50 years ago and some change, Willie O’Ree, 22 years old, stepped onto the ice at the hallowed Montreal Forum, a brand-new member of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, who had just called him up from the minors. It was January 18, 1958.

He only played that night and the next, for a total of two games. But three seasons later, O’Ree was back, this time lacing up his skates 43 times for the Bruins. It was then that he was dubbed “The Jackie Robinson of Hockey” for breaking the NHL’s color barrier.

Today, O’Ree is the Director of the NHL’s Diversity Program, which aims to bring the game of ice hockey to inner city kids and other underprivileged youths. He oversees some 39 programs, all designed to get as many kids on the ice as possible, so that the trail O’Ree blazed doesn’t get overgrown with weeds.

He recently sat down with SET during a visit to Detroit. Here’s the first installment of a multi-part series that SET will run of our Q & A with “The Jackie Robinson of Hockey.”

“I told myself, if I’m going to leave the league, it’s because I don’t have the skill – not because someone’s trying to run me out.”

SET: Any memorable bouts on the ice?

O’Ree: Oh, sure. My first trip into Chicago.

There was a big right winger for the Blackhawks – about 6-foot-4, 230 pounds – named Eric Nesterenko. We got into an altercation; I was behind the net, and was coming out front, and Nesterenko came from my blind side and butt-ended me in the mouth (with his stick). Split my lip, split my nose, knocked my two front teeth out. He made a couple of racial remarks, but what really got me mad was that he was kind of laughing at me, waiting to see what I would do.

So I hit him over the head with my stick, and we got into a fight. Both benches emptied. I had to remain in the locker room, for my own safety. That was probably the worst fight.

But I told myself, if I’m going to leave the league, it’s because I don’t have the skill – not because someone’s trying to run me out.

SET: How did you get bitten by the hockey bug to begin with?

O’Ree: Well, I started skating at the age of two. I had a rink in my backyard; my dad would flood the backyard. This was in Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada). And within 15 minutes of where I lived, there were four outdoor rinks. I even used to skate to school on some mornings.

I started playing organized hockey when I was five.

SET: What was it about the game of hockey that interested you so much?

O’Ree: Well, at first it was the act of skating itself. Then when I found out what I could do with the stick and the puck and the skates, I was obsessed with playing the sport. When I was 14, I decided I wanted to be a professional hockey player.

I was the youngest of 13 children, and my parents were very strict about me staying in school and completing my education. So I moved out when I was 17 to go to school to play hockey.

Come back to SetMagazine.com for Part 3 of our Q&A with Willie O’Ree, in which he tells of a frightening accident that caused him to hold a secret for his entire playing career!