Color of Hockey: Marson blazed trail for Black players in NHL Draft

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, as part of NHL.com marking the 60th anniversary of the NHL Draft, he profiles Mike Marson, who became the first Black player chosen in the draft when the Washington Capitals selected him in the second round (No. 19) in 1974. Marson became the NHL's second Black player, 16 years after Willie O'Ree debuted with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

Mike Marson doesn't remember exactly how he heard about it.

Marson was at his family's Scarborough, Ontario, home when the expansion Washington Capitals selected him in the second round (No. 19) of the 1974 NHL Draft, a clandestine affair conducted via conference call at the League's Montreal headquarters to safeguard against the rival World Hockey Association poaching players.

"I think one of my brothers, Larry or Ricky, told me," the 67-year-old retired right wing said. "I guess someone had called them, and it just snowballed. I was excited because I wanted to be an early pick in the draft."

Marson made history by becoming the first Black player ever chosen in the draft, which marks its 60th anniversary when Nashville hosts the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena.

He became the League's second Black player when the Capitals made their NHL debut against the New York Rangers on Oct. 9, 1974, at Madison Square Garden.

Marson's appearance came 16 years after Willie O'Ree became the League's first Black player when he was called up by the Boston Bruins for a game against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 18, 1958, at the Montreal Forum.

Though Marson may be fuzzy on the details of his draft day nearly half a century ago, others vividly recall it as a pivotal moment that had a profound impact.

More than 100 Black players have been chosen by NHL teams since Marson was chosen 49 years ago, from players who never reached the League to Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr (No. 8 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL Draft) to forward Quinton Byfield, who became the highest-drafted Black player when the Los Angeles Kings selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

"Mike getting drafted was a big, big deal," said Karl Subban, the father of ESPN hockey analyst and retired NHL defenseman P.K. Subban, goalie Malcolm Subban, and minor league defenseman Jordan Subban.

"It's such a tremendous milestone, the first Black player to be drafted, the second Black player to play in the NHL." Karl Subban said. "It hasn't been lost on me that he paved the way for my three sons to be drafted in the NHL and to have had whatever career they've had."

P.K. Subban was selected by Montreal in the second round (No. 43) of the 2007 NHL Draft, played 834 games with the Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils and won the Norris Trophy, voted as the top defenseman in the NHL, in 2013.

The Boston Bruins chose Malcolm Subban with the No. 24 pick in the 2012 draft. He's played 86 games (77 starts) with the Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.

The Vancouver Canucks took Jordan Subban in the fourth round (No. 115) of the 2013 draft and he has yet to make his NHL debut; he played last season with South Carolina of the ECHL.

Karl Subban grew up idolizing Marson. His family immigrated from Jamaica to Sudbury, Ontario, where Marson was captain of Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey Association, now the Ontario Hockey League.

A powerful skater and physical force, Marson led Sudbury with 94 points (35 goals, 59 assists) in 69 games in 1973-74.

"That especially meant a lot to the Black community because that's how we saw ourselves in the game, through him," Karl Subban said. "We loved the Sudbury Wolves, but we loved Mike Marson. We became hockey fans and Mike gave us a reason to cheer our hometown team."

Tony McKegney remembers keeping tabs on Marson's junior hockey career via The Hockey News years before the Buffalo Sabres chose him in the second round (No. 32) of the 1978 draft.

"That was the only way you could find out what was going on before the internet," said McKegney, a forward who had 639 points (320 goals, 319 assists) in 912 games with the Sabres, Quebec Nordiques, Minnesota North Stars, Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks from 1978-91 and was the first Black player to score 40 goals in a season, with the Blues in 1987-88. "I watched his stats, watched him, I knew he was a Black hockey player. I thought he was legitimate, had the numbers to be a first-round pick."

Val James was also keeping track of Marson while he was trying to establish himself in the Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League in the 1970s.

"When I heard he got drafted, I thought it was fantastic," James said. "It was a giant leap, so I figured I had a chance."

James, a physical forward who was born in Ocala, Florida, and raised on Long Island, got his chance when the Red Wings made him the first Black American player to be chosen when they selected him in the 16th round (No. 184) in the 1977 NHL Draft. He played 11 games in the League with the Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1981-87.

Marson's NHL career was brief. As a 19-year-old rookie, he was the Capitals' third-leading scorer with 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 76 games in 1974-75.

But Marson found playing on a team that went 8-67-5 in its first season was hard and being one of two Black players in the NHL -- undrafted forward Bill Riley joined Washington about three months into the season -- was harder.

With his Afro hairstyle jutting from his helmet, mutton chops, and a Fu Manchu mustache, Marson was targeted with racist taunts on and off the ice and received mailed death threats at his home and at the Capital Centre, Washington's first arena in Landover, Maryland.

"It was a culture shock," Marson told the Color of Hockey in 2016. "Nobody should have to make a comment that you're with the team to get on a plane; nobody should have to, when you get to the hotel, hear the staff ask the coach, 'Is this gentleman with you?' Or hear, 'We don't have people like him stay at our hotel'; and nobody should then have to go down in the morning for breakfast and have people usher by you nonstop because they won't serve you. This is before you even get to the rink, before you have to deal with your opposition. It was nonstop."

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Marson played six seasons with the Capitals and Los Angeles Kings before he retired at age 25, with 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists) in 196 games.

But he left a lasting impact on the sport, said Anthony Stewart, a hockey analyst for Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada and former forward selected by the Florida Panthers with the No. 25 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft. He played 262 games with the Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and Carolina Hurricanes from 2005-12.

A white jersey Marson wore in 1975-76 helps anchor a permanent exhibit at Capital One Arena that honors the 11 Black players in Capitals history.

Stewart named a mentorship group after Marson when he formed Hockey Equality, a nonprofit organization that partners with the NHL to help lower barriers to underserved hockey communities.

"It kept me level over the years just thinking about what Mike Marson had to go through, what's the math, nearly 30 years before I got drafted," Stewart said. "It gave me the strength to sort of carry on. He went through a lot of ups and downs and a lot of covert and overt racism.

"And for him to be at peace with that made it easier for players like me and others that he paved the way for to deal with what we have to deal with on a daily basis."

Photos: Getty Images; Hockey Hall of Fame