Have you ever heard of the Colored Hockey League? If not, now's the time for a little history lesson. First, here's a clip from ESPN's Jeremy Schapp:
Now here's some incredible vintage footage put together by the authors of Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Martimes, 1895-1925:
We shouldn't be entirely surprised that history like this has been smothered for so long. As the late Arthur Ashe demonstrated in his groundbreaking work, A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete, it wasn't uncommon for historians of sport to completely ignore the achievements of black athletes and the discrimination they had to overcome just to compete.
For more, see Greg Wyshynski and Jes Golbez. Thanks to Black Educator for the initial inspiration.
