Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong; ; June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) 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 hock ...

forward who was the first non-White and Asian descent player in the

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 ...

(NHL). He broke the NHL's colour barrier when he debuted with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its hom ...

in 1948, playing a short shift at the end of the third period. Although denied much playing time in the NHL, Kwong was a top player in senior hockey leagues outside the NHL throughout his entire career and battled the likes of

Jean Beliveau Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

for the scoring race in Quebec. Kwong came from a

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

-speaking family, and was also the first NHL player from

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearb ...

, and the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

region. Kwong's nicknames included the "China Clipper" and "King Kwong". After his playing days, he lived in Europe and became the first ethnic Chinese coach of a professional hockey club in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In his later years, he returned to Canada and operated a supermarket, following his father's footsteps.

Early years

Kwong was born in 1923 in

, as the second youngest of 15 children born to his

-speaking father who had two wives. His father had immigrated from China in 1884 for the gold rush in Cherry Creek, BC, but later failed. His father later started farming and then went into the grocery business in Vernon, British Columbia, calling his store ''Kwong Hing Lung''. Larry's Chinese surname was Eng, but decided to take the name of his father's store as the last name in his English name. Just two weeks after his birth, the government of the Dominion of Canada enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 which completely prohibited Chinese immigrants from entering Canada. Kwong faced numerous acts of racial discrimination during his youthful years in Vernon, as he recalled being denied service at a barbershop because of his ethnic background.

Early playing career

Kwong had practiced ice hockey on frozen ponds in Vernon and had not played organized hockey until he joined the Vernon Hydrophones when he was 16 years old. He powered the Vernon Hydrophones to the midget hockey championship of BC in 1939 and then to the provincial juvenile title in 1941. As an 18-year-old, Kwong jumped the junior ranks to play senior hockey after a try-out for the elite semi-professional

Trail Smoke Eaters The Trail Smoke Eaters are a junior A ice hockey team from Trail, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. History The Smoke Eaters (aka ''Smokies'') have existed as both junior and senior teams since th ...

, who had won the

1939 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1939 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between February 3 and February 12, 1939, in Zürich and Basel, Switzerland. Austria had been annexed by Germany in 1938, and four Austrians played this tournament in German jerseys. The fourtee ...

. In Trail, players who made the roster got good-paying jobs at a local smelter, but Kwong was denied a job because of his Chinese heritage. Instead, he was sent to a nearby hotel to work as a

bellhop A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform (see bell-boy hat), like certain other page boys or doormen. This occup ...

. In 1942, the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

invited Kwong to training camp, but "the Canadian government refused to process the documentation needed to leave the country". In 1944, Kwong was drafted into the Canadian Army. Instead of being deployed overseas, he was selected to join "Sugar" Jim Henry and

Mac Colville Matthew Lamont "Mac" Colville (January 8, 1916 – May 27, 2003) was a professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Rangers between 1935 and 1947, winning the Stanley Cup in 1940. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, he was brother ...

on the

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

Wheelers of the Central Alberta Garrison Hockey League. The Wheelers defeated the Calgary Combines (starring two-time NHL scoring champion

Sweeney Schriner David "Sweeney" Schriner (November 30, 1911 – July 4, 1990) was a Russian-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Americans and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was ...

) in the playoff semi-final, before falling to Calgary Currie Army (whose roster included

Hart Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was dona ...

winners

Max Bentley Maxwell Herbert Lloyd Bentley (March 1, 1920 – January 19, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) as part of a p ...

and Tommy Anderson) in the final series. After World War II, Kwong returned to Trail and won the provincial senior hockey championship with the Smoke Eaters in 1946. In that BC Final series against the

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

, Kwong led the Smokies in scoring (tied with Mike Buckna) and scored the Savage Cup-winning goal. Later in 1946,

Lester Patrick Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (Western Hockey League after 1924), and t ...

scouted Kwong and was impressed, signing him for the

New York Rovers The New York Rovers were a senior ice hockey team that was established in 1935. They played in the Eastern Hockey League as a farm team of the New York Rangers. The Rovers played alongside the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. They played in the Eas ...

