John Frederick Utendale (; January 15, 1937 – August 24, 2006) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player, ice hockey coach, and college professor. He signed a contract with the Detroit Red Wings in 1955, becoming the first

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

man to sign a contract with a

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team. Utendale later became a professor at Western Washington State College (now

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

) as the first Black faculty member of the school's Woodring College of Education.

Early life and hockey career

Utendale was born on January 15, 1937, in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, to father Alfred and mother Grayce. While still in high school, he began playing hockey with the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers ...

. He signed a contract with the Red Wings in 1955, three years before

Willie O'Ree Willie Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred t ...

broke the NHL's color barrier by playing his first game with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. Utendale practiced with the Red Wings but never played in an NHL game. He played with the Red Wings' minor league affiliate, the Edmonton Flyers. During the 1958–59 season, Utendale played with the Quebec Aces with fellow Black players O'Ree and Stan Maxwell on "The Black Line". In 2006, John's brother Paul Utendale claimed that

Jack Adams John James Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Toronto Arenas, Vancouver Millionair ...

, the Red Wings' coach and general manager, refused to give John any playing time because Adams objected to John's relationship with Mickey, a white woman who he later married. Mickey and her son Robb said in 2021 that they suspect that John’s relationship with Mickey prevented John from getting playing time with the Red Wings.

Transition to education

Utendale earned a teaching certificate from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

in 1961. While at UBC, he played for the Thunderbirds hockey team for one season, leading the team in scoring. Utendale earned an undergraduate degree in education at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

in 1963, after only two years of study while playing semi-pro hockey for local teams. Utendale's first educational job was as the first director of physical education at the

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a applied sciences institute in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NAIT provides careers programs in applied research, technical training, applied education, and learning designed to meet the dema ...

, where he also coached the school's hockey team. He played for several minor hockey teams until 1969, when he ended his hockey playing career and began pursuing a master's degree at Eastern Washington State College (now Eastern Washington University). After earning his master's degree, he was hired as an academic coordinator for the athletics department at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

. At WSU, Utendale also taught in the Black studies department and was a member of the Washington State Human Rights Commission. While fulfilling all these duties, Utendale also earned a doctorate in education from WSU.

Educational career

Western Washington State College (now

) in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

, hired Utendale as the first Black faculty member of its Woodring College of Education. Utendale headed Western's master's degree program in student personnel administration for over 25 years. He was recognized nationally for his efforts to increase Western's minority student population. He later earned

academic tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

at WWU. While at Western, Utendale coached the

Western Washington Vikings The Western Washington Vikings represent Western Washington University in intercollegiate sports in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference of the NCAA Division II with the exception of the women's rowing team which is a member of the Northwest C ...

men's hockey team. He was the western regional director of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (now

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

). He also co-founded the Bellingham Area Minor Hockey Association and coached the city's junior ice hockey team. In 1980, Utendale was named as an assistant training coach with the

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its USA Hockey National Team Development Program, U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan, Plymouth, Michiga ...

, thus becoming the first Black member of the team's coaching staff. The team won gold at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

in a campaign that included the famous " Miracle on Ice" game. Utendale retired from WWU in 2001. He remained in Bellingham until his death in 2006.

Personal life

Utendale married Maryan "Mickey" Maddison Leonard in 1959. They remained married until his death from cancer in 2006. The couple had two sons. The

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...

honored Utendale at its February 24, 2022, game as part of

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

festivities.

References

External links