Larry Kwong
Larry Kwong pictured with the Vernon Hydrophones in the 1938–39 season
Born (1923-06-17)June 17, 1923
Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Died March 15, 2018(2018-03-15) (aged 94)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Right
Played for New York Rangers
Playing career 1941–1959

Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong; Chinese: 吳啟光; June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who was the first non-White and Asian descent player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He broke the NHL's colour barrier when he debuted with the New York Rangers in 1948, playing a short shift at the end of the third period. Although denied much playing time in the NHL, Kwong was a top player in senior hockey leagues outside the NHL throughout his entire career and battled the likes of Jean Beliveau for the scoring race in Quebec.

Kwong came from a Cantonese-speaking family, and was also the first NHL player from Vernon, British Columbia, and the Okanagan region. Kwong's nicknames included the "China Clipper" and "King Kwong".[1]

After his playing days, he lived in Europe and became the first ethnic Chinese coach of a professional hockey club in Switzerland. In his later years, he returned to Canada and operated a supermarket, following his father's footsteps.

Early years

Kwong was born in 1923 in Vernon, British Columbia, as the second youngest of 15 children born to his Cantonese-speaking father who had two wives.[1][2] His father had immigrated from China in 1884 for the gold rush in Cherry Creek, BC, but later failed.[3] His father later started farming and then went into the grocery business in Vernon, British Columbia, calling his store Kwong Hing Lung. Larry's Chinese surname was Eng, but decided to take the name of his father's store as the last name in his English name.[1]

Just two weeks after his birth, the government of the Dominion of Canada enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 which completely prohibited Chinese immigrants from entering Canada.[4] Kwong faced numerous acts of racial discrimination during his youthful years in Vernon, as he recalled being denied service at a barbershop because of his ethnic background.[3]

Early playing career

Larry Kwong pictured with the Trail Smoke Eaters

Kwong had practiced ice hockey on frozen ponds in Vernon and had not played organized hockey until he joined the Vernon Hydrophones when he was 16 years old.[5] He powered the Vernon Hydrophones to the midget hockey championship of BC in 1939 and then to the provincial juvenile title in 1941.[6] As an 18-year-old, Kwong jumped the junior ranks to play senior hockey after a try-out for the elite semi-professional Trail Smoke Eaters, who had won the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships. In Trail, players who made the roster got good-paying jobs at a local smelter, but Kwong was denied a job because of his Chinese heritage. Instead, he was sent to a nearby hotel to work as a bellhop.[7]

In 1942, the Chicago Black Hawks invited Kwong to training camp, but "the Canadian government refused to process the documentation needed to leave the country".[8]

In 1944, Kwong was drafted into the Canadian Army. Instead of being deployed overseas, he was selected to join "Sugar" Jim Henry and Mac Colville on the Red Deer Wheelers of the Central Alberta Garrison Hockey League. The Wheelers defeated the Calgary Combines (starring two-time NHL scoring champion Sweeney Schriner) in the playoff semi-final, before falling to Calgary Currie Army (whose roster included Hart Trophy winners Max Bentley and Tommy Anderson) in the final series.[9]

After World War II, Kwong returned to Trail and won the provincial senior hockey championship with the Smoke Eaters in 1946. In that BC Final series against the New Westminster Royals, Kwong led the Smokies in scoring (tied with Mike Buckna) and scored the Savage Cup-winning goal.[10]

Later in 1946, Lester Patrick scouted Kwong and was impressed, signing him for the New York Rovers, a farm team of the New York Rangers.[11] Kwong scored a goal in his debut for the Rovers against the Boston Olympics in Boston on October 27, 1946.[12] At Madison Square Garden on November 17, 1946, Shavey Lee presented Kwong with the Keys to New York's Chinatown. Kwong went on to lead the New York Rovers in scoring in 1947–1948 with 86 points in 65 games.

Breaking the National Hockey League's colour barrier

Kwong in New York Rangers uniform, 1946

On March 13, 1948, Kwong broke hockey's colour barrier by making his NHL debut with the New York Rangers as the first non-white player in the NHL.[13][14][15] He wore number 11, and played against Maurice Richard and the Montreal Canadiens in the Montreal Forum. This event came less than a year after Jackie Robinson shattered the baseball color line in the US. During this game, Kwong was benched until late in the third period, where he was sent to play the final shift of the game. Spending less than a minute on the ice, he tallied no points in what would be his only big-league game.[13][16][17][18]

While several other Rover forwards were called to play subsequent games, Kwong was not, despite being the Rovers' top scorer.[19] Kwong became convinced that he would not get an opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level with the Rangers, and left the Rangers organization at the end of the season. In the off-season, Kwong accepted a more lucrative offer to play for the Valleyfield Braves of the Quebec Senior Hockey League.[1]