, a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of the

. Kwong scored a goal in his debut for the Rovers against the

Boston Olympics The Boston Olympics are a defunct ice hockey team which operated as a farm team for the Boston Bruins. They began play during the 1940–41 Eastern Amateur Hockey League season. The Olympics were often referred to by the shortened name the ‘Pic ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

on October 27, 1946. At

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

on November 17, 1946, Shavey Lee presented Kwong with the Keys to New York's Chinatown. Kwong went on to lead the New York Rovers in scoring in 1947–1948 with 86 points in 65 games.

Breaking the National Hockey League's colour barrier

On March 13, 1948, Kwong broke hockey's colour barrier by making his NHL debut with the

as the first non-white player in the NHL. He wore number 11, and played against

Maurice Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard (; ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL hist ...

and the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the ...

. This event came less than a year after

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

shattered the

baseball color line The color line, also known as the color barrier, in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor Leagues until 1947 (with a few notable exceptions in the 19th century before the l ...

in the US. During this game, Kwong was benched until late in the third period, where he was sent to play the final shift of the game. Spending less than a minute on the ice, he tallied no points in what would be his only big-league game. While several other Rover forwards were called to play subsequent games, Kwong was not, despite being the Rovers' top scorer. Kwong became convinced that he would not get an opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level with the Rangers, and left the Rangers organization at the end of the season. In the off-season, Kwong accepted a more lucrative offer to play for the Valleyfield Braves of the

Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it becam ...

Career peak outside of the NHL

Kwong went on to have a long and successful career in senior leagues in Canada and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Coached by

Toe Blake Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being '' digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''pla ...

, Kwong was named as an alternate captain of the Valleyfield Braves. In 1951 Kwong won the Vimy Trophy as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the QSHL. That year, he led the Valleyfield Braves to the league championship and then to the

Alexander Cup The Alexander Cup was the championship trophy for the Major Series of senior ice hockey in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1950 to 1954. The trophy was presented by its namesake, the Viscount Alexander as the 17th Governor General of ...

, the Canadian major senior title. In the following QSHL season (1951–52), Kwong's 38 goals were topped only by

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the Hoc ...

's 45 tallies. In his nine-year tenure in the Quebec League, competing against future NHL All-Stars such as Béliveau,

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He playe ...

, Dickie Moore,

Gerry McNeil Gerald George McNeil (April 17, 1926 – June 17, 2004) was a professional ice hockey goaltender who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens between 1947 and 1956. With the Canadiens he won the Stanley Cup in 1953. Career McNeil first ...

and Jean-Guy Talbot, Kwong averaged better than a point per game. Béliveau, who later became a Hall of Fame inductee, said: "Larry made his wing men look good because he was a great passer. He was doing what a centre man is supposed to do."

Player-coaching career

Kwong accepted an offer to play and coach hockey in England and, later, in Lausanne,

, before it even became fashionable to play in Europe. He expected only to stay for a year, but remained in Europe for 15 years. "I went there to coach ice hockey and then after six years of coaching, I decided to start teaching tennis as a tennis pro." Kwong spent one season with the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won fou ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, scoring 55 goals in 55 games, before moving to

where he led

HC Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and blues). Though they have never won the lea ...

in scoring as player-coach. With this coaching assignment, he became the first person of Chinese descent to coach a professional hockey team. He later coached

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

and HC Lausanne. Kwong also became a tennis coach in

Personal life

Kwong was married to Audrey Craven (1929–1979) in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin ...

in 1964. The couple had one daughter, Kristina (Dean) Heintz. In 1972 Kwong returned to Canada with his family to run Food-Vale Supermarket (Kwong Hing Lung) with his brother, Jack. In 1989 Kwong married Janine Boyer. He was widowed for a second time in 1999. Retired from the grocery business, he lived in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. Kwong died March 15, 2018, in Calgary.

Honours & achievements

Kwong has been honoured on numerous occasions. Below is a list of select honours:

On-ice achievements

1939: British Columbia Midget Hockey Championship 1941: British Columbia Provincial Juvenile Title 1946: Leading scorer on the

1946: Savage Cup Winner; scored the cup-winning goal 1948: Leading scorer on the

(86 points in 65 games), the top minor league team for the New York Rangers 1948: Breaking the NHL's colour barrier by playing for the New York Rangers as the first non-white player in the league. 1951: Byng of Vimy Trophy winner as MVP of the

QSHL The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it becam ...

