 |
| Willie O'Ree |
On Monday, November 12, 2018, the Hockey Hall of Fame of Toronto, Canada, inducted Willie O'Ree through its Builders Category. Many claim O'Ree's induction is long overdue.
O'Ree has the historical distinction of being the first player of sub-Saharan African ethnicity to play in an NHL game when management of the Boston Bruins brought up O'Ree from minor league hockey to play against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 18, 1958.
In 1998, a non-profit established by the execs of the the NHL and USA Hockey, the NHL/USA Hockey Diversity Task Force hired O'Ree to peddle the NHL and the game of hockey to those of the colored races.
It is hard not to see that O'Ree is little more than a racial prop, a token symbol being used to market the game of hockey and the NHL.
According to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHF), candidates for the Builder Category get considered if they have:
coaching, managerial or executive ability, or ability in another significant off-ice role, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.[see: Summary of Nomination and Election Procedures]
The other categories for which the selection committee did not consider O'Ree were the Player Category (playing ability, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her team or teams and to the game of hockey in general) and the Referee or Linesman Category (officiating ability, sportsmanship, character and contributions to his or her organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general).
The PR machine at the HHF released this to explain why O'Ree has been included in the HHF:
While Willie O'Ree's NHL career consisted of just 45 games over two seasons, it is the historical impact of his NHL career that has led him to Honoured Member status in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The magnitude of Willie O'Ree's hockey career as a black player cannot be underestimated. The second black player to join the NHL was Mike Marson, and that did not take place until the 1974-75 season with the Washington Capitals. O'Ree's NHL career, albeit brief, opened the door for other players of various races to dream about NHL careers.
[ see: Hockey Hall of Fame - 2018 Induction Celebration ]
In all of the years that I have watched and followed hockey, I had never heard of O'Ree until 2017. If O'Ree he had an affect "as a black player", then why did it take 16 seasons before a franchise's execs actually drafted a player who happened to be black?
O'Ree opened no doors, exactly. O'Ree had no affect on the game whatsoever as a player. The HHF selection committee did not induct O'Ree for his work with the NHL/USA Hockey Diversity Task Force.
Certainly, O'Ree could not have been inducted for his play.
At 25, O'Ree had a 6.5% shooting percentage in his second stint in the NHL. At 38, near the end of his illustrious playing career, Wayne Gretzky also had a 6.5% shooting percentage in his last season played with the New York Rangers.
During his prime playing days, while playing for the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne Gretzky's shooting percentage calculates to 3.2 times better than O'Ree.
Maybe Willie O'Ree simply wasn't good enough for the NHL eh.
Who Were the Ones Who Truly Broke the NHL Color Barrier?
 |
| Milt Schmidt |
The real heroes in the Willie O'Ree story are Milt Schmidt, the head coach of the 1958-59 and 1959-60, Boston Bruins, Lynn Patrick, the General Manager of the Bruins in those years and the guy who called up O'Ree, and Walter A. Brown, owner of the Bruins.
Schmidt, Patrick and Brown are the men who broke the supposed color barrier. O'Ree had no power. O'Ree could not decide for himself. Schmidt, Patrick and Brown decided. They are the ones and they alone broke the supposed colored barrier.
Contrary to the claim by those at the HHF, O'Ree had no historical impact on the NHL. Schmidt, Patrick and Brown did.
Incidentally, in the season in which execs of the Washington Capitals drafted Marson, the 1974–75 season and that franchise's inaugural season, the exec who drafted Mike Marson ahead of that season was none other than Milt Schmidt. Owner Abe Pollin had hired Milt Schmidt as general manager.
Already in the HHF, Milt Schmidt deserves enormous accolades for his sports-first approach to the NHL game. Known as a player on the "Kraut line," and HHF inductee in 1961, Milton Conrad "Milt" Schmidt is considered to be one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history. Schmidt died on January 4, 2017.
Schmidt is a dead white guy. Giving the rightful credit where it is due to Milt Schmidt, a white guy who helped a black guy during times supposedly charged with racism, would destroy any 21st century anti-white male, "white males are racists" narrative being peddled by those of the established #FakeNews media.
Further, the NHL marketing machine would be at a loss in their efforts to sell the NHL game to those of the colored races in an era of rapidly declining white male population in both the USA and Canada.
Who Was the First New World African Hockey Player?
 |
| Herb Carnegie |
The first New World African hockey player and perhaps the first one paid to play ice hockey was Toronto-born, Herb Carnegie, a player of Jamaican ancestry.
Carnegie began playing organized ice hockey in 1938 with the Toronto Young Rangers. Between 1944 and 1949, Carnegie played in the semi-professional Quebec Provincial League being named the most valuable player in in that league in the years, 1946, 1947 and 1949.
In 1948, Carnegie tried out for the New York Rangers but rejected an offer to play for the Rangers' minor league team as the Rangers offered Carnegie less money than he had been earning in the Quebec league.
Gab It
