History of Black Players in the NHL


On January 18, 1958, playing for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens, Willie O'Ree became the first black person to play in the NHL--an extraordinary event that paved the way for future players of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds.

1950's
Willie O'Ree (1958) | Photos | Video
































1970’s

Mike Marson (1974) | Photos

Bill Riley (1974) | Photos

Tony McKegney (1978) | Photos

Ray Neufeld (1979) | Photos

Bernie Saunders (1979) | Photos


1980’s

Val James (1981) | Photos

Grant Fuhr (1981) | Photos | Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Dirk Graham (1983) | Photos

Brian Johnson (1983)

Darren Lowe (1983)

Eldon “Pokey” Reddick (1986) | Photos

Steve Fletcher (1987)

Claude Vilgrain (1987) | Photos

Paul Jerrard (1988)

Mike McHugh (1988)

Graeme Townshend (1989) | Photos

 

1990’s

Reggie Savage (1990) | Photos

Dale Craigwell (1991) | Photos

Darren Banks (1992) | Photos

Nathan LaFayette (1993) | Photos

Sandy McCarthy (1993) | Photos

Fred Brathwaite (1993) | Photos

Craig Martin (1994)

Joaquin Gage (1994) | Photos

Donald Brashear (1994) | Photos

Jason Doig (1995) | Photos

Sean Brown (1996) | Photos

Rumun Ndur (1996) | Photos

Anson Carter (1996) | Photos

John Craighead (1996)

Peter Worrell (1997) | Photos

Tyrone Garner (1997)

Kevin Weekes (1997) | Photos | Video

Georges Laraque (1997) | Photos

Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (1998) | Photos

 

2000’s

Sean McMorrow (2002)

Nathan Robinson (2003)



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