Career peak outside of the NHL

Kwong went on to have a long and successful career in senior leagues in Canada and the United States. Coached by Toe Blake, Kwong was named as an alternate captain of the Valleyfield Braves. In 1951 Kwong won the Vimy Trophy as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the QSHL. That year, he led the Valleyfield Braves to the league championship and then to the Alexander Cup, the Canadian major senior title. In the following QSHL season (1951–52), Kwong's 38 goals were topped only by Jean Béliveau's 45 tallies. In his nine-year tenure in the Quebec League, competing against future NHL All-Stars such as Béliveau, Jacques Plante, Dickie Moore, Gerry McNeil and Jean-Guy Talbot, Kwong averaged better than a point per game. Béliveau, who later became a Hall of Fame inductee, said: "Larry made his wing men look good because he was a great passer. He was doing what a centre man is supposed to do."[1]

Player-coaching career

Kwong accepted an offer to play and coach hockey in England and, later, in Lausanne, Switzerland, before it even became fashionable to play in Europe.[20] He expected only to stay for a year, but remained in Europe for 15 years. "I went there to coach ice hockey and then after six years of coaching, I decided to start teaching tennis as a tennis pro."[13] Kwong spent one season with the Nottingham Panthers in Britain, scoring 55 goals in 55 games, before moving to Switzerland where he led HC Ambrì-Piotta in scoring as player-coach.[21] With this coaching assignment, he became the first person of Chinese descent to coach a professional hockey team.[22] He later coached HC Lugano and HC Lausanne. Kwong also became a tennis coach in Switzerland.

Personal life

Kwong was married to Audrey Craven (1929–1979) in Nottingham in 1964. The couple had one daughter, Kristina (Dean) Heintz.[23] In 1972 Kwong returned to Canada with his family to run Food-Vale Supermarket (Kwong Hing Lung) with his brother, Jack. In 1989 Kwong married Janine Boyer. He was widowed for a second time in 1999. Retired from the grocery business, he lived in Calgary, Alberta. Kwong died March 15, 2018, in Calgary.[13][24]

Honours & achievements

Kwong has been honoured on numerous occasions. Below is a list of select honours:

On-ice achievements

1939: British Columbia Midget Hockey Championship

1941: British Columbia Provincial Juvenile Title

1946: Leading scorer on the Trail Smoke Eaters

1946: Savage Cup Winner; scored the cup-winning goal

1948: Leading scorer on the New York Rovers (86 points in 65 games), the top minor league team for the New York Rangers

1948: Breaking the NHL's colour barrier by playing for the New York Rangers as the first non-white player in the league.

1951: Byng of Vimy Trophy winner as MVP of the QSHL, leader in assists (51), second in points (85), third in scoring (34)[3]

1951: QSHL Championship

1951: Alexander Cup winner. This cup is the Canadian national major senior ice hockey championship trophy.

1952: Second in QSHL league-scoring with 38 goals, only behind Jean Beliveau's 45 goals

1958: 55 goals in 55 games for the Nottingham Panthers at age 35

Awards

2002: Calgary's Asian Heritage Month Award

2009: Heritage Award from the Society of North American Historians and Researchers (SONAHR)[25]

2010: Okanagan Hockey Group's inaugural Pioneer Award in 2010[26]

November 23, 2011, Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in the Athlete category.[27]

September 19, 2013, Honoured Member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.[28][29]

July 23, 2016, Honoured Member of the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.[30][31]

Kwong's game-worn 1942–43 Nanaimo Clippers sweater hangs in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a part of its exhibit The Changing Face of Hockey – Diversity in Our Game.[32]

Honorary appearances

2009: Honoured by the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League in a pre-game ceremony[25]

2009: Saluted by the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League at the Saddledome.[1]

Movies and media

2011: Kwong's story is featured in the documentary film Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice (2011), written, directed and produced by Kenda Gee and Tom Radford.[33][34]

2014: The Shift: The Story of the China Clipper, a documentary by Chester Sit, Wes Miron and Tracy Nagai, had its theatrical premiere in Vernon, BC.[35]

2015: King Kwong: Larry Kwong, the China Clipper who Broke the NHL Colour Barrier, a biography by Paula Johanson, was published.[36]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1940–41 Vernon Hydrophones BCAHA ————— —————
1941–42 Trail Smoke Eaters ABCHL 299132210 30000
1942–43 Nanaimo Clippers VISHL 1166120 30112
1943–44 Red Deer Wheelers ASHL 20000 51230
1945–46 Trail Smoke Eaters WKHL 191282012 56068
1945–46 Trail Smoke Eaters Al-Cup ————— 52130
1946–47 New York Rovers EAHL 4719183715 973100
1947–48 New York Rangers NHL 10000 —————
1947–48 New York Rovers EAHL 171316295 —————
1947–48 New York Rovers QSHL 4820375723 4010
1948–49 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 633747848 31017
1949–50 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 6025356016 52132
1950–51 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 6034518535 16112132
1951–52 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 6038286616 61560
1952–53 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 561022326 30220
1953–54 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 6824254917 73362
1954–55 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 502430548 —————
1955–56 Trois-Rivieres Lions QSHL 2936910 —————
1955–56 Troy Bruins IHL 2199182 51232
1956–57 Troy Bruins IHL 91010 —————
1956–57 Cornwall Chevies OHA Sr 3314152922 65160
1957–58 Nottingham Panthers BNL 313915546 —————
QSHL totals 494215281496139 449233213
NHL totals 10000 —————

