Ace Bailey Benefit Game

The Ace Bailey Benefit Game was the first all-star game in National Hockey League (NHL) 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.^[1] The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated a team made up of the top players from the rest of the league, 7–3, before a crowd of 14,074 spectators.

The game was held two months following the incident between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Boston Garden that resulted in Bailey's injuries. Toronto's Red Horner dazed Shore with a heavy hit. Intent on revenge, Shore thought he was skating at Horner, but instead knocked Bailey over. Bailey flew through the air, and suffered a fractured skull when he landed on his head. Shore himself was knocked unconscious in the melee that resulted.

Though it was initially feared he would not survive his injuries, Bailey recovered enough to participate in the benefit game. He presented gifts and shook the hands of each player as they were introduced. Among them was Eddie Shore himself, who was playing for the NHL all-stars.^[1] The crowd fell silent as Shore approached, then erupted into loud cheering when Bailey extended his hand toward his attacker. The Maple Leafs announced during the ceremonies that no player on their team would again wear Bailey's number 6, marking the first time in NHL history that a team retired a player's uniform number.^[1]