Willie O'Ree

William Eldon "Willie" O'Ree is considered to be a pioneer, or "The Jackie Robinson of hockey", for being the first black player in the National Hockey League, but if you asked O'Ree, he didn't think being a pioneer was a big deal and he would rather you think and accept him as another hockey player. Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, O'Ree learned to skate when he was three. He loved to skate any chance he could then he started to play organized hockey when he was five. As he grew older, O'Ree played in more competitive hockey leagues and would play for the Kitchener Canucks of the Ontario Hockey Association in the 1955-56 season and would sign with the Quebec Aces, in the 1956-57 season, which would be the start of a three-decade (mostly minor) professional career. ORree managed to get noticed by the Boston Bruins and was called up by the Bruins on January 18, 1958, against the Montreal Canadiens. That season, he played only two games for the Bruins and was sent back to the minor