New York Rangers: The passing of a trailblazer
Former New York Ranger Larry Kwong passed away at age 94. He played one shift in1948 making him the first minority player in the NHL’s history.
When Larry Kwong died last week in Alberta at age 94, it closed a little known chapter in the history of the NHL and the Rangers. A small player (5’6″), he was known as the “China Clipper” for his speed. He was signed by the Rangers in 1946 to play for their Rovers farm team. The team played at Madison Square Garden and he was a top offensive player, averaging over a point a game. As a result, he was called up to the big club late in the 1947-48 season.
His Debut
On March 13, 1948, in one of the last games of the season he traveled with the team to Montreal. Coach Frank Boucher had him stapled to the bench until late in the game when he finally put him in for one shift. He played for a minute and completed a pass, but did not score and never played another second in the NHL.
In the New York Times the next day, the story about the game was more interested in the playoff implications of the 3-2 loss. The only mention was in the last paragraph. “The Rangers used Larry Kwong, first Chinese player in the league, only sparingly. Ronnie Rowe, also up from the New York Rovers, was used more frequently. ”
After that season, believing that he would never get a chance in the NHL, he signed with the Valleyfield Braves, of the Quebec Senior Hockey League. A star in that league, he battled Jean Beliveau for the league scoring title. He won the league MVP award in 1951 and according to the Toronto Globe and Mail, his coach, Toe Blake said “I would not trade Larry Kwong under any circumstances.”
The Color Barrier
Willie O’Ree of the Boston Bruins is commonly credited with breaking the color barrier in the NHL. O’Ree played two games in the 1957-58 season and 43 games in 1960-61. After O’Ree, another black player didn’t make the NHL until 1974 when Mike Marson played for the Washington Capitals. As for players of Asian descent after Kwong, it was almost 30 years before Detroit’s Mike Wong made his debut in the NHL in 1975. His career lasted longer than Kwong’s as he played 22 games with one goal and one assist.
Asians in the NHL
There have still been only a handful of players in the NHL of Asian descent. Most successful was Japanese-Canadian Paul Kariya, an All-Star who averaged exactly a point a game in 989 career games. According to Ice Hockey Wiki there are currently six active players of Asian descent, including Matt Dumba and Devon Setoguchi. The only Asian player to hoist the Stanley Cup was defenseman Jim Paek of the 1991 and 1992 championship Pittsburgh Penguins.
Manny Malhotra
As for the Rangers, they have had one additional player of Asian heritage. Manny Malhotra was a first round draft pick for New York in 1998 (7th overall). He was only the second NHL player of Indian descent (Robin Bawa was the first in 1987). His father is a Punjabi, born in India who emigrated to Canada. His Ranger career lasted all of 206 games (19 goals, 22 assists) before he was dispatched to Dallas for Martin Rucinsky and Roman Lyashenko.
Another ill-advised Ranger trade, Malhotra went on to play 785 games with six teams, scoring more 97 goals and over 250 points. Rucinsky played one season for New York before leaving as a free agent. In a truly bizarre twist, former 2nd round Dallas draft pick Lyashenko committed suicide in 2003. He played 17 games for the Rangers and had an outstanding season in Hartford before leaving the team to play in the 2003 World Championships. The reasons for his suicide are unkonwn, but he was homesick for Russia and didn’t want to play in North America.
He wasn’t Chinese
There was one New York Ranger who fans thought was Chinese. That was Ivan Wilfred “Ching” Johnson. Johnson was a Ranger for 11 years. The defenseman was elected to the NHL Hall of Fame in 1958. He played 405 games for New York, was a four-time All-Star and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. His nickname has a dubious history. According to Wikipedia, though he was of Irish descent, fans would chant “Ching, Ching Chinaman” in his support as they thought he looked Chinese . Other nicknames he sported were “Ivan the Terrible,” “Chinaman” and “Chink.” Let’s just say that those were different times.
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Back to Larry Kwong
In recent years there have been efforts to honor Mr. Kwong for his contributions, mostly in British Columbia. He was inducted into the B.C. Hall of Fame in 2013 and was honored at a Vancouver Canucks game last month. The Rangers have never acknowledged the role that Kwong and the team played in breaking the NHL’s color barrier. Perhaps it is time to do so.