[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E63]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF WILLIE O'REE BREAKING THE NATIONAL 
  HOCKEY LEAGUE COLOR BARRIER AND HIS INDELIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 
                            SPORT OF HOCKEY

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                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 18, 2018

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, on January 18, 1958, sixty years ago today, 
a 22-year-old Boston Bruins winger stepped onto the ice of the famed 
Montreal Forum to battle the Montreal Canadiens, forever changing the 
face of the National Hockey League. Though he played in only two NHL 
games that year and forty-three more during the 1960-61 season, this 
player's lasting impact upon the League and the sport of ice hockey 
continues to this very day. In remembrance of his historic 
accomplishment, I want to take a few minutes to pay tribute to Willie 
O'Ree, on the anniversary of his becoming the first black person to 
play in an NHL game, and for his continued efforts to grow the game and 
personify the belief that hockey is for everyone.
  Without question, life was not easy for the few black hockey players 
trying to break into the professional ranks in the 1950s. America was 
still dealing with segregation and Jim Crow, and racism was an everyday 
reality for black people everywhere. No black person was immune to this 
reality, not even a young black Canadian hockey player from 
Fredericton, New Brunswick. While chasing his boyhood dream of becoming 
a professional hockey player, Willie O'Ree faced more than his fair 
share of racial epithets and abuse from players and spectators alike. 
However, his inner strength, dedication, and determination propelled 
him above his racial antagonists and set him on a course that would 
ultimately prove historic and transformational.
  And not only did Willie overcome the racial climate of his day, he 
also overcame a potentially career ending injury that almost no one 
knew about. When Willie was a 19-year-old playing junior hockey in 
Canada, he was struck by an errant puck that left him blind in his 
right eye. The doctors that treated him told him he would never play 
again. Thankfully for us, he followed his heart and not their 
prognosis. But Willie did keep the fact that he was blind in his right 
eye a secret from coaches, players, and even his family for fear that 
they might keep him from the sport he loved.
  Following his time with the Bruins, Willie spent most of the 
remainder of his career in the Western Hockey League, where he played 
for both the Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls. He ended a 
successful 21-year professional hockey career in 1979. However, the 
best was yet to come with respect to Willie's relationship with hockey 
and the NHL. For as much as he was a historic game changer on the ice 
in 1958, today he is recognized as one of most influential and 
respected advocates for the game off the ice.
  In 1998, forty years after his initial impact as a player, Willie 
again significantly impacted the NHL and the game of hockey, but this 
time as the League's Diversity Ambassador and Director of Youth 
Development. Since reconnecting with the League, Willie has been a 
passionate and tireless teacher, mentor and friend to tens of thousands 
of young kids, from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, who 
have come to embrace and play the great game of hockey. His legacy 
continues to be on display in organizations like the Ft. Dupont Ice 
Hockey Club, here in Washington, DC, which is the oldest minority ice 
hockey club in North America, and SCORE Boston, an inner-city hockey 
program located in my district. Willie's legacy also can be seen 
through the NHL stars of today and the future stars of tomorrow. Last 
year's NHL All Star game featured the largest contingency of black 
players ever, with one of the players, Wayne Simmonds, being named the 
game's Most Valuable Player. Next month, Jordan Greenway, a member of 
the Boston University hockey team, will be the first African American 
to play hockey for the United States in the Olympics.
  Earlier this week, we celebrated the national holiday honoring the 
life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Universally recognized 
as one of the world's most eloquent and passionate defenders of civil 
and human rights, Dr. King, in his now famous ``I Have a Dream'' 
speech, talked of one day living in a nation where we will be judged 
not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character. Mr. 
Speaker, I think it is fitting that during the same week we are 
celebrating Dr. King's legacy, we are acknowledging the accomplishments 
of Willie O'Ree: a man whose character allowed him to overcome the 
challenges surrounding the color of his skin and, in doing so, changed 
the sport of hockey forever.

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