Willie O'Ree - (Lorimer Recordbooks) 2nd Edition by Nicole Mortillaro (Paperback)

About the Book

"Willie O'Ree quietly made NHL history at the Montreal Forum on January 18, 1958, when he became the first black player to take to the ice. In the dressing room before the game, his Boston Bruins teammates told him not to worry. If any one of the Montreal players said anything to him, they'd have his back. There was a round of applause when O'Ree stepped onto the ice, and newspapers ran the story. The colour barrier in the NHL had been broken, yet it would be sixteen years before the next black player, Mike Marson (also a Canadian), was drafted. Four decades later, the NHL pulled O'Ree out of retirement to honour his achievement and make him an ambassador for the NHL's "Hockey is for Everyone" program to encourage kids from all backgrounds to play hockey. This new book by Nicole Mortillaro traces the early life of O'Ree in Fredericton, New Brunswick, his journey to the NHL, highlights from his hockey career, and his work encouraging diversity in the NHL"--

Book Synopsis

Willie O'Ree made NHL history on January 18, 1958, when he became the first Black player to take to the ice. There was a round of applause when O'Ree stepped onto the ice, and newspapers ran the story. The color barrier in the NHL had been broken, yet it would be sixteen years before the next Black player, Mike Marson, was drafted. Four decades later, the NHL made O'Ree an ambassador for the NHL's "Hockey is for Everyone" program to encourage kids from all backgrounds to play hockey.

This book traces the early life of O'Ree, his journey in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, and his work encouraging diversity in hockey.

About the Author

NICOLE MORTILLARO is the author of several hockey books for children, including the Recordbooks Something to Prove and Jarome Iginla. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.