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Sharks’ Ward: NHL should retire O’Ree’s No. 22
- Updated: May 29, 2016
4:42 PM ET
PITTSBURGH — San Jose Sharks’ Joel Ward, who wears No. 42 in honor of baseball Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson, believes there should be a discussion to retire NHL pioneer Willie O’Ree’s No. 22.
O’Ree, now 80, became the first black player in the NHL when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. He played only two games that season, and another 43 during the 1960-61 season. He’s become an ambassador for the game and is highly regarded in the world of hockey.
“That’s something to definitely talk about for sure. It would be great if they did,” Ward said of retiring O’Ree’s number. “Obviously that’s something that would be a great discussion about. With the amount of respect Willie has around the league, it would definitely be something special if that did come up.”
On April 15, 1997, Major League Baseball retired Robinson’s No. 42 and only those players still wearing it were grandfathered in, including Boston’s Mo Vaughn and the Yankees’ Mariano …
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