Willie
On January 18, 1958 Willie O'Ree was finally called up to the NHL after years of toiling in the minors, joining the Boston Bruins. And when he stepped out onto the ice against the Montreal Canadiens, not only did he fulfil the childhood dream he shared with so many other Canadian kids, he did something that had never been done before: He broke hockey's colour barrier--just as his hero, Jackie Robinson, had done for baseball.
In that pioneering first NHL game, O'Ree proved that no one could stop him from being a hockey player. But he soon learned that he could never be just a hockey player. He would always be a Black player, with all that entails. There were ugly name-calling and stick-swinging incidents, and nights when the Bruins had to be escorted to their bus by the police.
But O'Ree never backed down. When he retired in 1979, he had played hundreds of games as a pro, and scored hundreds of goals, his boyhood dreams more than accomplished.
In 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in recognition not only of that legacy, but of the way he has built on it in the decades since. He has been, for twenty years now, an NHL Executive and has helped the NHL Diversity program expose more than 40,000 boys and girls of diverse backgrounds to unique hockey experiences.
Inspiring, frank, and shot through with the kind of understated courage and decency required to change the world, Willie is a story for anyone willing to persevere for a dream.
- In Stock Out of Stock
- Penguin Canada
- 9780735239760
- October 19, 2021
- Stock Photo
- 256
- L 20.4cm x W 13.2cm x H 2.0cm
Book Condition Notes
New: A brand-new, unused, unread copy in perfect condition.
Like New: A copy that looks unread and in perfect condition. Dust jacket is intact, with no nicks or tears. The spine has no signs of creasing. Pages are clean and are do not have any notes or folds of any kind. May have a remainder mark. (usually black or red in colour and is usually a dot or line on the bottom of the book on the page edges).
Very Good: A copy that has been read but is in great condition. May have slight cosmetic defects such as marks, wears, cuts, bends and crushes on the cover, pages, spine and dust jacket if applicable. Pages and dust cover (if applicable) are intact and do not have any notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. May have a remainder mark (usually black or red in colour and is usually a dot or line on the bottom of the book on the page edges).
Good: A copy that has been read but in clean condition. The spine, cover, pages and dust jacket (if applicable) may show signs of wear such as marks, wears, cuts, bends and crushes. Pages and dust cover (if applicable) are intact and do not have any notes or highlighting. May have a remainder mark (usually black or red in colour and is usually a dot or line on the bottom of the book on the page edges).
Acceptable: All pages are intact; the cover is intact. The spine, cover, pages and dust jacket (if applicable) may show signs of considerable wear such as marks, wears, cuts, bends and crushes. Pages can include limited notes in pen or in highlighter, but the notes do not obscure the text. May have a remainder mark (usually black or red in colour and is usually a dot or line on the bottom of the book on the page edges).