S. 452 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two 

An Act 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Willie O’Ree Congressional Gold 

Medal Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) Willie O’Ree was the first Black player to compete 

in the National Hockey League (NHL), appearing for the Boston 

Bruins on January 18, 1958, in the throes of the civil rights 

movement in the United States helping to end racial segregation in the premier professional ice hockey league; he is widely 

referred to as the ‘‘Jackie Robinson of Hockey’’. 

(2) Willie O’Ree was born October 15, 1935, in Fredericton, 

New Brunswick, Canada; he is the youngest of 13 children 

and a descendant of Paris O’Ree, whose name appears in the 

famous historical document ‘‘The Book of Negroes’’. 

(3) Willie O’Ree was raised by his parents in Fredericton, 

a predominantly White town where hockey was deeply rooted 

within the culture. O’Ree was a standout athlete on the ice 

and the baseball diamond. 

(4) At age 21, O’Ree was being scouted by professional 

baseball teams and seriously considered baseball as a career. 

Upon experiencing the segregated South for the first time while 

appearing for a minor league tryout, his dream changed and 

his attention turned solely to ice hockey. 

(5) While playing amateur hockey, Willie was struck in 

his right eye with a puck and lost his eyesight. He was told 

by doctors to abandon his hockey career; instead, never disclosing the extent of his injury, he pursued his dream of playing 

professional hockey. 

(6) At the age of 22, O’Ree was called up from the Quebec 

Aces of the Quebec Hockey League (QHL) to play for the 

NHL’s Boston Bruins at a time when only 6 teams existed 

in the league. O’Ree was unaware he had broken the color 

barrier at the top level of the sport until he read it in the 

newspaper the following day. 
S. 452—2 

(7) Blind in 1 eye and a victim of racism at times throughout his career, O’Ree persevered and played professional hockey 

for 22 years, tallying over 1,000 points. 

(8) In 1996, 17 years after O’Ree retired from professional 

hockey, the National Hockey League hired O’Ree as the firstever Diversity Ambassador. Having already changed the game 

forever through his courage and convictions, O’Ree gives new 

definition to what it means to be a trailblazer. 

(9) In this role as Diversity Ambassador with the NHL, 

O’Ree set out to grow the sport by providing access, opportunity, 

and motivation for children of all races, ethnicities, origins, 

and abilities. With O’Ree providing a vivid example of what 

is possible and serving as a relentless supporter of children 

pursuing their dreams, more than 30 nonprofit youth organizations, dubbed Hockey is for Everyone programs, were developed 

across North America, each committed to offering minority 

and underserved children an opportunity to play hockey, 

leveraging the sport to build character, foster positive values, 

and develop important life skills. 

(10) Through Hockey is for Everyone programs, more than 

120,000 boys and girls have been positively impacted. O’Ree 

has devoted nearly 2,500 days on the ground with the youth 

participants, visiting more than 500 schools, community centers, and rinks to speak to hockey’s core values and beliefs: 

stay in school; set goals for yourself; remain committed and 

disciplined; and always respect your teammates, coaches, and 

parents. 

(11) Hockey is for Everyone programs have provided important opportunities for youth to partake in physical fitness. 

Today in the United States, fewer than half of the children 

ages 6–11 engage in the recommended amount of physical 

activity, and that number is lower for low-income families. 

O’Ree has stood as a champion of youth athletic participation 

and its health benefits for decades. 

(12) Hockey is for Everyone programs provide numerous 

off-ice services to youth: SAT and academic tutoring, mentoring, 

nutrition education, college counseling, community service 

opportunities, and more. The program has excelled at using 

hockey as a vehicle to improve the social and emotional wellness 

of youth and improve students’ academic performances both 

in primary school and beyond. 

(13) O’Ree was also named a Member of the Order of 

Canada in 2008 and, in 2018, the City of Boston released 

an official Proclamation recognizing January 18, the anniversary of the day he broke into the game, as ‘‘Willie O’Ree 

Day’’. 

(14) In November 2018, 60 years after O’Ree entered the 

NHL, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the 

‘‘builder’’ category in recognition of his efforts to grow the 

game, using his position and the platform of hockey to improve 

the lives of children throughout North America. 

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall 

make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the 

Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to Willie 
S. 452—3 

O’Ree, or if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition 

of his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity. 

(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the award 

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 

in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike the gold 

medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. The design shall bear an image of, and 

an inscription of the name of, Willie O’Ree. 

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates 

in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, 

dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

(b) PROCEEDS OF SALES.—The amounts received from the sale 

of duplicate medals under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the 

United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. 

(c) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is authorized 

to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs 

of the medals struck under this Act. 

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

(a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—The medals struck pursuant to this 

Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, 

United States Code. 

(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 5134 of title 

31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall 

be considered to be numismatic items. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.