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<\/p>\nSAN DIEGO \u2013 Willie O\u2019Ree no longer spends much time in airports. He used to crisscross the continent to spread the gospel of hockey, especially to thousands of youngsters who knew little about the sport.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ree traveled countless miles to give speeches, teach and coach kids, start programs, receive honors and awards \u2014 even act in a sitcom. For decades, he told his story, long after he became the first Black man to play in an NHL game in 1958. It was a lot of fun. Every minute of it, in his words. But he\u2019s had his fill of airports. \u201cIt\u2019s not fun traveling today, to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
These days, O\u2019Ree can most easily be found at a suburban eatery a few minutes from his La Mesa home in suburban San Diego. Five, maybe six times a week, he meets up with a coffee group that sometimes numbers up to a dozen. That\u2019s if he isn\u2019t taking early morning walks with his wife, Deljeet, and their 4-year-old dog.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we talk about sports and life in general,\u201d O\u2019Ree said. \u201cThere\u2019s two things we don\u2019t talk about. Religion and politics. Those are out. We can talk about anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
It speaks to O\u2019Ree\u2019s nature that he prefers to avoid the touchiest of hot-button topics among his longtime friends, even though he is the embodiment of the NHL\u2019s racial integration, of the inclusion of Black players in a predominately White league and, ultimately, of the recognition and acceptance of all people of color and backgrounds that have permeated throughout the sport.<\/p>\n
As O\u2019Ree turns 90 today, it\u2019s a time to reflect not only on what he meant to hockey\u2019s past, but what he means today and going forward, how his reflections and experiences still matter \u2014 and always will.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s the stories that he\u2019s told me that haven\u2019t been told publicly either,\u201d said Anson Carter, a 10-year NHL forward who is now one of the regulars on TNT\u2019s studio show. \u201cSome of the stuff is pretty graphic. Some of the people were like, \u2018Well, I can\u2019t believe that even happened.\u2019 And it wasn\u2019t like it happened in the 18th century. You know, this happened like the \u201950s and the \u201960s.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see and understand what he went through and watch him persevere \u2014 I think probably the most resonating thing with me is the fact he decided to still be involved with hockey, too. And that really is what drove me to still stay involved with hockey, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
What drove O\u2019Ree to play in the NHL and endure the racially-based taunts, threats and obstacles to chase his dream is a creed he has lived by and an endless well of love for the game: hard work. The values instilled in him and his siblings by his parents, Harry and Rosebud. One of his often-quoted sayings speaks to that: \u201cIf you think you can, then you can. If you think you cannot, then you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I can honestly say that the game is much better today than it was,\u201d O\u2019Ree said. \u201cMore exposure now to kids of color to get into playing hockey and to make a choice whether they want to pursue it or not. But you have to believe in yourself, what you want to do. And you have to set goals for yourself, and you have to stay focused on what you want to do and work hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no substitute for hard work and if anybody tells you there is, they\u2019re lying to you. You only get out of it what you put into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as he sat on a downtown San Diego hotel rooftop last week while groups of family, friends and fans gathered for a celebration of his 90th birthday, O\u2019Ree understood his appearance goes well beyond marking a milestone. He is a novel that is very much alive, full of stories to be told and never forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like an encyclopedia or a museum if you want to say that,\u201d Carter says. \u201cI never get tired of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that sign say? Yeah, you\u2019re right. I thought it was 89. But it\u2019s 90. You were right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gregarious as ever, O\u2019Ree then let out a big laugh as he looked at the numbered candles atop a birthday cake in his honor. A large group that included San Diego Gulls players and coaching staff \u2014 the American Hockey League team that\u2019s long identified with O\u2019Ree, and with whom he played seven years in the original professional Western Hockey League \u2014 were among those who sang \u201cHappy Birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
