From the THN Archive: When the NHL All-Star Game visited Detroit in 1955...

Last month, when the NFL Draft descended on Detroit, we discussed the possibility that the NHL might soon bring an All-Star Game back to town.  In today's excerpt from the THN Archive, let's take a look at the NHL's All-Star visit to Detroit from back in 1955:

"WINGS SEEK 2ND ALL-STAR VICTORY: Detroit Only Club To Hand All-Stars Glitter Game Loss" from October 1, 1955 / Vol. 9, Issue 1 by Ken McKenzie

DETROIT, Mich.—

For the fourth time in nine years, the National Hockey League’s annual All-Star Game is being played in Detroit, and the Red Wings are pointing for their second victory, an enviable record when it is recalled that no other team has ever defeated the All-Star crew, made up of the league’s top players.

The only time the Stars suffered defeat was in 1950, when these same Wings clobbered them, 7-1. For awhile last year it seemed as if the Detroiters were headed for their second victory when they took a 2-0 lead in the first period. but the powerful array of talent listed against them had a telling effect, and the Wings were barely able to salvage a 2-2 tie.

That deadlock was the third in the history of the All-Star classic. For two successive years. 19 5152, when the National Hockey League experimented with the game by having the First Team oppose to the Second Team, the contests ended in stalemates. Players selected to the First Team the previous spring were augmented by players from the United States cities in the league, while members of the Second Team were bolstered by players from the two Canadian clubs.

But these games lacked the color and excitement of the present set-up, and fans were obviously elated when the NHL governors reverted to the original plan of pitting the Stanley Cup champions against the outstanding stars from the other five teams.

While it might seem, at a casual glance, that the Motor City is engaged in some sort of a campaign to gain a monopoly on the Fall classic, Toronto has been the site for three such contests, in 1947, 1949 and 1951. The first All-Star game was played in Toronto in 1947, with the stars eking out a 4-3 victory over the Cup champs. Despite the eventful turns these games have taken, some hockey enthusiasts list this first clash as the most thrilling they’ve ever seen.

In 1948 Chicago had their turn, but while it may have been a signal honor for Chicago, it was a depressing disappointment as far as competition went. The All-Stars won it, 3-1, but so listless was the performance that it was agreed that all future games should be played in the home arena of the team which captured the Stanley Cup the previous spring.

While the Chicago affair was the least impressive, Montreal holds the accolade of having contributed the most money to the Players Pension Fund following the 1953 event. This game contributed a gross gate of $26,794. 90, had the fans on their feet boiling with excitement, and was praised as one of the best performances ever put up by a losing club. The Habs bowed, 3-1, but the All-Stars knew they had been in a game.

On the financial side, the entire proceeds from these games, less building rental, goes to the Pension Fund. To date approximately $1,350,000 has been poured into this fund, which has increased at an average of $150,000 a year since its inception on October 1, 1947.

The All-Star lineup this year is made up of players who were named to either the First or Second All-Star teams at the end of the 1954-55 season, plus several players added to the team by the All-Star coach. All five clubs are represented on the roster of the Stars, and there should be a minimum of at least three players from each club.

If a player is picked to either the First or Second All-Star and is a member of the Stanley Cup champions, he always lines up with his own team in these clashes. Red Kelly and Bob Goldham, members of the Red Wings, were picked up on the First and Second Team respectively last Spring.

Only three NHL players have taken part in all eight previous games.. They are Maurice Richard Canadiens, Detroit’s Ted Lindsay and Bill Quackenbush of Boston.

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