Sometimes an athlete can make an enormous contribution to a sport despite having a limited playing career. One great example of that is Willlie O’Ree, a man who’s become a hockey legend despite playing only 45 games in two seasons for the Boston Bruins in 1958, and then again in 1960-61. O’Ree was the first Black player in NHL history, and he reached the league despite having been blinded in one eye by an errant puck. But O’Ree didn’t let anything stop his quest, overcoming both physical disability and racist treatment from fans and players, including physical attacks from opponents.
Today the 86-year-old O’Ree has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, had his number retired by the Bruins, been given Canada’s highest civilian honor the Order of Canada, and been named vice-president of diversity efforts for the NHL.
Still he received perhaps his highest honor last week. The House cleared a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, the first Black man to play in the NHL. Lawmakers passed the measure by a vote of 426-0, after the Senate previously passed it by unanimous consent in July. The legislation, which now heads to President Biden’s desk, awards the Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.”
“Blind in 1 eye and a victim of racism at times throughout his career, O’Ree persevered and played professional hockey for 22 years, tallying over 1,000 points,” the measure states. “Willie O’Ree was a young and fast left winger. But he could not out-skate the racist backlash in response to his desegregating the National Hockey League. As the sole Black player in the NHL at the time, Willie endured relentless bigotry, racism, discrimination and even violence from fans and players, both on and off the ice,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), one of the main sponsors of the House version of the bill and whose district includes Boston. And despite it all, Willie embodied resilience, grace, dignity, and never gave up on the determination to live out his dream,” Pressley said.
Of course the Black hockey tradition is often either ignored or unknown. But the Coloured Hockey League in Canada was founded in Nova Scotia in 1895 by a group of Black intellectuals and religious leaders. It operated until 1930, with teams in seven communities in Nova Scotia and one other in Prince Edward Island. The National Hockey League didn’t begin until 1917.
But until O’Ree entered the league, it was all-white. After his departure the NHL didn’t have another Black player until Mike Marson was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 1974. Art Dorington signed a contract with the New York Rangers in 1950, but never got the chance to play in the NHL.
Today there are 20 Black Canadians in the league, and six African-Americans. Though the NHL is 97 percent white, it continues diversity efforts in many of its cities. They can thank Willie O’Ree for his role in initially making an impact on the ice, and continuing today to create an environment where other Blacks will embrace the sport, enjoy it as fans and have a chance to excel as players.
