City to Name Sports Complexes After Local Hockey Heroes
Fredericton (September 4, 2007) - City Council will name Fredericton's two new Sports & Leisure complexes after local hockey heroes Willie O'Ree and Danny Grant.
The Northside Sports & Leisure Complex, which opened in March 2007 on Cliffe Street, will be named in honour of Willie O'Ree. The new Sports & Leisure Complex to be built near the Kimble Drive/Vanier Highway interchange and opened in the Fall of 2009, will be named after Danny Grant.
"We are very proud to name these beautiful new facilities in honour of Willie O'Ree and Danny Grant," said Mayor Brad Woodside. "This is an honour that these two native sons have earned. Not only did they bring honour to our city with their professionalism and courage but they are both wonderful human beings who have carried themselves with dignity throughout their lives."
In January 1958, Willie O'Ree became the first black hockey player in the National Hockey League when he signed a contract to play for the Boston Bruins. He played parts of two seasons with the Bruins (1957-58 and 1960-61) scoring four goals and 10 assists in 45 career NHL games. He also played 13 seasons in the Western Hockey League for the Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls. He led the WHL with 38 goals with the Blades during the 1964-65 season. In the 1972-73 season he had 45 points in 50 games for the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey league.
O'Ree was also a very good baseball player and earned a tryout with the Milwaukee Braves in 1953. In 1998, he was appointed Director of the NHL's Youth Development/USA Hockey Diversity task Force. He was awarded the NHL's Lester Patrick Award in 2003 for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
Grant played 736 games in the National Hockey league with Montreal, Minnesota, Detroit and Los Angeles. The highlight of his NHL career came in the 1974-75 season when he scored 50 goals, an achievement reserved for the game's superstars. He finished his NHL career with 263 goals and 273 assists with 24 points in 43 playoff games.
He helped Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1968 and was named NHL Rookie of the Year during the '68-69 season. Grant was an NHL ironman, setting a club record for Minnesota by playing in 566 consecutive games.
After his NHL career ended, Grant returned to Fredericton to give back to the sport. He coached the Fredericton Capitals to the NB Intermediate title in 1980-81 and took the team to the Eastern Canadian Hardy Cup Championship in1980. Gant is also respected for his role as coach of the Fredericton Boldon Red Wings, coaching the team to the 1988-89 Atlantic Midget Title.
Both O'Ree and Grant are members of the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. O'Ree was inducted in 1984 and Grant in 1985.
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Contact: Wayne Knorr, Communications, City of Fredericton, (506) 460-2181.
