RIP Larry Kwong former NYR

[nsvoyageurs]

Larry Kwong only played in 1 shift in the NHL, but he was the first person of Asian descent to play in the NHL; with the New York Rangers in 1948, about 10 years before Willie O'Ree became the first player of African Canadian to play in the NHL. Apparently he was a talented player but never got much of a chance to show it in the National Hockey League.

Larry Kwong, Asian pioneer in NHL, dies at 94 - Article - TSN

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[bernmeister]

r.i.p.

 

[Machinehead]

He probably played more minutes that year than Buchnevich has this year.

Definitely a legacy that has gone understated, to say the least.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Buddy O' Connor would have been our leading scorer this year with 60 points in 60 games, which he scored in 1948, the year Kwong played his lone game in the NHL. Yeeesh...


My condolences to the Kwong family.

 

[eco's bones]

Buddy O'Connor was a pretty good player--a Hall of Famer.

Greg Polis died a couple days ago as well. As an add in--Topps one year put inside some of their packs these baseball card size comic booklets and one was of Polis learning how to skate and play hockey on a backyard pond in Alberta with his dog. He'd had some decent years with the Penguins and the Rangers hoped he'd become a first line LW but he turned into more of a 3rd line LW. Another player who never quite met expectations but R.I.P. to him too.

 

[eco's bones]

Larry Kwong only played in 1 shift in the NHL, but he was the first person of Asian descent to play in the NHL; with the New York Rangers in 1948, about 10 years before Willie O'Ree became the first player of African Canadian to play in the NHL. Apparently he was a talented player but never got much of a chance to show it in the National Hockey League.

Larry Kwong, Asian pioneer in NHL, dies at 94 - Article - TSN

Back in the 40's and 50's there were lots of good players who never got a shot. Some NHL teams had numerous minor and junior league teams they controlled. There was a 50 mile radius rule that gave Toronto and Montreal a very unfair advantage over the other NHL teams. Basically any player living within a 50 mile radius of those cities automatically became their property. Literally some teams had 100's of players to choose from every year and when you have a 6 team league there aren't that many openings. Then you had a guy like ex-Boston Bruin HOF defenseman Eddie Shore who owned and operated the Springfield AHL team. Once Shore got his clutches on a player he wouldn't let go and as far as Eddie was concerned his players were more than just players--they were janitors and maintenance men, and ushers and concessions workers if they were scratched from a game . A bunch of players found themselves stuck in Springfield with no way out--kind of like Mexican migrant workers tied to the farm. Dale Rolfe who eventually became Brad Park's long term partner was one of them.

 

[eco's bones]

To go further on Shore--the NHLPA (enter Alan Eagleson) pretty much comes into being fighting with Shore over his Springfield Indian players--particularly a future Blackhawk star defenseman Bill White.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

It's a bummer he only got one shift. Had a very good career. I missed the beginning of last game but it should definitely be mentioned at the Garden before the anthems are sung.