It was just one moment in time, but it was historic.
Now a filmmaker hopes to make that moment part of our memory.
The Vernon Morning Star reports that the film The Shift: The Story of The China Clipper by Chester Sit and Wes Miron commemorates the 90 seconds Larry Kwong played for the New York Rangers.
It happened on March 13 1948 at the Montreal Forum and it broke the color barrier in the National Hockey League. This was less than a year after Jackie Robinson did the same for Major League Baseball.
And just like Robinson, Kwong endured a lot of crap. He was called names, refused service and denied jobs his teammates would get to earn extra money.
Kwong is now 91. The film premiered at a invite-only screening sponsored by the Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in British Columbia.
Kwong was presented with a New York Rangers jersey by Ranger president and GM Glen Sather.
“It’s a very nice jersey,” said Kwong. “It (time in NHL) was about a minute and a half and I was a winger. We didn’t have any scoring chances. Montreal was a pretty good team. I knew (Jean) Beliveau and Dickie Moore and had played against them before so I wasn’t awestruck.”
You can read about Kwong’s sports career and reaction to the film in the Vernon Morning Star.
