Talk:Willie O'Ree

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A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on 11 dates. [show]

January 18, 2005, January 18, 2006, January 18, 2007, January 18, 2011, January 18, 2012, January 18, 2015, January 18, 2017, January 18, 2018, January 18, 2019, January 18, 2022, and January 18, 2023

Western Hockey expansion and O'Ree[edit]

For what it is worth, I could agree with the earlier version that O'Ree was pioneer of hockey for the Western U.S. Perhaps there were teams already, but he was a draw for new audiences.

Do you actually know that or are you guessing that he did? O'Ree was a solid player for many years, but only once was he even second on his own team in scoring, and the degree to which he would have been a Gretzkyesque draw just because he was black is questionable at the best. It would be like asserting that Tony McKegney -- more of an impact player for his teams than O'Ree, as to that -- was a particular arena draw. Does anyone have any attendance figures or contemporary cites to offer? Ravenswing 19:56, 12 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Actually considering I wasn't alive at the time, I am just going anecdotal tales from people who saw him at the L.A. Sports Arena. According to folks, he was a draw with the Blades not because of his scoring, or the color of his skin, but the style of his play. He was known for something which isn't utilized much in the current era of the game, which was the ability to be at full speed within a shorter amount of strides compared to the competition. ALso I don't think the author was comparing O'Ree to Gretzky skillwise/numberswise, just as a draw for the sport that was afoundation for things to come.

OK, he played wing. Which wing? Trekphiler 21:25, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Both, actually. Ravenswing 01:22, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

he's cool

List of African American firsts[edit]

The article notes that he is often erroneously referred to as the first African-American NHL player (he was actually African-Canadian) but then the "see also" includes a link to a list of African American firsts. Contradictory? --Jfruh (talk) 23:52, 18 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Real good point. Since the Afr-Am / Afr-Canadian confusion is addressed in the lead, the "See also" only adds to it. Nice catch. --Tenebrae 07:02, 19 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Biography assessment rating comment[edit]

The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article.-- Jreferee 22:04, 12 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

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Photos[edit]

Shouldn't there be a photo for him? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.83.96.37 (talk) 17:30, 18 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I just added one of my personal photos of him. —MJCdetroit ^{(tell me)} 12:31, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Date of NHL debut[edit]

Currently, there's only one source cited for the date of his NHL debut, a Boston Globe article. The article does explicitly mention the year (1958), but as for the month and day, it says only that January 18, 2018 is Willie O'Ree Day in Boston. It does not say that day is the anniversary of his debut. -⁠-⁠184.248.102.7 (talk) 01:15, 19 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Good catch. Multiple other references within the article do mention the date, including the very next citation. I have moved the citation up to more clearly point to the date. Echoedmyron (talk) 14:32, 19 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

More info[edit]

There should be an early life, personal life, early playing career, etc in this article. Because right now it’s not there and it just doesn’t flow well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 135.0.62.238 (talk) 20:54, 24 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]