Eddie Shore squares off against Wade Boggs in the first round of Boston’s Biggest Sports Legend tournament.
Eddie Shore, the NHL’s No. 1 hoodlum, naturally fit right into Boston when he dominated the ice surface from 1926 to 1940. In a franchise chock full of beloved goons and bruisers, the “Edmonton Express,” sticks out as the first and fiercest of them all. He pioneered the blue-collar culture of Boston hockey and put American hockey on the map with his vicious and vindictive ways roughly 10 years after the birth of the NHL. Shore set the penalty minutes record in just his second season with 165 and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP four times — only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe captured more. In 546 career regular-season games with the B’s, Shore scored 103 times to go with 176 assists and 1,038 penalty minutes.
A five-time batting champ and eight-time All-Star, Wade Boggs was a fixture at the hot corner in Boston for 11 seasons. During his time in Beantown, Boggs hit .338 with 85 home runs, 687 RBIs and an incredible .428 on-base percentage. He recorded 2,098 of his 3,010 major league hits with the Red Sox, leading the league in hits in 1985 and in doubles in 1988 and 1989. The only season Boggs hit under .302 with the Red Sox was his final year with the club in 1992. He compiled at least 200 hits in seven consecutive seasons from 1983 to 1989. His five batting titles stand as a record in the majors for third basemen, and his 200-hit streak has been matched by only Ichiro Suzuki in American League history.
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