Garnet Bailey

Garnet Edward "Ace" Bailey (June 13, 1948 – September 11, 2001), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and scout who was a member of Stanley Cup and Memorial Cup winning teams. He died at age 53 when pilot hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the World Trade Center in New York City, during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Playing career

Born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Bailey played junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings from 1964 to 1967. He went with his team to the Memorial Cup final in 1965 and won the Cup the following year. As a professional, he joined the Boston Bruins in 1968 and was a member of their Stanley Cup championship teams in 1970 and 1972. He later played for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals. Bailey returned to Edmonton to play with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association in 1978–79, where he took rookie Wayne Gretzky under his wing. He was head coach of the Wichita Wind, the Oilers' Central Hockey League affiliate, in the 1980–81 season. Bailey then worked as a scout with the Oilers from 1981 to 1994. He won 5 Stanley Cup rings with Edmonton as scout 1984–85–87–88–90. His name was engraved on the 3 of 5 Stanley Cups won during that period: 1985, 1987, 1990

In an NHL career spanning 10 seasons and 568 games, Bailey scored 107 goals and 171 assists with 633 penalty minutes. His most productive season offensively was 1975, when he scored 19 goals and 58 points for the Blues and the Capitals. In his sole WHA season, he scored 5 goals and 4 assists with 22 penalty minutes in 38 games.

Death and Legacy

At the time of his death, Bailey was living in Lynnfield, Massachusetts and working as director of pro scouting for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. Bailey, along with Mark Bavis (another passenger on Flight 175), is mentioned in the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys song "Your Spirit's Alive." Denis Leary also wore a Bailey memorial t-shirt as the character Tommy Gavin on a fourth season episode ("Pussified") as well as in season 1 episode 10 ("Immortal") of his post 9/11 firefighter television series Rescue Me. In memory of his death, the Los Angeles Kings named their new mascot "Bailey".

See also

• List of retired NHL players

External links