, leader in assists (51), second in points (85), third in scoring (34) 1951: QSHL Championship 1951:

winner. This cup is the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

national major

senior ice hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisdi ...

championship trophy. 1952: Second in QSHL league-scoring with 38 goals, only behind Jean Beliveau's 45 goals 1958: 55 goals in 55 games for the

at age 35

Awards

2002: Calgary's Asian Heritage Month Award 2009: Heritage Award from the Society of North American Historians and Researchers (SONAHR) 2010: Okanagan Hockey Group's inaugural Pioneer Award in 2010 November 23, 2011, Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in the Athlete category. September 19, 2013, Honoured Member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame. July 23, 2016, Honoured Member of the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame. Kwong's game-worn 1942–43 Nanaimo Clippers sweater hangs in the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

as a part of its exhibit ''The Changing Face of Hockey – Diversity in Our Game.''

Honorary appearances

2009: Honoured by the

Vernon Vipers The Vernon Vipers are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Kal Tire Place. History The ...

of the British Columbia Hockey League in a

pre-game ceremony A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause. Celebrating past event ...

2009: Saluted by the Calgary Flames of the

at the

Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flame ...

Movies and media

2011: Kwong's story is featured in the documentary film '' Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice'' (2011), written, directed and produced by Kenda Gee and

Tom Radford Tom Radford (born March 12, 1946) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta.Tom Murray"Tom Radford" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', March 22, 2010. A cofounder with Anne Wheeler and P. J. Reese of the Filmwest Associates studio, Ra ...

. 2014: ''The Shift: The Story of the China Clipper'', a documentary by Chester Sit, Wes Miron and Tracy Nagai, had its theatrical premiere in Vernon, BC. 2015: ''King Kwong: Larry Kwong, the China Clipper who Broke the NHL Colour Barrier'', a biography by Paula Johanson, was published.

Career statistics

References

Bibliography

* Lost Years Official Website (Episode 1): http://www.lostyears.ca/episode-one.html * Barman, Jean. ''The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia (Third Edition).'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007. . * Cohen, Russ. ''100 Things Rangers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.'' Chicago: Triumph Books, 2014. . * Greig, Murray. ''Trail on Ice: A Century of Hockey in the Home of Champions.'' Trail: City of Trail Archives, 1999. . * Johanson, Paula. ''King Kwong: Larry Kwong, the China Clipper Who Broke the NHL's Colour Barrier.'' Neustadt: Five Rivers Publishing, 2015. . * Ma, Adrian. ''How the Chinese Created Canada.'' Dragon Hill Publishing Ltd., 2010. . * McKinley, Michael. ''Hockey: A People's History.'' Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd, 2006. . * Mortillaro, Nicole. ''Hockey Trailblazers.'' Markham: Scholastic Canada Ltd, 2011. . * Poulton, J. Alexander. ''A History of Hockey in Canada.'' OverTime Books, 2010. . * Reid, Ken. ''One Night Only: Conversations with the NHL's One-Game Wonders.'' Toronto: ECW Press, 2016. . * Wong, David H.T. ''Escape to Gold Mountain: A Graphic History of the Chinese in North America.'' Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2012. . * Zweig, Eric. ''The Big Book of Hockey for Kids.'' Markham: Scholastic Canada Ltd, 2013. .

External links

*
The Life & Times of Hockey Hero Larry Kwong
* ttp://sonahrsports.com/the-longest-shot-retracing-larry-kwongs-giant-strides-part-i-p150-107.htm The Longest Shot: Retracing Larry Kwong's Giant Stridesbr>"Rangers Call Up Chinese Puckster"Toe Blake comments on Larry KwongKwong scores in Garrison Hockey League finalsLearn about Larry Kwong's incredible journey to the NHL in 1948
from NHL.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwong, Larry 1923 births 2018 deaths Businesspeople from British Columbia Canadian grocers Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian sportspeople of Chinese descent Ice hockey people from British Columbia New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Nottingham Panthers players Sportspeople from Vernon, British Columbia Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian ice hockey players National Hockey League history