Taffy Abel was the first NHL minority by decades

[Ben Grimm]

Taffy Abel’s Family Asks NHL to Recognize His Indigeneity As Barrier-Breaking

Taffy Abel was an Indigenous player who broke the NHL's color barrier in 1926. But nobody knew it at the time, and the NHL hasn't recognized him as such.

thehockeynews.com

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[Michael Farkas]

I feel like we talked about this here a few times...

What about this guy? Paul Jacobs (ice hockey) - Wikipedia

 

[Ben Grimm]

Willie O'Ree may have been the first black player, but he wasn't the first minority.

 

[Coffey]

Hey Ben, do you think those Yancy St Gang punks cheer for the Isles or Rags?

 

[MXD]

I don't want to belittle whatever Taffy Abel did, but with things being what they were in non-urban areas, it's super unlikely that someone like Albert Leduc had no Indigenous ancestry whatsoever (I'm taking Leduc's example because I'm from roughly the same area, and needed someone who had been in the league before Abel but this obviously extends to other players; I have no specific knowledge about Leduc).

EDIT: Duh of course Paul Jacobs.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Hey Ben, do you think those Yancy St Gang punks cheer for the Isles or Rags?

Rags! The Isles didn't exist when I lived on Yancy St.

 

[Coffey]

Rags! The Isles didn't exist when I lived on Yancy St.

 

[crobro]

Hey Ben, do you think those Yancy St Gang punks cheer for the Isles or Rags?

It’s the south Bronx

Rangers all the way

 

[crobro]

The original Yancy street era

 

[Pominville Knows]

Certainly interesting and worth noting by the NHL, but having passed as white; successfully through his entire career; how can that be seen as breaking 'The Color Barrier'? No-one knew.