Color of Hockey: O'Ree, Dawson to receive honorary doctorate degrees

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 Willie O'Ree and Bob Dawson, hockey trailblazers who will receive honorary doctorate degrees from two Canadian universities in May.

Willie O'Ree and Bob Dawson became pioneers at different levels of hockey.
O'Ree became the first Black player in the NHL when he debuted with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens on January 18, 1958, at the Montreal Forum.
Dawson joined O'Ree as a trailblazer when he became the first Black player in the Atlantic Intercollegiate Hockey League with Saint Mary's University in 1967 and joined the
first all-Black line
to appear in a Canadian college game in February 1970.
The contributions of each to hockey and society will be celebrated when they receive honorary degrees from two Canadian universities in May.
O'Ree will receive an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of New Brunswick on May 17 in Fredericton, where he was born and raised.
"I'm truly honored and humbled beyond words to receive this honorary degree," O'Ree said. "And to receive it from the university in my hometown makes it even more special."

Dawson will be awarded an honorary doctorate in civil law from Saint Mary's on May 19 during its convocation at its Halifax, Nova Scotia, campus.
"To this day, it's quite humbling and I'm honored by the fact that I was nominated," Dawson said. "It's something else, it made my day. I felt very fortunate in terms of my four years at Saint Mary's. They were great years."
O'Ree played 45 NHL games over two seasons (1957-58, 1960-61) with the Bruins, despite being blind in one eye, the result of an injury sustained playing junior hockey, and continued to play in the minor leagues until 1979.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category in 2018 largely for his off-ice contributions to the sport, including helping establish 39 grassroots hockey programs in North America as part of the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, which has introduced the sport to more than 130,000 boys and girls.
The Bruins retired his No. 22 jersey on January 18, 2022, during a ceremony at TD Garden. President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on January 31, 2022 to award O'Ree the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S Congress.
"Not only is he a hockey pioneer who has spent decades working to make the sport more inclusive, but Willie O'Ree is also a community changemaker who used the joy of hockey to teach youth about inclusion and teamwork," UNB President and Vice Chancellor Paul Mazerolle said. "UNB wants to honor someone who has dedicated their career to making a positive impact in sports and society. By conferring an honorary doctorate to Willie O'Ree, we remind our graduating class of 2023 that when they leave this institution, they have the education and skills to make the world a more equitable place."

Dawson said he was surprised when he received an email message from Saint Mary's President Robert Summerby-Murray in March informing him he was selected to receive an honorary doctorate.
But Summerby-Murray said Dawson was an easy choice for the honor.
"He has carried his commitment to stand up to anti-Black racism beyond the hockey arena and into the wider Canadian society," Summerby-Murray said. "He shows us what it means to be a leader and live by values that will inspire others, especially future generations."
Though a defenseman, Dawson was put on an all-Black forward line with Percy Paris and Darrell Maxwell in a game against Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick by coach Bob Boucher.
Dawson said he and his linemates were subjected to bigotry, racist taunts and worse during their collegiate playing careers, which motivated him to become a vocal advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion on and off the ice.
The player who made history became Black hockey historian who has authored articles and research papers and has appeared in documentaries.

The 76-year-old Ottawa resident helped spearhead a drive that resulted in Canada Post creating a stamp in 2020 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Colored Hockey League of the Canadian Maritimes that operated from 1895 to the 1930s.
He is working with the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa to create an archival collection of the league that listed teams with catchy names like the Jubilees, Eurekas, Sea-Sides, Rangers, Royals and Moss Backs.
Away from the rink, Dawson established and implemented a "Police-Minority Youth Program," a community-based initiative to improve relations between police and youth in the Ottawa-Carleton area. He received a Civil Citation and Community Service Award from the police service boards in Gloucester and Ottawa in the 1990s.
Dawson received a lifetime achievement award in January from the Carnegie Initiative for Inclusion and Acceptance in Hockey, an organization named after the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Herb Carnegie, who many regard as the best Black player who never reached the NHL.
Dawson said he is simply standing on the shoulders of O'Ree, Carnegie, Art Dorrington, the first Black player to sign an NHL contract when he joined the New York Rangers organization in 1950, and others.
"These trailblazers have created the pathway for the rest of us in terms of hockey," he said. "I feel a sense of responsibility in some way to sort of carry on their legacy and strive to make the sport of hockey safer, more accepting and welcoming and respectful inclusive for the current and future generations of Black youth in particular, and people of color in general."
Photos: Saint Mary's University, Bob Dawson