(Jerome Miron-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/fb8a6e0f-0834-4971-aa5f-0df116c94ab1.jpeg] (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images) This year marks the 130th anniversary of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, which began 14 years before the precursor to the NHL was founded. The CHLM was a competitive all-Black league in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the only all-Black league in Canadian history. The first recorded game occurred more than a decade before the founding of the National Hockey Association. It took place on Feb. 27, 1895, between the Halifax Eurekas and Dartmouth Jubilees, Hockey Nova Scotia Diversity and Inclusion Chair Dean Smith told CTV [https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/article/colored-hockey-league-of-the-maritimes-honoured-as-part-of-black-history-month-celebrations/] on Feb. 15 as organizations across Canada commemorate the league's anniversary. On Jan. 1, 1961, Willie O'Ree scored his first NHL goal. The initial local league included the Eurekas, Jubilees and Halifax Stanleys. More teams included the Sea-Sides, Victorias, Rangers, Royals and Moss Backs. The league reorganized in the late 1920s, and some clubs lasted into the 1930s. Multiracial crowds gathered to watch the games and journalists reported on the results, but the players and staff still endured racism on and off the ice, including limited access to indoor ice time and Black players being barred from other leagues. In October 2024, the Government of Canada recognized the CHLM as an event of historical significance [https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2024/10/government-of-canada-recognizes-colored-hockey-league-of-the-maritimes-as-an-event-of-national-historic-significance-the-colored-hockey-league-of-t.html], noting it "exemplifies how African Canadian communities in the Maritimes fought for equality in sports and used hockey to advance social change in Canada." The league introduced fundamental techniques to hockey, including butterfly-style goaltending and the slapshot, according to Bob Dawson [https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2024/10/government-of-canada-recognizes-colored-hockey-league-of-the-maritimes-as-an-event-of-national-historic-significance-the-colored-hockey-league-of-t.html#:%7e:text=innovations%20such%20as%20the%20butterfly%2Dstyle%20of%20goaltending%20and%20the%20slap%20shot.], a Black hockey historian, sports writer and former hockey player. Dartmouth, N.S., held a panel discussion, a plaque ceremony [https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/2025/02/13/ctv-national-news-130th-anniversary-of-colored-hockey-league-of-the-maritimes-celebrated/] by Parks Canada and a commemorative game on Feb. 15, featuring all-Black rosters representing the Eurekas and Jubilees. Bill Riley, the first African-Nova Scotian to play in the NHL, dropped the puck in a pre-game ceremony. Last Saturday in Ottawa, recognized the CHLM as part of Black History Month Appreciation Night. George Fosty, author of Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925, did the ceremonial puck drop alongside Jean-Marie Guerrier of Black History Ottawa and Lois Downey, the descendant of two players in the CHLM. Like in Darmouth, Black History Ottawa organized a commemorative game as well. Mark Fraser, former NHL player and director of culture and inclusion with the Toronto Maple Leafs, took part in the game. “For someone like myself, who is a racialized individual (and) a member of the Black community, there may be other barriers that you will have to navigate through challenges and certainly bias from opponents and fans and certainly some of the decision makers,” Fraser told CTV Ottawa [https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/ottawa-hockey-game-marks-the-130th-anniversary-of-the-founding-of-the-coloured-hockey-league-of-the-maritimes/]. “This celebrates the multiculturalism and diversity that exists in our cities, our spaces, our arenas, our workplaces and schools and acknowledging our history.”
