Willie O’Ree didn’t set out to be the first black player in the NHL. He was just determined to play in the league – period.
When he stepped onto the ice at the storied Montreal Forum in a Boston Bruins uniform on Jan. 18, 1958, O’Ree’s family and friends were in attendance for the momentous occasion. The Hockey Night in Canada broadcast didn’t mention it, nor did the local media.
“It didn’t really register with me,” O’Ree said in an interview with the Original Hockey Hall of Fame. “I was just so excited to be playing in an NHL game.”
After playing just two games with Boston, O’Ree skated in 1959-60 with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League. He had an outstanding season, notching 46 points in 50 games.
O’Ree acknowledges that he should not have been the first black player in the NHL. While Jackie Robinson had broken the colour barrier in baseball in 1947, it seemed that hockey was not quite ready to do so. One particular player, Herb Carnegie, was a star in the Quebec Senior Hockey League, having been named league MVP in 1946, 1947 and 1949. While fellow Quebec league players like Jean Beliveau went on to wondrous NHL careers, Carnegie was stuck in the minors.
