I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2504 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, in recognition of 

his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, 

and recreational opportunity. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2019 

Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. KATKO, Mr. EMMER, Mr. COOPER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 

Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. HIGGINS of 

New York, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. 

CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of 

Illinois, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. STAUBER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. CLARKE of 

New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. BRINDISI, Mrs. 

LEE of Nevada, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. RUSH, 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. PHILLIPS, 

Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. KIND, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS, Mrs. 

LOWEY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. BERGMAN, 

Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. SIRES, 

Mr. HAGEDORN, and Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, in 

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


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2504 IH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Willie O’Ree Congres5 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

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

9 compete in the National Hockey League (NHL), ap10 pearing for the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958, 

11 in the throes of the civil rights movement in the 

12 United States helping to end racial segregation in 

13 the premier professional ice hockey league; he is 

14 widely referred to as the ‘‘Jackie Robinson of Hock15 ey’’. 

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

17 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; he is the 

18 youngest of 13 children and a descendant of Paris 

19 O’Ree, whose name appears in the famous historical 

20 document ‘‘The Book of Negroes’’. 

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

22 Fredericton, a predominantly White town where 

23 hockey was deeply rooted within the culture. O’Ree 

24 was a standout athlete on the ice and the baseball 

25 diamond. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2504 IH

1 (4) At age 21, O’Ree was being scouted by pro2 fessional baseball teams and seriously considered 

3 baseball as a career. Upon experiencing the seg4 regated South for the first time while appearing for 

5 a minor league tryout, his dream changed and his 

6 attention turned solely to ice hockey. 

7 (5) While playing amateur hockey, Willie was 

8 struck in his right eye with a puck and lost his eye9 sight. He was told by doctors to abandon his hockey 

10 career; instead, never disclosing the extent of his in11 jury, he pursued his dream of playing professional 

12 hockey. 

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

14 the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Hockey League 

15 (QHL) to play for the NHL’s Boston Bruins at a 

16 time when only 6 teams existed in the league. O’Ree 

17 was unaware he had broken the color barrier at the 

18 top level of the sport until he read it in the news19 paper the following day. 

20 (7) Blind in 1 eye and a victim of racism at 

21 times throughout his career, O’Ree persevered and 

22 played professional hockey for 22 years, tallying over 

23 1,000 points. 

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

25 professional hockey, the National Hockey League 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2504 IH

1 hired O’Ree as the first-ever Diversity Ambassador. 

2 Having already changed the game forever through 

3 his courage and convictions, O’Ree gives new defini4 tion to what it means to be a trailblazer. 

5 (9) In this role as Diversity Ambassador with 

6 the NHL, O’Ree set out to grow the sport by pro7 viding access, opportunity, and motivation for chil8 dren of all races, ethnicities, origins, and abilities. 

9 With O’Ree providing a vivid example of what is 

10 possible and serving as a relentless supporter of chil11 dren pursuing their dreams, more than 30 nonprofit 

12 youth organizations, dubbed Hockey is for Everyone 

13 programs, were developed across North America, 

14 each committed to offering minority and under15 served children an opportunity to play hockey, 

16 leveraging the sport to build character, foster posi17 tive values, and develop important life skills. 

18 (10) Through Hockey is for Everyone pro19 grams, more than 120,000 boys and girls have been 

20 positively impacted. O’Ree has devoted nearly 2,500 

21 days on the ground with the youth participants, vis22 iting more than 500 schools, community centers, and 

23 rinks to speak to hockey’s core values and beliefs: 

24 stay in school; set goals for yourself; remain comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2504 IH

1 mitted and disciplined; and always respect your 

2 teammates, coaches, and parents. 

3 (11) Hockey is for Everyone programs have 

4 provided important opportunities for youth to par5 take in physical fitness. Today in the United States, 

6 fewer than half of the children ages 6–11 engage in 

7 the recommended amount of physical activity, and 

8 that number is lower for low-income families. O’Ree 

9 has stood as a champion of youth athletic participa10 tion and its health benefits for decades. 

11 (12) Hockey is for Everyone programs provide 

12 numerous off-ice services to youth: SAT and aca13 demic tutoring, mentoring, nutrition education, col14 lege counseling, community service opportunities, 

15 and more. The program has excelled at using hockey 

16 as a vehicle to improve the social and emotional 

17 wellness of youth and improve students’ academic 

18 performances both in primary school and beyond. 

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

20 Order of Canada in 2008 and, in 2018, the City of 

21 Boston released an official Proclamation recognizing 

22 January 18, the anniversary of the day he broke 

23 into the game, as ‘‘Willie O’Ree Day’’. 

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

25 entered the NHL, he was inducted into the Hockey 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2504 IH

1 Hall of Fame in the ‘‘builder’’ category in recogni2 tion of his efforts to grow the game, using his posi3 tion and the platform of hockey to improve the lives 

4 of children throughout North America. 

5 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

6 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

7 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

8 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

9 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 

10 of appropriate design to Willie O’Ree, in recognition of 

11 his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hock12 ey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity. 

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

14 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

15 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec16 retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 

17 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec18 retary. 

19 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

20 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre21 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

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

24 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2504 IH

1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med3 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

4 Code. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS