MLK Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, which means a handful of folks in the States will have the day off.  However, it's not about that, but rather the struggles in which blacks had to face just to be treated as equals, a struggle that still exists today.  So, to honor this day, today's post will be dedicated to the first black hockey player in the NHL.  Willie Eldon O'Ree made his debut with the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958, and did so while 95% blind in the right eye, a fact he kept hidden for the majority of his playing career.  O'Ree would amass 4 goals and 10 assists in the NHL, all in 1961, and faced racism wherever he played, moreso in the United States than in Canada.  O'Ree's response to all of this?  In an article by John McGourty that was posted on NHL.com a few years back entitled O'Ree a hockey pioneer, O'Ree replied, "I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn't accept that fact, that was their problem, not mine."  The majority of his playing career would be in the WHL, mainly with teams in Los Angeles and San Diego, the latter of which he has received honors for his contributions within the city.  He has also received honors in his birthplace of Fredericton, NB, as well as Boston, where they honored him on the 50th anniversary of his debut, going as far as to have a special exhibit about him in the Sports Museum of New England, located in TD Garden.

O'Ree's career in the NHL wasn't special in terms of stats, but when you look at what he did for blacks in the NHL today, you can see that there is still a ways to go, but with guys like Jarome Iginla (a 500 goal scorer in his career), Georges Laraque (one of the most prominent enforcers in his playing days), and Grant Fuhr (a Hall of Famer) having made their marks in the NHL, there is no doubt that greatness knows no color or race in any walk of life, including hockey.