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Black players in ice hockey

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Black history in ice hockey has roots dating back to the mid 20th century. One of the first black stars of ice hockey was Herb Carnegie during the Great Depression. Willie O'Ree would break the NHL’s color barrier with the Boston Bruins.

Coloured Hockey League

The Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes[1] began as an initiative of Black Baptists churches in Nova Scotia. The aim was to increase and retain male membership. The league consisted of teams from Halifax, Africville, Hammond's Plains, Dartmouth, Truro, Amherst and Charlottetown, P.E.I. All games were on an invitational basis and no trophy was ever used. Historically, they were the first league to allow the goaltender to drop to the ice to stop the puck.[2]

Ontario

Ontario was geographically large, and it was impossible in the early 20th century to organize an all-black league like in Nova Scotia. Some of the early black players in Ontario hockey history included Hipple Galloway and Fred Kelly. Galloway played as a member of the Woodstock team in the Central Ontario Hockey Association in 1899. [3] In 1916, Fred (Bud) Kelly of London played for the 118 Battalion team of the Ontario Hockey League. Apparently, Kelly was scouted by the Toronto St. Pats, but was never officially contacted. One of the first all-black teams in Ontario was the Orioles. The team was from St. Catharines and played in the Niagara District Hockey League during the 1930s.

Herb Carnegie’s hockey career began in 1938 with the Toronto Young Rangers and continued in the early 1940s with the Buffalo Ankerites, a team in a mines league that played in mining towns in northern Ontario and Quebec. While with the Ankerites, Carnegie was part of the Black Aces line.[4] The other line members consisted of his brother, Ossie Carnegie and Manny McIntyre, originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick. They were recognized as much for their talent and skill as their skin colour (Herb was at centre, Ossie was right wing, McIntyre was the left wing). In the semi-professional Quebec Provincial League, Herb was named most valuable player in 1946, 1947 and 1948.

In 1948, Carnegie was given a tryout with the New York Rangers and offered a contract to play in the Rangers' minor league system. However, he was offered less money than he was earning in the Quebec league and turned down all three offers made by the Rangers organization during his tryout.

WHA

  • Alton White played for the New York Raiders, Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags, and Baltimore Blades of the (WHA). White is best known for being the second player of African descent, after Willie O'Ree, to have played on a professional major league ice hockey team[5] In addition, White is the first hockey player of African descent to score 20 goals in a single season. He did this for the Los Angeles Sharks during the 1972–73 season. During the same 72–73 season, he became the first black player in history to score a hat-trick in a major league professional game.[5]
  • Tony McKegney was raised by a white family in Sarnia, Ontario. At age twenty, Tony McKegney signed a contract with the now defunct World Hockey Association’s (WHA) team in Birmingham, just to see the owner illegally renege on the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for having added a black player to its roster.[6] In the NHL, McKegney would go on to score over 300 career goals, including 40 in the 1987–88 season. His total of 78 points in the same season would remain the highest ever recorded by a black player until Jarome Iginla broke the record in 2001–02.

NHL

On April 3, 2001, Jay Sharrers made NHL history as the first black referee to officiate an NHL game. He worked his first game as an NHL ref when the Philadelphia Flyers faced the visiting Florida Panthers.[7]

Willie O'Ree

O'Ree is referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of ice hockey" due to breaking the colour barrier in the sport. He was called up to the Boston Bruins of the NHL to replace an injured player. He made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 18 of the 1957–58 NHL season, against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black player in league history. O'Ree is still heavily involved with the NHL, in promoting the league's Diversity Program all over North America with amateur youth and adult hockey players.[1]

Michael Marson

Marson played five seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals and the Los Angeles Kings. He was drafted in the 2nd Round, 19th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft and would become the second Black Canadian to play in the NHL. Mike Marson and Bill Riley (the third black player in the NHL) became the first two black players to play in an NHL game together.[8] The two played with the Washington Capitals.

Other

IIHF

  • On May 11, 2003, Anson Carter scored on Mikael Tellqvist of Sweden to lead Canada to the gold medal at the 2003 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championships.[11]
  • In 2008, Angela James became the first black woman inducted in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.[12] She also scored 11 goals during the 1990 Women’s World Hockey Championships tournament, a record that still stands today. James has won four world championship gold medals, two 3 Nations Cup gold medals and one IIHF Pacific Rim Championship gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Team.[13]

Women’s hockey

Angela James played in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League, precursor to the National Women's Hockey League and Canadian Women's Hockey League. She represented Team Canada internationally. She scored 34 points (22g, 12a)[14] in 20 games over four women's world championships,[15] including 11 goals in five games in the inaugural IIHF World Women's Championships, held in Ottawa in 1990.[16] In 2008, she, along with Cammi Granato (USA) and Geraldine Heaney (CAN), became the first women to be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hockey Hall of Fame.[15] James is the daughter of a black father and white mother; she is the only Black Canadian to captain a national hockey team.[17]

Breaking the barrier

NHL Club First black player Season
Boston Bruins Willie O'Ree 1957–58 NHL season
Buffalo Sabres Tony McKegney 1978–79 NHL season
Edmonton Oilers Grant Fuhr 1981–82 NHL season
Los Angeles Kings Mike Marson 1979–80 NHL season
San Jose Sharks Dale Craigwell 1991–92 NHL season
Washington Capitals Mike Marson 1974–75 NHL season
Winnipeg Jets Bill Riley[18] 1979–80 NHL season

