Breaking the Ice

The term "black hockey player" is not the oxymoron most people assume it to be. In fact, blacks have played hockey with distinction since the 19th century. A Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes existed in Canada until the 1920s. Breaking the Ice deeply explores the rich history of blacks in hockey, giving long-overdue attention to such stars from the 1940s and '50s as Herb Carnegie and Willie O'Ree ("the Jackie Robinson of hockey") as well as Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr and more contemporary National Hockey League stars such as Jarome Iginla, Georges Laraque and Kevin Weekes. These proud men talk candidly about the racial, economic, geographical and cultural obstacles they overcame to succeed in hockey. And the successes of these men have opened the door for other ethnic groups to participate in hockey at the highest level.

This is a great book! Highly recommended for hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike.

Despite the fact that I am not a sports fan, I became engrossed in the book Breaking The Ice. This literary work is a true page turner. In comparison to the typical sports book, which is filled with statistics and plays, Harris; expertise in this field yielded an exploratory history of Black Hockey Players? successes and many obstacles in pursuit of reaching the pinnacle of their game. For most that meant achieving the goal of being a National Hockey League player. Breaking The Ice examines those Black Hockey players who in their attempt to obtain this goal endured much inhumane treatment but continues to persevere. Along with the players? mental anguish, Harris? documents how players such as: Carnegie, Marson, O?Ree, and Mayers (to name a few) love of the game inspired them to continue following their dreams even in the face of outrageous resistance from the spectators, fellow players and coaches. The Black Hockey players were determined to make it and to overcome no matter what.

Cecil Harris has chronicled the history of black hockey players attempting to professionally compete in the National Hockey League. Parellels abound with the countless Afro-American baseball players attempting to play professional baseball from the early 1900's to the ground breaking Jackie Robinson inclusion in 1947.Bonafide NHL candidates like Herbie Carnegie and Manny McIntyre were denied entry into the NHL simply because they were black...yet they were permitted to play for the Quebec Aces along with Jean Beliveau...and excelled. Read about Willie O'Ree becoming the first black to play in the NHL with the Boston Bruins. Enduring the insults and indignites just to professionally compete in the game of hockey, O'Ree was hockey's version of Jackie Robinson. Today, thanks to Carnegie and O'Ree, we can view black players like Jarome Iginla leading Calgary's Stanley Cup quest, as one of the major stars of the 21st century. Carnegie, McIntyre, O'Ree and countless others (meticulously outlined in Harris' text), clearly led the way for today's Iginla, Anson Carter and Nathan Robinson...Cecil Harris provides a timely snapshot of a welome addition to the NHL, the black professional hockey player competing at the highest level as skilled players.