Larry Kwong
| Larry Kwong | |||
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Larry Kwong pictured with the Vernon Hydrophones in the 1938-39 season
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| Born |
June 17, 1923 Vernon, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 1941–1959 | ||
Lawrence Kwong (born Eng Kai Geong (simplified Chinese: 吴启光; traditional Chinese: 吳啟光; pinyin: Wú Qǐguāng); June 17, 1923) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward and businessman. He is known as the first person of Asian ancestry to play in the National Hockey League. Of Cantonese extraction, he was also the first NHL player from Vernon, British Columbia, and the Okanagan region. Kwong's nicknames included the "China Clipper" (a name later used for CFL player Normie Kwong) and "King Kwong".
Kwong powered the Vernon Hydrophones to the midget hockey championship of BC in 1939 and then to the provincial juvenile title in 1941. As an 18-year-old, Kwong jumped the junior ranks to play senior hockey for the Trail Smoke Eaters, who had won the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships. In Trail, he was denied a job working with his teammates at the smelter because of his Chinese heritage. In 1944 Kwong was drafted into the Canadian Army. Instead of being deployed overseas, he was selected to join "Sugar" Jim Henry and Mac Colville on the Red Deer Wheelers of the Central Alberta Garrison Hockey League. The Wheelers defeated the Calgary Combines (starring two-time NHL scoring champion Sweeney Schriner) in the playoff semi-final, before falling to Calgary Currie Army (whose roster included Hart Trophy winners Max Bentley and Tommy Anderson) in the final series.
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