Q & A: Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s First Black Player
posted 2008-07-22

Q & A:
Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s First Black Player

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.”

SET: Let’s talk about you personally. When you stepped onto the ice in 1958 as the first black player in NHL history, did you see yourself as a trailblazer, or just as someone who was realizing his dream of playing in the National Hockey League?

O’Ree: Well, that was my goal, to be a professional hockey player and hopefully one day play in the National Hockey League.

I turned pro in 1956 with the Quebec Aces (of the Quebec Minor League), and my first year there we won the league championship. Then I went to the (NHL’s) Boston Bruins training camp in 1957, and was again returned to the Aces. Then on January 18, 1958, the Bruins contacted the Aces and said they wanted me to join the team in Montreal for their next game against the Canadiens.

“I fought because I had to, not because I wanted to.”

So prior to that, to the Montreal fans I was just Willie O’Ree of the Quebec Aces. The big write up was that we beat the Canadiens, 3-0 – not that I broke any sort of color barrier or anything. I traveled with the team to Boston and Montreal beat us, 6-2. Then I was returned to Quebec to finish the season.

It wasn’t until 1961, when I got called back up by the Bruins, that the media gave me the nickname “The Jackie Robinson of Hockey.”

SET: What sorts of things did you have to endure, being a minority of one in the NHL, that other players didn’t have to deal with?

O’Ree: Well, the racial remarks.

I was a physical player, and I knew I was going to get hit when I came up [to the NHL}. I give a lot of credit to my older brother, Richard, who was my mentor. He taught me a lot about hockey. He taught me how to be physical. I fought a lot when I first came up (to the NHL). I fought because I had to, not because I wanted to. Guys wanted to see what I was made of. I won fights and lost fights.

“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!

(Editor’s note: At this point in the interview, Willie began telling an amazing story of how he lost vision in his right eye, yet told no one about it).

O’Ree: I had an accident in my late teens, when a slap shot hit me in the right eye. I ended up losing about 95% of the vision in that eye. But the Quebec Aces called me and said they were building a championship team and wanted me to be a part of it. So I didn’t disclose to them anything about my eye.

I was a left winger and a left-handed shot, so because I couldn’t see out of my right eye, I had to completely turn my head to the right. But I decided to concentrate on what I COULD see instead of what I couldn’t see, and I only told two people about my eye: my youngest sister, and my best friend. I swore them to secrecy, because I was afraid if anyone found out they wouldn’t let me play again. So everyone thought I had simply recovered from my eye injury, but the truth was that I was blind in my right eye. I never took an eye exam for any of the eleven professional teams I played for.