Canadian ice hockey player, first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL)

Willie O'Ree

William Eldon O'Ree is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is widely recognized for being the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins. His accomplishment of breaking the colour barrier in the NHL has led him to sometimes be referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of hockey," whom he had the chance to meet when he was younger. In 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and starting that year the NHL has introduced the annual Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award in his honour.

Born

1935

October 15

Died

Living

Era

1930s

Country

—

About

Willie, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1935 Born

Also on October 15

What else happened on this day, through history

1066 Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later.
1211 Battle of the Rhyndacus: The Latin emperor Henry of Flanders defeats the Nicaean emperor Theodore I Laskaris.
1529 The Siege of Vienna ends when Austria routs the invading Ottoman forces, ending its European expansion.
1582 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption.

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The world in 1935

When Willie arrived

april 1 India's central banking institution, the Reserve Bank of India, is formed.
april 11 Stresa Front: Opening of the conference between the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and the French Minister for Foreign Affairs Pierre Laval to condemn the German violations of the Treaty of Versailles.
april 14 The Black Sunday dust storm, considered one of the worst storms of the Dust Bowl, sweeps across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring areas.
april 23 The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on October 15

Blaine Gabbert 1989– American football player Didier Deschamps 1968– French footballer and manager Elisa Aguilar 1976– Spanish basketball player Friedrich Nietzsche 1844–1900 German philologist, philosopher, and critic (born 1844) Harold W. Gehman 1942– Jr., American admiral James Tissot 1836–1902 French painter and illustrator (born 1836) John L. Sullivan 1858–1918 American boxer (born 1858) José Miguel Carrera 1785–1821 Chilean general and politician (died 1821) Lee Iacocca 1924–2019 American automotive executive (born 1924)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1935

Brian Clough 1935–2004 English footballer and manager (died 2004) Charles Grodin 1935–2021 American actor and talk show host (died 2021) Daniel Quinn 1935– American author and environmentalist (died 2018) David Prowse 1935–2020 English actor (died 2020) Dennis Potter 1935– English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1994) Donald Lynden-Bell 1935–2018 English astrophysicist and astronomer (died 2018) Edward Said 1935– Palestinian-American theorist, author, and academic (died 2003) Elvis Presley 1935–1977 American singer and actor (born 1935) Felipe Alou 1935– Dominican-American baseball player, coach, and manager

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Keep going

More to explore

Willie's birthday October 15 Willie's zodiac Libra When Willie arrived 1935