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December 12: On this day in 1925, Ted "Teeder" Kennedy was born in Humberstone, Ontario. Kennedy played his entire NHL career as a Leaf between 1943 and 1957. He was part of five Maple Leaf Cup-winning teams and in 1947, he became the youngest player in NHL history to score a Cup-winning goal at the age of 21 years, 4 months. He was the Leafs team captain in between 1948 and 1955 and then again in 1957 when he briefly came out of retirement. In 1955, Kennedy became the last Leaf as of 2007 to win the Hart trophy as the NHL's MVP. He was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1966.
December 12: On this day in 1933, the career of Leaf star Irvine "Ace" Bailey came to an abrupt halt when he was the recipient of a ferocious bodycheck from Hall of Fame Bruin defenseman Eddie Shore and landed on his head on the ice. Both Bailey and Shore had to be carried off the ice by teammates. Shore suffered a three-inch gash to his head, but Bailey's injury was far more serious. He was being attended to by Boston doctors in the Bruins' dressing room when Shore, having regained consciousness, went over to apologize. "It's all part of the game," Bailey said before convulsing and lapsing into unconsciousness again. Bailey nearly died from the incident and Shore was suspended for 16 games. A special All-Star game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens on February 14, 1934 with the proceeds forwarded to Bailey and his family. Bailey and Shore shook hands at center ice before the game. Read the full story...
December 12: On this day in 1970, Norm Ullman of the Leafs began a streak of picking up at least one assist in 12 consecutive games. It's still a team record as of 2008. The Leafs won 10 out of 12 games over that period. Ullman finished the 1970-71 season of his long NHL career with a personal high 85 points on 34 goals and 51 assists. Norm Ullman was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982.
