I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2249 
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 
MARCH 26, 2021 
Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself, Mr. EMMER, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. 
KATKO, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. 
CASTEN, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ALLRED, 
Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. STAUBER, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 com-
mitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational oppor-
tunity. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Willie O’Ree Congres-
sional Gold Medal Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Willie O’Ree was the first Black player to 
compete in the National Hockey League (NHL), ap-
pearing 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 Hock-
ey’’. 
(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O’Ree, whose name appears in the famous historical 
document ‘‘The Book of Negroes’’.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 pro-
fessional baseball teams and seriously considered 
baseball as a career. Upon experiencing the seg-
regated South for the first time while appearing for 
a minor league tryout, his dream changed and his 
attention turned solely to ice hockey. 
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(5) While playing amateur hockey, Willie was 
struck in his right eye with a puck and lost his eye-
sight. He was told by doctors to abandon his hockey 
career; instead, never disclosing the extent of his in-
jury, 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 news-
paper the following day. 
(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 first-ever Diversity Ambassador. 
Having already changed the game forever through 
his courage and convictions, O’Ree gives new defini-
tion 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 pro-
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viding access, opportunity, and motivation for chil-
dren 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 chil-
dren 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 under-
served children an opportunity to play hockey, 
leveraging the sport to build character, foster posi-
tive values, and develop important life skills. 
(10) Through Hockey is for Everyone pro-
grams, 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, vis-
iting 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 com-
mitted and disciplined; and always respect your 
teammates, coaches, and parents. 
(11) Hockey is for Everyone programs have 
provided important opportunities for youth to par-
take 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 
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that number is lower for low-income families. O’Ree 
has stood as a champion of youth athletic participa-
tion and its health benefits for decades. 
(12) Hockey is for Everyone programs provide 
numerous off-ice services to youth: SAT and aca-
demic tutoring, mentoring, nutrition education, col-
lege 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 recogni-
tion of his efforts to grow the game, using his posi-
tion 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 
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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 O’Ree, or if unavailable, 
to a member of his family, in recognition of his extraor-
dinary 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 ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. The design shall bear an image of, and an inscrip-
tion of the name of, Willie O’Ree. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, 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. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med-
als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code. 
Æ 
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