An injustice has been corrected by the Hockey Hall of Fame after the institution finally decided Willie O’Ree should be in it.
On Tuesday, June 26, the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame Class was announced. Martin Brodeur was a lock, and he got in. But there’s an even more deserving member of the 2018 class. One who should have been in the Hockey Hall of Fame long before — Willie O’Ree.
O’Ree will get into the hall as a builder, as someone who helped grow the game. He is perhaps best known as the NHL’s first black hockey player, making his debut in January of 1958. O’Ree did this despite being mostly blind out of his right eye. This is a testament to how tough and how dedicated he was to playing hockey.
When he joined the league, like many other black athletes at the time, O’Ree faced racially-charged remarks from both fans and players. However, he never let them bother him.
“It didn’t bother me,” said O’Ree, via NHL.com. “I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn’t accept that fact, that was their problem, not mine.”
Even though he only played in 45 NHL games, he’s a crucial figure in the history of hockey. O’Ree helped open the door for other black players such as P.K. Subban, Jarome Iginla, Wayne Simmonds, Dustin Byfuglien and Hall of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr.
His position as a builder is well-deserved because he’s been such a strong advocate for hockey. Most of O’Ree’s efforts have been focused on diversity. O’Ree has been the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998. The NHL’s recent “Hockey Is For Everyone” campaign represents everything he stands for, and he’s played a large role in it.
Since O’Ree became the Diversity Ambassador, there has been an increase in minorities playing across all levels of hockey, including youth and juniors. His induction in the Hockey Hall of Fame has been long overdue. Even though O’Ree only played in 45 career games, the character he showed in even getting to that point should be celebrated.
His on-ice legacy isn’t as impressive as Jackie Robinson’s on the diamond, but baseball has done far more to honor its first African-American player of the 20th century than the NHL has done to honor its breaker of the color barrier. O’Ree’s No. 22 isn’t retired by the Boston Bruins, but it should be.
It’s hard to imagine where the NHL would be without him. Would guys like Subban and Simmonds be doing something else? O’Ree has done so much work to make hockey more accessible — not just for minorities, but for everyone.
His spirit and character are both among the best the NHL has ever seen. O’Ree has been a great ambassador for the game, regularly attending games around the league. The NHL has regularly trotted him out but until now, they’ve never been able to thank him appropriately for all the hard work he has done.
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O’Ree is an unselfish individual who constantly puts the concerns of others over his own. His Hall of Fame induction speech will surely be a great one. And O’Ree’s speech is one that should have been given a very long time ago.