O'Ree has number retired by Bruins, honoring first Black player in NHL

SAN DIEGO -- Willie O'Ree had his number retired by the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

A banner with O'Ree's name and No. 22 was hoisted to the rafters of TD Garden, 64 years to the day he became the first Black NHL player when he debuted with Boston against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum in 1958.
O'Ree watched the ceremony, held before the Bruins' 7-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, in San Diego from the home of his daughter, Chandra. The 86-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer didn't make the cross-country trip to Boston due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, but his absence didn't take the luster off the event for him or the crowd that packed the arena.
"To the Bruins fans, I am honored to have had the pleasure of playing before you," said O'Ree, shown speaking on the video board at TD Garden. "Thank you for your tremendous love and support. This is an unforgettable day. I am overwhelmed and thrilled to be a part of the Bruins forever. Thank you."
Chandra and O'Ree's wife, Deljeet, were shown with him on the video board.
"This is just a memorable evening not just for myself, but for my family," O'Ree said following the ceremony. "To have my number retired and hanging up in the rafters with so many other great hockey players that have played for the Bruins, it's just amazing."
Dignitaries from the NHL, including Commissioner Gary Bettman, and members of Boston's political and business communities joined fans to witness O'Ree become the 12th Bruins player to have his number retired.
He joined Lionel Hitchman (No. 3, 1934), Dit Clapper (No. 5, 1947), Eddie Shore (No. 2, 1949), Milt Schmidt (No. 15, 1957), Bobby Orr (No. 4, 1979), Johnny Bucyk, (No. 9, 1980), Phil Esposito (No. 7, 1987), Ray Bourque (No. 77, 2001), Terry O'Reilly (No. 24, 2002), Cam Neely (No. 8, 2004) and Rick Middleton (No. 16, 2018).
"People ask me if there was a significance to the No. 22," O'Ree said in the remarks shown on the video board. "At that time, there was not. It was a number that was presented to me. But looking back, I was 22 years old when I reached my goal of playing in the National Hockey League. I think of the excitement I felt skating on the ice. Now, I think about the next generation of hockey players who are now getting ready to make their debut and the excitement they must feel."
Two people inspired by O'Ree worked the game on Tuesday. Shandor Alphonso, the NHL's only Black on-ice official, was one of the two linesmen. Jay Sharrers, a retired NHL referee and linesman who became the League's first Black on-ice official in 1990, served as an officiating supervisor.
Commissioner Bettman said O'Ree deserves to join the other Bruins legends in having his name and number in the rafters.
"More than 8,200 players have suited up for at least one game in the National Hockey League's 105-year history," the Commissioner said. "Willie O'Ree is among the select few who made a unique, transformative and enduring contribution to the NHL.
"Merely by stepping onto the ice at the Montreal Forum in a Boston Bruins sweater 64 years ago, Willie truly changed our game. He has spent every day since not only living his life as a role model to be emulated and admired but working tirelessly to personally connect with and inspire thousands of children with his life story and life lessons our sport imparts."

O'Ree played 45 games over two seasons with Boston (1957-58, 1960-61). The forward wore No. 18 for two games, No. 25 for nine games and No. 22 for 34 games.
"I will never forget how my teammates in the Bruins locker room accepted me as one of their own," O'Ree said. "This was a time when some of the fans and opposing players were not ready to see a Black man in the NHL."
O'Ree said he persevered through hard times by remembering advice older brother Richard gave him.
"He used to say, 'Willie, focus on your goals you set for yourself, work hard and stay positive'," O'Ree said. "This is what I tried to do as a member of the Bruins every time I put on the jersey."

O'Ree scored 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) during his NHL career despite being legally blind in his right eye, the result of an injury sustained playing junior hockey.
The injury didn't stop him from having a prolific and lengthy minor league career, mostly in the old Western Hockey League with Los Angeles and San Diego.
O'Ree scored 639 points (328 goals, 311 assists) in 785 WHL games from 1961-74. He led the WHL with 38 goals in 1964-65, one of his five 30-goal seasons in the league (1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1968-69, 1973-74).
But O'Ree's most significant contributions to hockey came off the ice. He became the NHL's diversity ambassador in 1998 and has helped establish 39 grassroots hockey programs in North America as part of the Hockey is for Everyone initiative, inspiring more than 130,000 boys and girls to play the sport.
O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2018 in the Builders category. A life-size bronze statue of him resides in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., as part of a Black hockey exhibit.