[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 30 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S1047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        TRIBUTE TO WILLIE O'REE

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, Willie O'Ree made history on the 
night of January 18, 1958, but for too long the significance of what he 
accomplished that night went largely unacknowledged. Every American 
should know Willie O'Ree for his rightful place in history: he is the 
Jackie Robinson of hockey--the first player of African heritage to play 
in the National Hockey League.
  Unlike Jackie Robinson's widely heralded debut with the Brooklyn 
Dodgers 11 years earlier, Willie O'Ree's appearance on the ice for the 
Boston Bruins 54 years ago got little notice in the press. The New York 
Times simply reported: ``The Boston Bruins, with a Negro, Billy O'Ree, 
in the line-up for the first time in National Hockey League history, 
scored once in every period tonight to beat the first-place Montreal 
Canadiens for the first time in eight games, 3 0.'' Sports Illustrated 
had even less to say in its Scoreboard column: ``Boston made history by 
bringing up Quebec's Billy O'Ree, first Negro to play in NHL.''
  But it was a milestone for hockey--and a dream come true for the 22-
year-old Willie O'Ree, who had spent his boyhood in New Brunswick, 
Canada--the youngest of 13 children--idolizing such NHL legends as 
Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard. He liked baseball, too, landing a 
tryout with the Milwaukee Braves minor league team in Waycross, GA, in 
1956. He even got to meet Jackie Robinson on a trip his baseball team 
made to New York in 1949.
  Willie was as good at shortstop as he was at second base. He was good 
at the plate, too. And with his speed, he stole a lot of bases. But to 
him, baseball was just a way to stay in shape for hockey. To him, 
``there was just something about hockey,'' he always said. He started 
skating when he was 2 years old and began playing organized hockey when 
he was 5.
  He explains his love of hockey in words all of us who share his 
passion for the game can appreciate. ``When I put a pair of skates on 
and a hockey stick in my hand and started maneuvering the puck,' he 
says, ``I just became obsessed with it. I had that burning desire 
within me.''
  That burning desire--that deep ambition--drove Willie O'Ree through 
almost two minor league seasons with the Quebec Aces before being 
called up by the Boston Bruins for that historic game in Montreal 
against the Canadiens in 1958. But after that memorable night, he would 
play only one more game with Boston before being sent back to the 
minors for the rest of the season.
  But in 1960, Willie O'Ree was back with the Bruins for 43 games, 
including one memorable game at the Boston Garden in which he scored 
the winning goal in a 3 2 victory over Montreal. It came in the third 
period. Willie broke away from his check, got a perfect pass from Leo 
Boivin, stick handled past two Canadiens players, then from 10 feet out 
fired a shot past goaltender Charlie Hodge. More than 13,000 Bruins 
fans jumped to their feet and gave Willie a 2-minute standing ovation.
  That year, Willie had a total of four goals and 10 assists with the 
Bruins, but that was the end of his NHL career. He spent the next six 
seasons in the Western Hockey League, then nine more seasons in the 
Pacific Hockey League until he retired in 1979 at the age of 44. Most 
seasons were productive despite the fact that at 19 he had suffered an 
injury that left him blind in his right eye. Doctors said he would 
never play hockey again. They were wrong. With aggressiveness, 
fearlessness and speed, he scored nearly 500 goals in his 21 years 
playing professional hockey.
  His own impairment was no obstacle to Willie O'Ree. Neither was the 
blind bigotry of those who filled his mailbox with anonymous death 
threats, those who screamed racial epithets at him from the stands, 
those who even tossed black cats out on the ice, even those players who 
took countless cheap shots at him, in a time when players did not wear 
helmets or face shields. Willie responded the same way as Jackie 
Robinson had in 1947 when he broke the color barrier in baseball--with 
quiet strength and calm dignity. ``I just want to be a hockey player,'' 
he said, ``and if they couldn't accept that fact, that was their 
problem, not mine.''
  It wasn't until 1974 that another black player, Washington's Mike 
Marson, made it to the NHL. It is undeniable that Willie O'Ree--his 
talent and his character--opened the NHL to other minorities. But 
Willie's ground-breaking days are far from over. For the last 14 years, 
he has served as the NHL's Director of Youth Development and ambassador 
for NHL Diversity, part of the NHL Foundation supporting hockey 
programs for boys and girls throughout North America. He is constantly 
on the go, running clinics and speaking at schools all across the 
continent, teaching not only hockey but also how to live life off the 
ice. He continues to spread the word that ``hockey is for everyone.''
  We have recognized and celebrated ambassadors from all over the 
world. We should also honor Willie O'Ree who is the ultimate ambassador 
not just for hockey, but for dignity and respect and even courage in 
the world of sports. The world weathers so many storms and so much 
uncertainty, but at the center of each we find people of character who 
revive our hope and give us strength. Willie O'Ree is such a man, and 
we are all blessed to have his strength as an example.

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