley Cup. When given the opportunity to purchase the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League (AHL), Eddie did. He continued to play for the Bruins, but a few weeks into the 1939-1940 season, he was traded to the New York Americans. He helped the team reach the playoffs and retired from the NHL at the conclusion of the season. With the Boston Bruins for thirteen seasons, Eddie played 553 games, scored 105 goals, and had 179 assists. His fearless style thrilled the Boston fans who stood and screamed when he rushed up the ice with the puck.

Continuing the Story

Although retired from the NHL, Eddie was not retired from hockey, as he was the owner, the coach, and a player for the Springfield Indians. During World War II, when the Army took over the Indians’ home ice, the Springfield Coliseum, Eddie moved to Buffalo. There he coached the Bisons to two Calder Cups. The Indians franchise was reactivated in 1946-1947, and Eddie led the team to three consecutive AHL titles from 1960 to 1962. Eddie sold the team in 1976. He married Carol Ann Gaba in 1952; his first wife had died in 1945.

Summary

Eddie Shore has been called the Babe Ruth of hockey; others say he was more like Ty Cobb. Tough and determined, Eddie made a distinctive contribution to hockey as an innovator. During his era, defensemen only defended the goal, but Eddies’ style of defense included offense. Often called a hockey hybrid, he was an offensive-minded defenseman who is acknowledged as one of the greatest defensemen of all time. Eddie was also known as a tough guy. He had 978 stitches on his body, his nose was broken fourteen times, and his jaw was broken five times. Boston sportscaster Clark Booth described Eddie as possibly the “fiercest fellow” to ever play hockey. He was instrumental in establishing professional hockey as a major sport in Boston, and his number 2 was retired at the Boston Garden in 1947. Also in 1947, Eddie was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He devoted his adult life to hockey, as a player, a coach, and a team owner. In 1970, he was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy, honoring his outstanding contribution to hockey in the United States.

Bibliography

Booth, Clark. Boston Bruins: Celebrating Seventy-five Years. Del Mar, Calif.: Tehabi Books, 1998.

Fischler, Stan. Boston Bruins: Greatest Moments and Players. Champaign, Ill.: Sports, 2001.

McFarlane, Brian. The Bruins. Toronto: Stoddart, 1999.