What Willie O'Ree's Hall call means to hockey's black community

Theo Peckham considers himself fortunate.

Through more than a decade of minor hockey, four years of junior, and nine years as a pro, the former Oilers defenceman was rarely the subject of overt racism.

There was an incident in the late 2000s, Peckham says, when he locked an intoxicated Oilers teammate out of their hotel room. "He told me to 'stick to basketball' then dropped the n-bomb on me," Peckham recalled in an interview on Tuesday.

A few years later, there was another incident in Slovakia. Peckham, who has a white mother and whose late father was black, remembers feeling intimidated for the first time in his hockey-playing life.

"I'd walk through the mall there," he said, "and people would stare at me." Inside the rink, rival fans reached over the short glass and grabbed his collar.

Aside from those ugly events, Peckham was largely left alone in his pursuit to make a living playing hockey. Perspective is everything, he says, especially with the backdrop of Tuesday's announcement from the Hockey Hall of Fame offices.

Finally, Willie O'Ree is in.

O'Ree, the NHL's first black player and the sport's face for diversity, will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame's builder category. The man who inspired the now annual Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award will be inducted in November alongside players Martin Brodeur, Jayna Hefford, Martin St. Louis, and Alexander Yakushev, as well as fellow builder Gary Bettman.

O'Ree, a native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, has lived two hockey lives. The first came as a player, and the second as an ambassador. The latter role likely convinced the Hall's selection committee to pull the trigger on his induction. Regardless, this is an indisputable fact: Nobody faces more resistance than the trailblazer.

"Because of guys like him, I didn't have to think about it," Peckham, now 30 and retired, said of dealing with racism in hockey. "That's what is so special to me. I've never thought 'Maybe I can't do this because I'm black.'"

'Very symbolic'

Every major North American sport except hockey recognized its black pioneers years ago. Many felt O'Ree was long overdue, and if you squint hard enough at the following quote, it's obvious hockey's Jackie Robinson is relieved, too.

"I was laughing and crying and at a loss for words," O'Ree, 82, told reporters Tuesday, including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. "Just so happy I'm alive to share this with my family and friends."

O'Ree made his historic debut 60 years ago, on Jan. 18, 1958, filling a forward spot in the Bruins' lineup at the Montreal Forum. He dressed for 45 NHL games, recording four goals and 10 assists, before carving out a 21-season minor-league career. Despite losing sight in his right eye at the age of 19, O'Ree still played professionally, mainly in the old Western Hockey League, until he was 43.

Old, fuzzy footage shows No. 22, a left-handed Bruins winger during the Original Six era, motoring through the neutral zone, paving the way for all the black hockey players who followed - from Mike Marson, the second black NHLer, to stars like Jarome Iginla, and 2020 top prospect Quinton Byfield.

"It is very symbolic, if you think about it," said Jalen Chatfield, a 22-year-old Canucks prospect. "Growing up, some of my black friends would ask me why I was into hockey. They always had questions and I always had to educate them on it, tell them how fun it is to play. They hadn't been around it too much, but with this being done, with Willie in the Hall of Fame, hopefully some kids will see that and take a chance with hockey."

"Behind the Blackhawks winning the 2010 Cup, this is probably the second happiest day for me as a hockey fan," added Chris Watkins, a writer for Hockey-Graphs.com, the hockey analytics think tank. "From a cultural-significance standpoint, it's a recognition of the efforts and energy we have put into growing and expanding the marketplace for the game."

The list of black people inducted into the Hall is tiny. O'Ree, who was named to the Order of Canada in 2008, will join five-time Stanley Cup champion Grant Fuhr (2003) and legend Angela James (2008). Coincidentally, Peckham and James are half-siblings.

Not the end

While the Hall of Fame honoring O'Ree is a cornerstone moment, it doesn't signal an overhaul of hockey culture.

Racism is still present around the game, as evidenced by the racial slurs hurled at Red Wings prospect Givani Smith during an OHL playoff series in May, fans chanting "basketball, basketball, basketball" at Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly in February, and then-Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban enduring racist tweets after a 2014 playoff win.

"It's a step in the right direction, but in no way is this a cure," said William Douglas of the Color Of Hockey blog. Douglas applauded the Hall of Fame Selection Committee and hopes O'Ree's inclusion opens the door for other pioneers, including Herb Carnegie, who attempted to blaze the NHL trail 10 years earlier but encountered too many obstacles.

Prominent NHLers, such as Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds and Sharks forward Joel Ward, as well as some of O'Ree's friends from the east coast, have lobbied on his behalf over the years. Part of O'Ree's appeal is a down-to-earth personality and ability to communicate with children.

"He has a serene aura about him," Douglas said. "You see that he's been through the wars, but that he's come out at the better end of it."

In April, Simmonds penned a powerful essay about O'Ree. In the Players' Tribune, he wrote about how "Willie set the table for everyone else to eat, and he did it all with dignity and class." O'Ree, to Simmonds, "wasn't just a hockey player. He was an astronaut."

Chatfield is 60 years younger than O'Ree. Yet, his message to black kids interested in hockey sounds like something you might hear from a certain Hall of Famer.

"I think you should just go for it," he said. "Stick with your dreams. It's a great sport to play and you can accomplish a lot in life, more than you think."

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