Boston Bruins Wiilie O'Ree after number retired - 1/18/22
- Thread starter Fenway
- Start date
rocketdan9
Registered User
- Feb 5, 2009
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- 13,210
Willie did crack a barrier in 1958 BUT he was also Canadian.
The NHL of that era wanted nothing to do with US born players. The Bruins has ONE US born player Charle Burns and in 1959 he was the only one in the entire NHL and he was US born by accident as his Mom wound up in a Detroit hospital instead of Windsor.
Walter Brown ran the Bruins back then and he was truly color blind. The Bruins wound up with a black player BEFORE the Red Sox - that fact is staggering.
The NHL of that era wanted nothing to do with US born players. The Bruins has ONE US born player Charle Burns and in 1959 he was the only one in the entire NHL and he was US born by accident as his Mom wound up in a Detroit hospital instead of Windsor.
Walter Brown ran the Bruins back then and he was truly color blind. The Bruins wound up with a black player BEFORE the Red Sox - that fact is staggering.
Happy wife, happy life right?He is a Flyers fan
He should be getting the Congressional Gold Medal this week which is the highest honor bestowed on a civilian in the US.
There was real resistance to US players in the late 1950's but the facts were there were only 6 teams
and a couple of US players namely Bill Cleary
and John Mayasich, talented enough to stick in the NHL in the late 1950's. Tommy Williams and Jack McCartan from the 1960 US Team ultimately played
in the NHL and like I said Cleary and Mayasich were absolutely good enough but there wasn't much else. Might have been 1 or 2 US guys to get a game before Doug Roberts came into the NHL to join Williams. However once expansion occurred, it was obvious
players from New England and The Upper Midwest
would start finding themselves in the NHL.
McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
- 28,952
- 38,750
The Braves called up Sam Jethroe in 1950. Some people have attributed the Braves' decline at the box office to them fielding a black player, ultimately leading them to move to Milwaukee in 1953, and that that fear precipitated Tom Yawkey's hesitance to sign one until the state of Massachusetts agreed to hear an NAACP lawsuit and Yawkey scrambled to call up Pumpsie Green as fast as he could.
Yes, in a good way.
Since at least Bobby's number retirement and likely well before, the Boston Bruins know how to honor alumni, and to commemorate events.
Typically, they do so in simple, tasteful fashion, as befits this town, and this region.
Recall Espo's number retirement (which, if lore is accurate, credits Sinden with the sentimental notion of Ray relinquishing #7 to don #77}, the farewell to Boston Garden, Bourque's own retirment ceremony, or this moment,
I must say, the Flyers know how to pay proper tribute as well,
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