To O\u2019Ree, turning 90 is just another birthday. He feels blessed, though, citing good genes for reaching an age as others in his family did. \u201cMy mom and dad both lived into their 90s,\u201d he said. \u201cMy mom was 96 when she passed away. My dad was 97. I have a brother that was in his 90s. Another brother that was 92.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve slowed down,\u201d he adds. \u201cI just take it a day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Willie O\u2019Ree at a party for his 90th birthday. (Courtesy of San Diego Gulls)<\/p>\n
For nearly three decades, O\u2019Ree served as the NHL\u2019s diversity ambassador and has been a leading figure in the league\u2019s \u201cHockey is for Everyone\u201d initiative. And in that time, he led or figured directly in grassroots efforts across Canada and the United States, with the goal to bring hockey to communities that otherwise don\u2019t have easy access to the sport. All children were encouraged to participate. Youngsters of color were particularly targeted as inclusiveness was the goal to foster.<\/p>\n
Former NHL forward Jamal Mayers thinks of the endless energy O\u2019Ree possesses. The enthusiasm and excitement he has for kids is genuine and reciprocated when they\u2019re in his presence. \u201cI don\u2019t know how you don\u2019t get tired, but he never got tired,\u201d Mayers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did the work,\u201d continued Mayers, who with Carter is part of the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition. \u201cAnd I think what\u2019s amazing when you think about Hockey is for Everyone, the emphasis was all his idea. The whole execution of it was him. And what\u2019s amazing to me was it wasn\u2019t just about kids of color and people who didn\u2019t have access. It was giving everybody the opportunity to play this great game. That, to me, really resonates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that he had the vision to see that it should be for everybody. Everybody should have the opportunity to try hockey and to be around the game. It\u2019s pretty cool to see what it\u2019s become since then.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Justin Bailey, an 11-year pro who has bounced between the NHL and AHL, O\u2019Ree matters as much to hockey today as he did in 1958, when he broke the color barrier, or in 2018, when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. Through Bryant McBride, a former league executive who created the diversity task force that evolved into Hockey is for Everyone, O\u2019Ree found a second act with the NHL that may be his enduring legacy.<\/p>\n
More than 130,000 boys and girls have been exposed to hockey through the programs he has helped establish. But proper widespread recognition of the significance of a Black Canadian winger playing for the Boston Bruins at the old Montreal Forum against the Canadiens came more in recent decades than it did at the time. In 2022, O\u2019Ree\u2019s No. 22 was retired by the Bruins.<\/p>\n
Bailey, whose father is Black and mother is White, was eager to reconnect with O\u2019Ree, who has been an inspiration. Now 30, the Buffalo native first met O\u2019Ree when he was 14 and was involved in the youth program founded by legendary Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek. He knew about Jackie Robinson breaking baseball\u2019s color barrier. He says O\u2019Ree serves as a constant reminder because of how he paved the way for players like himself.<\/p>\n
What O\u2019Ree did \u2014 and endured to make it happen \u2014 can\u2019t be told enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey brought him on all those years ago, but I think his message is kind of getting a yearly refresh throughout the league,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cI\u2019ve played on a bunch of teams that have done (those) Black History Month jerseys. And I think just collectively the league has done a better job. I think obviously there\u2019s still room to grow. There\u2019s room to grow with everything. But you have to start somewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think having that conversation is the biggest part of it. In the past, I think it was something that was almost like an unspoken thing. Continue to have that dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was another 13 years before Mike Marson became the second Black player in the NHL with the Washington Capitals. And if he had been born in a later age, Herb Carnegie would have made the league. O\u2019Ree has long stated that Carnegie was talented enough to be in the league before him.<\/p>\n
Now he sees people of color in all realms of hockey. And the gift he was determined to leave was opportunities. Maybe a kid would find something new to love. Maybe it would kick-start a life in hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just opened the door and made it possible for these kids to get into the game,\u201d O\u2019Ree said.<\/p>\n
