Bruins legend Willie O'Ree finally sees his number in TD Garden rafters!
The historic figure was in town over the weekend.
Willie O'Ree made history as the first black player ever to suit up in the National Hockey League, and he had his jersey number retired by the Boston Bruins earlier this season.
And now, the man himself has been able to see the tremendous honor for himself.
While in Boston over this past weekend for the Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend, he was a special guest of the Bruins for Saturday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and saw his number in the rafters for the first time. He had been unable to attend the ceremony in January due to travel concerns surrounding COVID-19.
“Yes, that’s very nice,” O’Ree told NHL.com. “Walking into TD Garden and actually seeing it is really great. I never dreamed in my lifetime that my number would be retired and hanging up in the rafters.”
The original ceremony was to mark the anniversary when in 1958, O'Ree suited up with the Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum, breaking the color barrier in hockey.
The event hosted by the Bruins over the weekend is an affiliate of Hockey Is For Everyone, and includes Ice Hockey in Harlem, Washington, D.C.'s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Philadelphia's Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, the Flint Inner City Youth Hockey Program, HEROS Hockey of Canada, the Detroit Ice Dreams Youth Hockey Association and the Columbus Ice Hockey Club.
"The programs have grown over the years and there are more kids playing hockey than before," O'Ree said. "It's a nice feeling to know that I had a small part in getting these boys and girls on the ice and helping them set goals for themselves and become good citizens."
O'Ree spent the majority of his career in the Western Hockey League, appearing in 785 games for Los Angeles and San Diego while racking up 639 points (328 goals, 311 assists).
