Black Ice

1st on the ice, but not the last
An interview with O'Ree, an NHL icon
AG and Willie O'Ree in West Philadelphia

“No great poet has ever been afraid of being himself.”

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain – Langston Hughes

I have been blesed in my career as a journalist. I have interviewed some of the great names of our past, present, and future. However there are those few instances on the job when I am both honored and humbled. If I had an assignment to interview Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, Buck O'Neil, or Roberto Clemente, I wouldn't hesitate as they have inspired millions the world over, in life and death. Willie O'Ree integrated the National Hockey League in 1958, and during his visit to Philadelphia yesterday, I not only followed his every move, but I also did my best to give him the respect that he so very well deserves. 

Below is a conversation between he and I of history, respect, dedication, and hard work:

On being the first to integrate the National Hockey League:
“I never thought about it…it didn’t register until later on. I was really excited to play against the Montreal Canadians, who were winning the Stanley Cup during those years. Now I faced a lot of racism, and bigotry, but I always knew who I was. I fought a lot when I played…not because I wanted to, but because I had to. People wanted to know what I was made of.”

On the early years:
“My brother was not only my mentor, but he was also my friend, and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have become a professional hockey player. During my last year of Junior Hockey…in the 1st period a slap shot hit me in my right eye. The doctors told me that I lost 90% of my vision in my right eye and that I would never play hockey again. I’m a left-hand shot, a left wing, so I always had to turn my head to see everything. Back then, the team doctors never checked my eyes, and they never gave eye exams. If they did I would have never played, and I think that today people don’t know that I played on the professional level for 21 years.”

What was it like living in Boston during your playing days?
“I lived in Roxbury, a predominantly black neighborhood, and it was great. I scored my 1st NHL goal on New Years day, January 1, 1961 in the old Boston Garden. The fans there were great…it was when I played on the road in places like New York and Detroit that I experienced racism. And I'm still a [Boston] Bruins fan...a diehard!"

The media created a comparison to Jackie Robinson, talk about that:
“I met Jackie Robinson in 1949. I was 14-years old and he was playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. I told him that I play baseball and hockey. He said that he didn’t realize black kids played hockey, and then he told me, that in whatever I do, to be sure to work hard at it, because there is no substitute for hard work. I then met him again in 1962, at an NAACP luncheon in Los Angeles, and he remembered me.”

Talk about your friendship with Snoop Dogg:
“He is great. Snoop Dogg went on the ice with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and I was asked to attend…after that I had dinner with him and his sons, and we watched the game. His camera crew was there from his show and we had a really good time. He wants to learn the game and start a hockey league. I told him it would take a little time to master and that whatever he needs from me that I’m here to help.”

Watch the video for more on Willie O'Ree: