Celebrating Willie ORee NHLcom History Welcome PROFILE ACCOUNT SIGN OUT USERNAME or EMAILPASSWORDFORGOT YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORDSIGN IN REGISTER SCORES LEAGUE SCORES NHL GAMECENTER LIVE SCHEDULE TODAY BY WEEK BY MONTH BY SEASON STANDINGS DIVISION CONFERENCE LEAGUE VS EAST VS WEST 2009 PRESEASON STATS LEAGUE LEADERS INDIVIDUALS TEAMS GAMEBYGAME CAREER SHOOTOUTS 2009 PRESEASON TEAMS Chicago Blackhawks Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators St Louis Blues Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Vancouver Canucks Anaheim Ducks Dallas Stars Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leafs Atlanta Thrashers Carolina Hurricanes Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals PLAYERS SEARCH PLAYERS ROOKIES DRAFT HISTORY NEWS HEADLINES FEATURES NHL WINTER CLASSIC 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS NHL ENTRY DRAFT NHL AWARDS STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS NHL ALLSTAR GAME HOCKEYS FINEST ALL NEWS STORIES NOUVELLES EN FRANAIS FANTASY PLAY FANTASY HOCKEY 09 VIDEO LIVE GAME VIDEO NHL NETWORK PHOTOS FANS NHL FANS NHL ON FACEBOOK NHL ON TWITTER NHL ON YOUTUBE NHL TOOLBARS SATURDAYNHLPICKS NHL TWITTER LISTS NHL TWEETMIXX MOBILE TICKETS NHL TICKETS BUY AND SELL NHL TICKETS SHOP SHOPNHLCOM AUCTIONS JERSEYS MEN WOMEN KIDS NYC NHL STORE HEADLINES DIVISION NOTES OLYMPICS FANTASY ALL FEATURES Celebrating Willie OReeWednesday 01162008 933 AM History By John McGourty NHLcom Staff Writer Back on Jan 18 1958 Willie ORee made history by suiting up for the Boston Bruins and becoming the first black man to play in a NHL gameWATCH ORee interview after first NHL gameIt was Jan 18 1958 and Willie ORee found himself in a familiar place in an unfamiliar uniformThe slickskating left winger was in the Montreal Forum where he had played many games as a member of the AHL Quebec Aces but on this night he was wearing the uniform of the Boston Bruins the first black to play in a National Hockey League gameIt had been 11 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball amid great controversy But there was little fanfare surrounding ORees callup to the BruinsThey needed a thirdline winger for a homeandhome weekend series against the Montreal Canadiens he was the best they had in their farm system and they debuted him on the road There was little to no pregame publicity about ORee and only minor mention near the bottom of most of the postgame stories in the Boston Herald Boston Globe and Boston RecordOh and they called him Billy in some of the st...