Eddie Shore Miraculously Made It To Montreal In Time For The Game

Published on November 7th, 2024 9:55 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It was January 2nd, 1929, and Eddie Shore was late for his team train.

In those days, there were no chartered flights or private jets. In most cases, NHL teams travelled from city to city via train.

The Bruins had a game scheduled against the Montreal Maroons (in Montreal) on the evening of January 3rd, 1929. The Bruins were going to be taking a late train to Montreal the night before.

Eddie Shore, who was one of the team's best players, was late for the train due to traffic. Shore ran for the train while carrying his bags, but the train pulled away before he was able to get on.

Now what was he going to do? It was the middle of winter. Shore didn't want to miss the game, and he REALLY didn't want to receive the $500 fine that his team charged if you missed a train. That was an enormous amount of money back in those days.

The problem? It was late and stormy. There were no more trains that would get Shore to the game in time, and the planes were no longer operational for the evening.

A friend stepped in and offered Shore the use of his limousine and chauffeur. Shore accepted the offer and the two men embarked on the 350 mile trip.

The chauffeur had zero experience driving in bad weather - sleet and snow had the pair driving at a snail's pace.

After almost sliding into a ditch, Shore took over for the chauffeur driver. As they headed into the mountains, Shore stopped at a gas station and had chains installed.

At this point, disaster struck, as a blizzard threatened to halt their progress. The windshield wipers of the car froze, and Shore actually removed the top half of the windshield so that he could see.

Shore was now exposed to the elements, driving a large limousine through the snowy mountains.

After replacing the chains for a second time, Shore decided to take a nap and let the chauffeur take over. This was a bad move, as the chauffeur immediately drove the limousine into a ditch.

Unbelievably, Shore walked a mile to a farmhouse and asked for assistance in getting the limo out of the ditch. Horses pulled the car out of the ditch, and the pair were on the road again.

At 5:30 pm - just two hours before game time - Shore arrived at his team's hotel. He had barely slept, was suffering from frostbite and was almost incoherent.

Team officials told Shore that he should skip the game and rest, but Shore insisted that a steak dinner and a quick nap would get him ready for the game.

After his teammates shook him out of his post-meal slumber, Shore made his way to the arena for the game.

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Amazingly, Shore would score the only goal of the game, as the Bruins would defeat the Maroons by a score of 1-0.

Nobody watching the game would have known the state that Shore was in, as he looked completely fine. After scoring the only goal of the game, Shore was crucial in holding off the Maroon's attack. Despite all of the pressure from Montreal in the final minutes of the game, Shore barely came off the ice.

After the game, Shore immediately went back to his hotel room and slept the night away, having survived an unbelievable ordeal.