Bailey played junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings from 1964 to 1967, during which time the Oil Kings won the Memorial Cup in 1966. 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. In 1978-79, Bailey returned to Edmonton to play with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, 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, during which time the team won five Stanley Cups ; his name was engraved on three of them. 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 1974–75, 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. At the time of his death, he was the Los Angeles Kings' director of pro scouting.
Death and legacy
Bailey died when the plane in which he was traveling, United Airlines Flight 175, was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City during the September 11 attacks. Bailey and amateur scout Mark Bavis were traveling from Boston to Los Angeles when the flight was hijacked. They had been in Manchester visiting the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate, the Monarchs. Bailey and Bavis are mentioned in the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys song "Your Spirit's Alive." Denis Leary wore a Bailey memorial T-shirt as the character Tommy Gavin in the season 1 episode "" and the fourth-season episode "" in the TV seriesRescue Me. In his memory, the Los Angeles Kings named their new mascot "Bailey". Bailey's family founded the Ace Bailey Children's Foundation in his memory. The foundation raises funds to benefit hospitalized children, infants and their families. At the National September 11 Memorial, Bailey and Bavis are memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-3. On October 14, 2012 the Kings brought the Stanley Cup to the Memorial and placed it on panels featuring Bailey and Bavis' names, so that the families of Bailey and Bavis could " their day with the Stanley Cup". Kings general managerDean Lombardi was also in attendance.
