Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong; ; June 17, 1923 – March 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who was the first player of Chinese descent in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL), playing a short shift at the end of the third period. He was the NHL's first player who was neither

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, nor Aboriginal North American, debuting ten years before

Willie O'Ree William Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is widely recognized for being the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing as a winger ...

. 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 * Jea ...

for the scoring race in Quebec. Kwong came from a

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

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

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, MLA of British ...

, and the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes 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 of ...

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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. 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, who had won the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships. 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, like certain other page boys or doormen. This occupation is also know ...

. In 1942, the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. Instead of being deployed overseas, he was selected to join "Sugar" Jim Henry and Mac Colville 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 (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

Wheelers of the Central Alberta Garrison Hockey League. The Wheelers defeated the Calgary Combines (starring two-time NHL scoring champion Sweeney Schriner) 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 to his team in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original t ...

winners

Max Bentley Maxwell Herbert Lloyd Bentley (March 1, 1920 – January 18, 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 pr ...

and Tommy Anderson) in the final series. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 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 (1925), Madison Squ ...

, a

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

of the

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

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

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.

NHL Debut

On March 13, 1948, Kwong became the first player of Asian descent to play in the NHL. Kwong was not the first non-white player, having been preceded by Aboriginal Canadians, Paul Jacobs and Henry Maracle, and

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

American Taffy Abel. 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 his ...

and the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum () is a historic building located facing Cabot Square, Montreal, 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 home o ...

. 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 Black 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 League Baseball, Minor Leagues until 1947 (with a few notable exceptions in the 1 ...

in the US. During this game, Kwong was benched until late in the third period, when 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.

Career peak outside of the NHL

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Coached by

Toe Blake Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake (August 21, 1912 – May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey Player (game), player and Coach (ice hockey), coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Blake played in the NHL from 1935 to 1948 with the Montreal Maroons a ...

, 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 ...

, 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 played ...

, Dickie Moore, Gerry McNeil 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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and, later, in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, 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. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, 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 leagu ...

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 and HC Lausanne. Kwong also became a tennis coach in

Personal life

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

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

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 a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

. Kwong died on 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 Trail Smoke Eaters 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 Hockey Québec, Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953 ...

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

winner. This cup is the

Canadian Canadians () 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 of their being ''C ...

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 ice hockey, Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate un ...

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 The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

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 The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

in a pre-game ceremony 2009: Saluted by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

of the

at the Saddledome.

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. 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. 2024: The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey, a biography by Chad Soon and George Chiang, was published by Orca Book Publishers.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

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 expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian grocers Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian sportspeople of Chinese descent National Hockey League history New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Nottingham Panthers players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Ice hockey people from Vernon, British Columbia Troy Bruins players Valleyfield Braves players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen

Early years

Early playing career

NHL Debut

Career peak outside of the NHL

Player-coaching career

Personal life

Honours & achievements

On-ice achievements

Awards

Honorary appearances

Movies and media

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

See also

References

Bibliography

External links