Baseball remains a favorite for O\u2019Ree, who played it while growing up in New Brunswick. He was good enough that in 1956 he tried out for the Milwaukee Braves at a camp in Waycross, Ga. The time spent in a segregated South where Jim Crow was the law of the land \u2014 a fulcrum of racial strife and intolerance that O\u2019Ree hadn\u2019t experienced much of in his hometown of Fredericton \u2014 was enough for him to return to Canada and dive completely into hockey, his other love.<\/p>\n
But baseball is often on in his La Mesa home. Football, too, and basketball. Hockey, though \u2014 that\u2019s where he has the NHL Center Ice package and when the season gets going he\u2019s got a game on all the time. Especially his Bruins. \u201cI watch a lot of hockey,\u201d he said. \u201cThat ain\u2019t going to leave my blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The love is what kept him going as taunts and epithets were hurled, what drove him to impress Bruins general manager Lynn Patrick and coach Milt Schmidt while with the Quebec Aces, what had him playing with the San Diego Hawks of the Pacific Hockey League at age 43.<\/p>\n
Mayers marvels at O\u2019Ree\u2019s lack of rancor over the experiences from his younger days.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt had to be the right person,\u201d Mayers said. \u201cAnd I think it speaks to the quality of teammate, quality of person and quality of player he was. Because he had everything stacked against him, right? And it\u2019d be easy to dismiss if he wasn\u2019t a great teammate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already know he cared about people. You don\u2019t accomplish what he\u2019s accomplished, the environment he did it in without that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n Willie O\u2019Ree at a party for his 90th birthday. (Courtesy of San Diego Gulls)<\/p>\n
The impact continues to this day. Mike Grier, the NHL\u2019s first Black general manager, runs the San Jose Sharks. Quinton Byfield, the No. 2 overall pick by the L.A. Kings in 2020, is the highest-drafted Black player. Joel Ward is an assistant to Bruce Cassidy with the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
In addition to being a television personality, Carter is a minority owner of the ECHL\u2019s Atlanta Gladiators and fronts a group that is out to bring the NHL back to the city. When he played at Michigan State, the former NHL winger didn\u2019t envision being in hockey after he was done playing. Carter, 51, now is compelled to be in the game in any form. He didn\u2019t know about O\u2019Ree while growing up in the Toronto area. He now makes it his mission to ensure that time doesn\u2019t reduce O\u2019Ree to a footnote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he matters because you hear all these stories about Black history being erased and being forgotten and being glazed over,\u201d Carter said. \u201cAnd history is important. \u2026 You teach history to make sure you don\u2019t make the same mistakes in the future that happened in the past. And the history is also important to let your players know that this is what someone went through to give you that privilege of playing in the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a right to play in the NHL. That can be taken away from you just like that. Snap your fingers. I really think it\u2019s important to understand our history. Not just Black players but White players, too. Understand the history of our game when it comes to players who have made an impact not just on the ice, but off the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor that,\u201d Byfield said, \u201che allowed people like me to come into the game. Always grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
This month, O\u2019Ree is to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to hockey. The bill to bestow the honor passed in 2022 by unanimous vote in the House of Representatives after it was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and then-President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law. O\u2019Ree had already received the Order of Canada, a similar civilian honor, in 2010.<\/p>\n
It means he\u2019ll soon be back in an airport on his way to Washington, D.C. But at 90, it\u2019s not the travel that brings joy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss the handshakes and the hugs from these people that I\u2019ve met over the years,\u201d O\u2019Ree said. \u201cThe memories are there. And life is good. Really. My health is good. I\u2019m just enjoying a day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photos courtesy of San Diego Gulls)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO \u2013 Willie O\u2019Ree no longer spends much time in airports. He used to crisscross the continent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5099],"tags":[154,95,5132,530,105,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-245397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-bruins","8":"tag-boston","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-bostonbruins","11":"tag-bruins","12":"tag-culture","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115377670974437731","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}