Just about every morning back in the 80s my day started out the same the drive up Broad St. to the Cozy Corner. A quaint litter dinner in South Providence. What made the dinner unique was it sat at the upper end of Broad St situated in A Italo American and African American nieghborhood. The walls celebrated the diversity with sports memorabilia from the golden age to the modern day. The debates passionate who was better Marciano or Louis, DiMaggio or Aaron and the big debate of the 80s Magic or Bird. The counter was standing room only I had my favorite booth I sat at each day.
Above my seat was a article called O’ree’s Hell on Ice. I never heard of Willie O’ree but the first time I waited to get served it was something to pass the time. I knew about Jackie Robinson and new who Pumpsi Green was I new that Bill Russell was the first black coach in the NBA but had no idea who Willie was. It was the 25th Anniversary of the landmark game on a January night in Montreal. On that Night with the bruins struggling with injuries they called up a kid from New Brunswick Canada named Willie O’ree. It did not make the nation press in Canada or the States there was no fanfare just another kid from the Canada getting to live his dream. What brought chills up my spine was the details of the hell he went through for the next 20 years in his own private hell. It would be another 25 years before another black player would be called up.
What I carry with me the rest of my life is the picture of Willie with his Bruins sweater standing on the ice looking like he was ready to shoot a wrister through the net. Then when you see the title of the Bill Reynolds’s column O’ree’s Hell on Ice it was stirring. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but that headline is forever burned in my memory. O’ree was the last to break the racial barrier in North America Sports people will always remember Jackie, Jack Johnson, Fritz Pollard and many others who were first but Willie is unique he is the first and last the first in hockey and the last to integrate north American Sports.
January 18,1958 was a day no one seemed to remember lets make January 19, 2008 When Willie O’ree takes the ice tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden 50 years latter a day we soon wont forget.
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY January 18,2008
Full article By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2008-01-14-cover-oree_N.htm
Inspiring generations of players
Today, O'Ree's message of perseverance is made to children all over the country through clinics and speeches. "His message has nothing to do with color," McCants says. "His message is about education and following your dreams." He says players get inspired when they see O'Ree and hear his story: "It doesn't just inspire kids. It inspires program directors."
Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, the NHL's highest-profile black player, says, "It rubs off on you when you meet him and see how much energy he has. It's inspiring to see how much he gives back to the game and to the kids. I'm in awe knowing what he went through. There is a lot of trash-talking going on, and I can't imagine what he must have gone through."
McCants says, "I coach kids and I can't get them to listen for 10 minutes or even 10 seconds, but they listen to Willie. People are naturally attracted to him."
The diversity program has grown significantly since O'Ree began working for the NHL. Goalie Gerald Coleman, who played in the Chicago program and O'Ree's All-Star Game, was drafted by Tampa Bay and has played two games in the NHL, in 2005-06.
"It was Willie who pushed me," says Coleman, with the Anaheim Ducks' farm team in Portland, Maine. "He came from nothing to do something no one else had done. My thought was, 'Why can't I do that?' He's making a difference. To me, if we are getting one, two or three kids in every city to play, we are accomplishing something. It may take 12 years to get five more black guys, but that's a start."
McCants says minority players still face racial issues when they play and what they hear from O'Ree helps them deal with it. O'Ree reminds them not to let insults get in the way of their dreams: "If you speared me or butt-ended me, I went after you. But when it came to racial remarks, I let it go in one ear and out the other. If I responded to every word that was said to me, I would have been in the penalty box all the time."
O'Ree says there is still much to be done, that race or cultural issues don't hold back minority players as much as facilities: "Hockey is a unique sport. You can bounce a basketball around in many places, and you can always throw a baseball or football around or kick a soccer ball anywhere. But to play hockey, you need to get on the ice. … We need facilities for these kids."
Fifty years after making history, O'Ree is still working to change the complexion of the game.
Above my seat was a article called O’ree’s Hell on Ice. I never heard of Willie O’ree but the first time I waited to get served it was something to pass the time. I knew about Jackie Robinson and new who Pumpsi Green was I new that Bill Russell was the first black coach in the NBA but had no idea who Willie was. It was the 25th Anniversary of the landmark game on a January night in Montreal. On that Night with the bruins struggling with injuries they called up a kid from New Brunswick Canada named Willie O’ree. It did not make the nation press in Canada or the States there was no fanfare just another kid from the Canada getting to live his dream. What brought chills up my spine was the details of the hell he went through for the next 20 years in his own private hell. It would be another 25 years before another black player would be called up.
What I carry with me the rest of my life is the picture of Willie with his Bruins sweater standing on the ice looking like he was ready to shoot a wrister through the net. Then when you see the title of the Bill Reynolds’s column O’ree’s Hell on Ice it was stirring. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but that headline is forever burned in my memory. O’ree was the last to break the racial barrier in North America Sports people will always remember Jackie, Jack Johnson, Fritz Pollard and many others who were first but Willie is unique he is the first and last the first in hockey and the last to integrate north American Sports.
January 18,1958 was a day no one seemed to remember lets make January 19, 2008 When Willie O’ree takes the ice tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden 50 years latter a day we soon wont forget.
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY January 18,2008
Full article By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2008-01-14-cover-oree_N.htm
Inspiring generations of players
Today, O'Ree's message of perseverance is made to children all over the country through clinics and speeches. "His message has nothing to do with color," McCants says. "His message is about education and following your dreams." He says players get inspired when they see O'Ree and hear his story: "It doesn't just inspire kids. It inspires program directors."
Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, the NHL's highest-profile black player, says, "It rubs off on you when you meet him and see how much energy he has. It's inspiring to see how much he gives back to the game and to the kids. I'm in awe knowing what he went through. There is a lot of trash-talking going on, and I can't imagine what he must have gone through."
McCants says, "I coach kids and I can't get them to listen for 10 minutes or even 10 seconds, but they listen to Willie. People are naturally attracted to him."
The diversity program has grown significantly since O'Ree began working for the NHL. Goalie Gerald Coleman, who played in the Chicago program and O'Ree's All-Star Game, was drafted by Tampa Bay and has played two games in the NHL, in 2005-06.
"It was Willie who pushed me," says Coleman, with the Anaheim Ducks' farm team in Portland, Maine. "He came from nothing to do something no one else had done. My thought was, 'Why can't I do that?' He's making a difference. To me, if we are getting one, two or three kids in every city to play, we are accomplishing something. It may take 12 years to get five more black guys, but that's a start."
McCants says minority players still face racial issues when they play and what they hear from O'Ree helps them deal with it. O'Ree reminds them not to let insults get in the way of their dreams: "If you speared me or butt-ended me, I went after you. But when it came to racial remarks, I let it go in one ear and out the other. If I responded to every word that was said to me, I would have been in the penalty box all the time."
O'Ree says there is still much to be done, that race or cultural issues don't hold back minority players as much as facilities: "Hockey is a unique sport. You can bounce a basketball around in many places, and you can always throw a baseball or football around or kick a soccer ball anywhere. But to play hockey, you need to get on the ice. … We need facilities for these kids."
Fifty years after making history, O'Ree is still working to change the complexion of the game.
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