On Tuesday night, the Gasparilla International Film Festival played host, with some help from the National Hockey League, to the premiere of filmmaker Kwame Mason's sports documentary Soul on Ice: Past, Present & Future as part of its lineup at Muvico Centro Ybor. The movie explores the history of black athletes in hockey, highlighting the now-21-year-old Jaden Lindo’s journey to the NHL, and includes in its narrative stories of black hockey legends as well as current players, like P.K. Subban.
Mason’s inspiration for the film dates back to his childhood.
"I remember being 6 years old in my neighborhood and saying I want to be Guy Lafleur and I remember this kid telling me that I couldn’t be Guy Lafleur because he’s white, and that always stuck with me,” he told this writer after the film's screening. “I wasn’t offended by it because I wasn’t able to see anyone who looked like me on the ice. That statement resonated with me on how important it is to have role models.”
Lacking confidence and a support system to play hockey, Mason went into radio. In 2012, he went back to his hometown of Toronto, ON to care for his sick mother. It was during that time with her that he made the decision to make the documentary he’d always wanted to about hockey’s changing face. The film took three years to create and features hockey legends like Herbert Carnegie, Willie O’Ree, Mike Marson, Tony McKegney and Florida-born, NY-raised Valmore James.
The film also explores the history of the Colored Hockey League. Formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1895, it predates the U.S. professional Negro Baseball Leagues by 25 years and the NHL by 22 years. The Colored Hockey League lasted for several decades, until 1930, and is credited by historians George and Darril Frosty as being the first to allow the goaltender to leave his feet and stop the puck by putting a glove over it. (The NHL adopted that rule in 1917.) The Frostys' book, Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925, explores other contributions of the Colored Hockey League that were ignored or stolen as white teams sought to take credit for the innovation of hockey.
Herbert Carnegie was the first black player to ever be offered a spot in the NHL. In 1948, he was offered a contract to play with the Rangers’ minor league team, and endured racism during the entire time he played. He and his friends were criticized, and he was repeatedly told he would be signed to a professional team if he were white. In a 2012 interview, nine days before his death, Herb Carnegie sadly uttered, ”It's mean to take an ability away because of his or her color and we don't want that.”
Carnegie, who became a sort of non-star star within the sport, created the very first hockey school, Future Aces, in 1954. The game point and shoot was also created by Herb Carnegie. His career was recognized in 2001 when he was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Fast forward to 1958, and history was made when Willie O'Ree was called up from the minors, becoming the the first American-born black athlete to play in the NHL. O’Ree was called up by the Boston Bruins to replace an injured player, thus breaking the color barrier in the NHL.
Halfway through his second season, O’Ree got hit with a puck in his right eye. The shot shattered the retina and he was told he would never play hockey again. O’Ree told his sister, making her promise never to tell anyone he couldn't see, as he knew this would end his career. He went on to play 21 years professionally with vision in one one eye. "Imagine if he had two," marvels African-American Canadian player Georges Laraque in the movie.
"If you knew me when I was growing up, you would have thought the n-word was my name," says Laraque. "Everyone called me that, even my coaches.”
Mike Marson, who was drafted in 1974 by the Washington Capitals, received death threats in the mail at the arena and at his home. He was thrown out of hotels because of his race.
The current-day NHL has coined the term Hockey is for Everyone and uses the game, as well as the League's global influence, to drive positive social change and foster more inclusive communities. Willie O’Ree is one of the ambassadors of the initiative. The core belief is to “Support any teammate, coach or fan who brings heart, energy and passion to the rink," he says. "We believe all hockey programs — from professionals to youth organizations — should provide a safe, positive and inclusive environment for players and families regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic status. Simply put, Hockey is for Everyone.”
In the theater, I was joined by a hockey coach of more than 35 years who didn't know this history. A recently retired NHL player likewise was unfamiliar with it. So was I. But while we can't change the past, we can certainly change the future.
Soul on Ice: Past, Present & Future can be viewed via iTunes or the Starz Network.
This article appears in Mar 2-9, 2017.