On June 17, 1923, Larry Kwong was born in Vernon, British Columbia. He went on to help break racial barriers as the first person of Asian descent to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kwong’s father, Ng Shu Kwong, came to Canada from a village in southern China in 1885. In 1904, he married Loo Ying Tow and together they had nine children. They named their second youngest Eng Kai Geong, also known as Lawrence Kwong.
Growing up in Vernon, British Columbia, Kwong loved to listen to hockey games on the radio and learned to play hockey with his brothers. He joined the Vernon Hydrophones at age 16 and proved to be a top scorer at the provincial championships. Success at the junior level earned him a tryout with the Trail Smoke Eaters—a semi-professional team that had won the world championship in 1939. Kwong joined the team but was not awarded a position at the partnered Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, like other players, as the head office refused to employ a man of Chinese descent.
After one season in Trail, he moved to Vancouver Island to work at a shipyard and play for the Nanaimo Clippers and the Vancouver St. Regis. After the 1943–1944 season, he enlisted to serve in the Canadian Army during the Second World War (1939–1945). He was assigned to Red Deer for basic training and stayed there for the duration of the war as a member of the base’s hockey team.
After the war, Kwong rejoined the Trail Smoke Eaters for a year and then signed with the New York Rangers farm team, the Rovers. In the 1946–1947 season, he was the third-leading scorer, with 37 points in 47 games. He was called up to the Rangers in March 1948 to Montréal for a game against the Canadiens. He played one shift in late in the third period, with less than a minute of ice time. The next day, he was sent back to the minor leagues and never again played in the NHL. Kwong finished his time with the Rovers as the lead scorer with 86 points in 65 games.
After seven years with the Quebec Valleyfield Braves, in 1957 Kwong moved to Europe to join the Nottingham Panthers. When his career as a player ended, he became a coach and mentored five Swiss teams over the span of 10 years. He is credited with helping to establish the sport in Europe. Back home in Canada, Kwong is remembered for breaking racial barriers in hockey and inspiring the next generation of players.
Breaking Racial Barriers in the National Hockey League was designated as a national historic event in 2022. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) advises the Government of Canada on the commemoration of national historic events, which evoke significant moments, episodes, movements, or experiences in the history of Canada.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Learn how to participate in this process.