Color of Hockey: Kwong gaining support for Hall of Fame induction

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, he profiles the effort to get Larry Kwong elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Kwong became the NHL's first player of Asian heritage when he appeared in one game for the New York Rangers on March 13, 1948.

The numbers align for Larry Kwong, his supporters say.

March 13 marked the 75th anniversary of when Kwong became the first player of Asian descent to play in the NHL when he suited up for the New York Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum in Montreal in 1948.

June 17 would have been the late forward's 100th birthday, a milestone that occurs five days before the Hockey Hall of Fame announces its class of 2023.

More than 9,200 people have signed an online change.org petition calling for Kwong's induction. The petition notes that Kwong's one game, his one 60-second shift with the Rangers helped pave the way to the NHL for other Asian heritage players, including Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki (Japanese Canadian) and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson (Filipino American) and former NHL players Robin Bawa (South Asian Canadian), Jim Paek (Korean) and Paul Kariya (Japanese Canadian), who was enshrined in the Hall in 2017.

"I think a lot of times Larry's story is dismissed because of his short minute on the ice," said Chad Soon, a teacher from Kwong's home town of Vernon, British Columbia who has been advocating for greater recognition of Kwong's achievements for 15 years. "One has to understand what he was to the Chinese Canadian community, the Chinese American community, because you were expected to be a servant, a laborer. You were banned from professions. And Larry finds this way to climb the ladder to success. It can't be understated how much he opened eyes to the fact that hockey could be more than just a white sport."

Kwong's significance to hockey is recognized by the United By Hockey Mobile History Museum that's touring all 32 NHL markets this season. A giant photo of Kwong adorns the outside of the trailer and a jersey he wore in 1942-43, when he played for the Nanaimo of the Pacific Coast Hockey League, is prominently displayed inside.

The museum will be in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Monday at 111 W. 4th St.; Chicago on Wednesday at 1801 W. Jackson Blvd.; Columbus on Saturday at 191 West St; and Detroit on April 10 and 11 at Jack Adams Memorial Arena.

Moezine Hasham, founder and executive director of the Hockey 4 Youth Foundation, said he hopes Kwong will follow the path Willie O'Ree and Herb Carnegie took to the Hall.

O'Ree, who became the NHL's first Black player when he debuted with the Boston Bruins against the Canadiens on January 17, 1958, at the Forum, was inducted in November 2018 as a builder, largely for his post-retirement work as the NHL's diversity ambassador.

Carnegie, regarded by many as the best Black player never to reach the NHL, was posthumously inducted as a builder in November 2022, mainly for being a hockey innovator, inventor and philanthropist.

Their elections came after years of public and media campaigns to get them in.

"You look at Willie and Herb and their stories and how the Hall of Fame has recognized their commitment to the game," said Hasham, whose organization helps make hockey affordable for newcomers to Canada. "I wrote in my letter, public submission to the Hall, that Larry's the third. They need their linemate."

Both circa 1950: Larry Kwong as a member of the New York Rovers; Kwong with New York Rangers officials Frank Boucher (left) and Lynn Patrick

Kwong was born in 1923, the 14th of 15 children. The son of a grocery store owner, he was drawn to hockey by Foster Hewitt's play-by-play calls on "Hockey Night in Canada" radio broadcasts.

He begged his parents for a pair of skates and eventually got a mail-order oversized pair of CCMs.

At 5-foot-6, Kwong developed into a speedy skater and shifty center. He played for the Trail Smoke Eaters of the Alberta-British Columbia Senior League in 1941-42 after a successful minor hockey career. He joined the Canadian army during World War II and mesmerized troops with his hockey skills.

Kwong also caught the attention of the Rangers, who invited him to their training camp in 1946. He was assigned to the New York Rovers, the Rangers' affiliate in the old Eastern Hockey League and the Quebec Senior Hockey League.

The Rovers played at Madison Square Garden, where Kwong quickly became a star attraction and fan favorite. Nicknamed "The China Clipper" and "King Kwong," he led the team in scoring in 1947-48.

Kwong's minor league performance that season, coupled with a rash of injuries on the Rangers, prompted a call-up to the parent club for the game at the Canadiens.

He sat through two periods before Rangers coach Frank Boucher put him in the game with the score tied 2-2.

"They got me out there and I did the best I could," Kwong said in a 2015 article in Legends, the Hockey Hall of Fame's program guide.

The Canadiens won 3-2. Kwong was one minute and done for his NHL career. He never asked why he didn't get a longer look.

"Oh, I was disappointed that I didn't play more. I just let it be," Kwong told the Color of Hockey in 2015. "I always thought the coach knew what he was doing. Maybe he had orders from the top brass. I don't know."

Team photo of the 1950-51 Valleyfield Braves of the Quebec Major Hockey League at the Arena Salaberry in Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada. Larry Kwong is top row, second from right, coach Toe Blake is middle row, fourth from right. The Braves were winners of the Alexander Trophy in 1951.

Kwong moved on to play for Valleyfield of the QSHL and was the league's most valuable player and second-leading scorer in 1951. The following season, he finished second in the QSHL in goal scoring with 38, behind a Quebec center named Jean Beliveau.

Kwong crossed the Atlantic in 1957 to play and coach in England and Switzerland. He returned to Canada in 1972 and died on March 15, 2018 at the age of 94, two days after the 70th anniversary of his NHL debut.

"When you think about him stepping on the ice, whether it's with the Rangers, the Rovers, playing in the Quebec Senior Hockey League, and then eventually playing and coaching in Europe," Hasham said, "he was breaking barriers everywhere."

Photos: HHOF Images