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Davis, David (2013-02-19). "A Hockey Pioneer's Moment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  2. ↑ "CBC targets Chinese hockey fans with Mandarin broadcasts of NHL playoffs". National Hockey League. The Canadian Press. 2008-04-20. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
  3. 1 2 3 Freeborn, Jeremy (2015-03-02). "Larry Kwong". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  4. ↑ "The Chinese Experience in B.C. 1850-1950". University of British Columbia Library. Archived from the original on 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  5. ↑ Hawthorn, Tom (2018-02-19). "Larry Kwong: A Life that Meant Much More than One NHL Game". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  6. ↑ "Eyes on Cup! Trail Moulding Mighty Puck Squad". The Leader-Post (published 1941-11-11). The Canadian Press. 1941-11-01. p. 16. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  7. ↑ Francis, Daniel, ed. (2000). "(no title)". Encyclopedia of British Columbia. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. p. 394. ISBN 1-55017-200-X.
  8. ↑ Kingston, Gary (2013-09-20). "Crowning B.C. sports hall glory for King Kwong". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  9. ↑ "Currie Soldiers Win Puck Title". Edmonton Journal. 1944-03-13. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  10. ↑ "Smokies oust coast squad". The Leader-Post. The Canadian Press. 1946-03-30. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  11. ↑ "Larry Kwong Impresses Lester Patrick". Calgary Herald. The Canadian Press. 1946-09-16. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  12. ↑ "Olympics Beaten Out". The Lewiston Daily Sun (published 1946-10-28). Associated Press. 1946-10-27. p. 9. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Ward, Rachel (19 March 2018). "1st NHL player of colour, Larry Kwong, dies at 94". CBC News. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  14. ↑ Yam, Kimberly (2018-03-21). "First Player Of Color In The NHL, The Son Of Chinese Immigrants, Dies At 94". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  15. ↑ Katz, Brigit (2018-03-21). "Larry Kwong, Gifted Athlete Who Broke NHL's Color Barrier, Dies at 94". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  16. ↑ Mitchell, Kevin (2014-08-13). "Film commemorates Larry Kwong's historic moment". Vernon Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  17. ↑ "Kwong Made History 60 Years Ago Today". National Hockey League. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. ↑ Davis, David (February 20, 2013). "A Hockey Pioneer's Moment". The New York Times. p. B11. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  19. ↑ Allen, Bert (January 6, 1948). "American Puck Teams Compete in Two Loops". Calgary Herald. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  20. ↑ Katz, Brigit. "Larry Kwong, Gifted Athlete Who Broke NHL's Color Barrier, Dies at 94". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  21. ↑ "Storia del Club". Hockey Club Ambri Piotta. Archived from the original on 2010-11-10.
  22. ↑ Hopkins, Johnny (2 October 1958). "Kwong (Puck) Moves Talents To Switzerland". Calgary Herald. p. 50. Archived from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  23. ↑ "Larry KWONG Obituary (1923 - 2018)". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  24. ↑ Goldstein, Larry (March 20, 2018). "Larry Kwong, 94, Dies; N.H.L.'s First Player of Asian Descent". New York Times. p. B19. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  25. 1 2 "Larry Kwong, First Asian In NHL, Awarded SONAHHR Heritage Award". Society of North American Hockey Historians and Researchers. March 27, 2009. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Larry Kwong receives first annual Pioneer Award". Okanagan Hockey School. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011.
  27. ↑ Knox, Roger (November 27, 2011). "Athletes score hall of fame honour". Vernon Morning Star. p. A1. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011.
  28. ↑ Kingston, Gary (September 20, 2013). "Crowning B.C. sports hall glory for King Kwong". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Larry Kwong". BC Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  30. ↑ "Bruins legend Bucyk highlights 2016 AHHF induction class". Hockey Alberta Foundation.
  31. ↑ "List of Honoured AHHF Members". Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  32. ↑ Dawson, Joshua (May 5, 2016). "Diversity in our game". Greater Toronto Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2020-12-22. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  33. ↑ Froneman, Kristin (September 18, 2011). "Hockey legend immortalized in film" (PDF). Vernon Morning Star (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  34. ↑ Li, David (19 June 2013). "As Boston Bruins Takes 2:1 Stanley Cup Finals Lead, Larry Kwong Celebrates 90th Birthday". bostonese.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  35. ↑ Mitchell, Kevin (August 13, 2014). "Film commemorates Larry Kwong's historic moment". Vernon Morning Star. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014.
  36. ↑ Hume, Stephen (August 4, 2015). "First China Clipper was hockey phenom from Vernon". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016.

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