NHL Draft

Player Draft Team Round Pick
Grant Fuhr 1981 NHL Draft[19] Edmonton Oilers 1 8
Mike Grier 1993 NHL Draft[20] St. Louis Blues 9 219
Jarome Iginla 1995 NHL Draft Dallas Stars 1 11
Georges Laraque 1995 NHL Draft Edmonton Oilers 2 31
Mike Marson 1974 NHL Draft Washington Capitals 2 19
Wayne Simmonds 2007 NHL Draft Los Angeles Kings 2 61
Kevin Weekes 1993 NHL Draft Florida Panthers 2 41
Peter Worrell 1995 NHL Draft Florida Panthers 7 166

Career stats

Player Team Games Goals Assists Points
Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames 1047 450 488 938[21]
Tony McKegney Buffalo Sabres
Quebec Nordiques
St. Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings		 912 320 319 639[22]
Anson Carter Washington Capitals
Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
New York Rangers
Los Angeles Kings		 674 202 219 421[23]
Mike Grier Edmonton Oilers
Washington Capitals
Buffalo Sabres
San Jose Sharks
Compton Shankers		 1012 159 216 375[24]
Bill Riley Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets		 139 31 30 61[25]
Claude Vilgrain New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers		 89 21 32 53[26]
Mike Marson Washington Capitals
Los Angeles Kings		 196 24 24 48[27]
Dale Craigwell San Jose Sharks 98 11 18 29[28]
John Craighead Toronto Maple Leafs 5 0 0 0[29]

Historic firsts

  • First black player in an NHL Game: Willie O'Ree
  • First black referee in an NHL game: Jay Sharrers, April 3, 2001
  • First American born black player in an NHL game: Val James
  • First black goalie in the NHL: Grant Fuhr
  • First black player to win the Stanley Cup: Grant Fuhr
  • First black captain in the NHL: Dirk Graham.
  • First black coach in professional hockey: John Paris Jr. of Windsor, Nova Scotia become the first black coach in professional hockey with the Atlanta Knights in 1994[30]
  • First black player in the Hockey Hall of Fame: Grant Fuhr
  • First black captain for Canadian national team: Angela James
  • First black player to score 20 goals in a single season: Alton White, Los Angeles Sharks, WHA, 1972–73 season
  • First time two black players played in the NHL in the same game: Mike Marson and Bill Riley
  • First black player to score on a black goalie in an NHL playoff game: Joel Ward (Nashville) on Ray Emery (Aneheim) on April 23, 2011
  • First black TV analyst in hockey: Kevin Weekes[31] Weekes provides color commentary for NHL games on the NHL Network and Hockey Night in Canada.
  • As of the 2010-11 NHL season, the only African American player agent is Eustace King.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes 1895-1925. Blackicebook.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-20.
  2. ^ African Nova Scotia Hockey History. Birthplaceofhockey.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  3. ^ African-Canadian Hockey History – Articles – Ontario Black History Society. Blackhistorysociety.ca. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  4. ^ Herb Carnegie. Greatest Hockey Legends.com (2007-01-21). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  5. ^ a b "Rink Rookie Makes Hockey History". Ebony: 64–68. 1973. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Tony McKegney
  7. ^ Sharrers is first black referee. Cbc.ca (2001-04-04). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  8. ^ Humble Beginnings: Mike Marson & Bill Riley – Washington Capitals Club History. Capitals.nhl.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  9. ^ Allen, Kevin. (2008-01-15)He reached the 1000 games mark in 2010-2011 Willie O'Ree still blazing way in NHL 50 years later. Usatoday.Com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  10. ^ Jim Kelley. "First black inductee pleased to be role model". ESPN.com. November 3, 2003. Retrieved on September 10, 2008.
  11. ^ IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, p.61, Szymon Szenberg and Andrew Podnieks, 2008, Fenn Publishing Company Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55168-358-4
  12. ^ IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time, p.145, Szymon Szenberg and Andrew Podnieks, 2008, Fenn Publishing Company Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55168-358-4
  13. ^ Hockey Canada
  14. ^ "Heaney, James, Granato honoured". Yahoo!. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-05-27. [dead link‍]
  15. ^ a b "IIHF Hall of Fame adds seven". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  16. ^ "Two OBHA Hall of Famers Recognized by International Ice Hockey". Ontario Ball Hockey Association. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  17. ^ "Angela James". Ontario Black History Society. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  18. ^ DaCosta 400 – 400 Years of black Canadiana. Dacosta400.ca (1958-01-17). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  19. ^ http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1981e.html
  20. ^ http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1993e.html
  21. ^ Jarome Iginla hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1977-07-01). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  22. ^ Tony McKegney hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1958-02-15). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  23. ^ Anson Carter hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1974-06-06). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  24. ^ Mike Grier hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1975-01-05). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  25. ^ Bill Riley NHL & WHA Statistics. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  26. ^ Claude Vilgrain hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1963-03-01). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  27. ^ Mike Marson hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1955-07-24). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  28. ^ Dale Craigwell hockey statistics & profile at. Hockeydb.com (1971-04-24). Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  29. ^ John Craighead NHL & WHA Statistics. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  30. ^ Black Hockey Roots of Nova Scotia. Birthplaceofhockey.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
  31. ^ "Weekes is a bold new voice for Hockey Night in Canada". The Hockey News. September 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  32. ^ The Hockey News, Volume 64, Number 14, January 17, 2011, Publisher: Caroline Andrews, Transcontinental Media
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