Willie O’Ree looks back at the night he broke the NHL’s colour barrier

When Willie O’Ree donned a Boston Bruins jersey and jumped onto the ice at the Montreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958, he had no idea he was making history.

Just a decade after Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball, O’Ree had become the first black player in the National Hockey League.

READ MORE: Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s colour barrier – starting in Montreal

Sixty years later, O’Ree looks back fondly on that game and a career in hockey that continues to this day.

View image in full screen

He says he didn’t know he had broken the colour barrier until he read it in the newspaper the next day.

O’Ree says he was often subjected to racial slurs during his hockey career, but took the advice of his older brother and just concentrated on playing the game.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

WATCH: Rising above racism through sport: the historic story of black hockey players in Nova Scotia

2:05 Rising above racism through sport: the historical story of black hockey players in Nova Scotia

He’s pleased that children can play hockey at Willie O’Ree Place, an arena named in his honour in his hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Now, at the age of 82, O’Ree serves as the NHL’s diversity ambassador, and for the last 20 years he has been going to schools and other locations to speak to young people as part of the Hockey is for Everyone initiative.