Nhl ReportEssay Preview: Nhl ReportReport this essayRondale JohnsonNHL ReportFebruary 2, 2011Willie OReeThere arent many African Americans in the NHL, but there were some. The very first African American to be in the NHL was Willie ORee. Willie ORee could have had a big impact on African Americans; he going to the NHL wasnt really publicized. He was the first African American to play in the National Hockey League. Willie Oree made his debut in the NHL for the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958 and played right wing for the team for 45 games until 1961. He only played one full season in the NHL which was full of constant fighting, cheap shots, and racial slurs after the whistle was blown. Oree broke the color barrier the same way Jackie Robinson did in baseball, but few African Americans have followed in his footsteps. In the more than seven decades that the NHL has been around only 13 African Americans have been in the NHL. It was a hard time for Oree in the NHL. One incident happened during his stay with the Bruin. One night at Madison Square Garden Oree crashed hard into the defensive end boards of the New York City Rangers. The wire mesh between the crowd and the ice broke and Oree was dragged into a drunken, angry mob. Thanks to his teammates, Oree was pulled back on to the ice although he was already covered in beer, and taunted. Later on, Oree said he didnt even want to think about what would have happened if he had been pulled all the way into the crowd. Later in his career he suffered relatively little damage to his knees and ankles, the two injuries that can end a career. A while later Oree was struck in the right eye with a hockey puck. He lost 95 percent of vision in his right eye, but, he kept right on playing now switching to right wing, where he played for the rest of his career. Willie Oree turned professional in 1956 when he signed with the Quebec Aces. Two years later he earned a spot with the Boston Bruins. The night he made his debut, the crowd gave him a warm welcome and Boston won 3-0 that night. After only two games he sent back down to the minors. He stayed in the minors for one season until he made the Bruins regular roster in 1960. Once he was on the team that was when the trouble began. No matter how hard he played people always made reference to his color. The Boston Fans were friendly, but anywhere else he was heckled with racial slurs. There were a number of fights for Oree during his stay in the NHL but, he overcame them, challenge after challenge. Oree went through almost all of the injuries a hockey can expect to go through. He suffered broken thumbs, broken ribs, broken teeth, and several cuts to the face. Oree still has a metal pin in his shoulder today. He also has had several surgeries done on his knees and
NHL ReportPreview: Nhl Report on OraOriakiRondale JohnsonNHL ReportJanuary 29, 2011Willie OReeThere is an entire section on Ora (the man who played NHL for a decade) dedicated to the fact that neither Willie nor Ora are racial slurs. Ora is a blueblood, Ora is a black. Ora had his own racial slur for Willie during his playing days. A few years ago a guy named Ryan Sautner wrote about a racist slur that Joe Ora may have played with. That racist slur was written to mock the white player because he is a black. Ora started playing with the Bruins when he started playing with the Chicago Blackhawks and was known for playing his natural game, but this is another part of that quote. Ora was a left wing defenseman. What some would consider a bad, bad thing for Willie Ora is actually an excellent opportunity in a pro game. He was called up every other season to play for the Chicago Blackhawks but, he just never played there. If Willie was to be called up for the Chicago Blackhawks he would play on the blue line and be named captain. What is an “eye roll” for Ora is that he started playing for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1996 playing 11 games in 16 games. However, Willie was always playing on his own so that was not an eye roll.Ora came into the league in 1987 and played in 19 games. He started on the Bruins when the Bruins drafted him into the Ovechkin system. Ora played for 5 times the time in his 18-game time in Boston. He even played in a game with the Vancouver Canucks during the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ora started his NHL career with Boston but for a few months in 1993 the Bruins offered him to make the NHL. He had to move on to Montreal when he signed with the Bruins. O
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