Beyond the game: the legacy of Bill Masterton.

Bill Masterton is the only man to die of injuries sustained in a National Hockey League (NHL) game. He remains the last fatality in any professional team sport involving a direct in-game injury in North America. While Masterton was originally thought to have suffered a fatal brain injury while being checked on the ice, later analysis of the case revealed evidence of second-impact syndrome and the effects of prior concussions. Masterton's death sparked both an immediate debate in the NHL on whether helmets should be compulsory and the NHL's first vote on mandatory helmet use. Although the subject of mandated helmet use met with resistance in the 10 years after Masterton's death, especially from hockey owners and coaches, the NHL finally legislated helmet use by all players entering the league beginning in the 1979-1980 season. Several awards, including one recognizing the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey, have been created in memory of Masterton. However, his legacy extends far beyond the awards that bear his name. His death was the seminal event bringing head safety to the forefront of a game that was both unready and unwilling to accept change. An increase in mainstream media attention in recent years has led to unprecedented public awareness of brain injury and concussion in hockey and other sports. Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of head injury in sports have occurred recently, the impetus for which started over 45 years ago, when Bill Masterton died.

How Canada's Black Hockey League Shaped the Sport and the Path to Our Arrival in the NHL Today.

Willie O'Ree, known as the "Jackie Robinson of hockey," was the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), debuting with the Boston Bruins in 1958. From the moment the Canadian-born player stepped onto the ice, he changed the notion of hockey as a "White sport," and he has dedicated his career to making it more accessible, including working with the NHL Diversity Task Force initiative Hockey Is For Everyone (HIFE). HIFE supports nonprofit hockey programs around the country and gives kids from all backgrounds the opportunity to try out their skills on the ice. Since 1994, Willie O'Ree has introduced 50,000 children across North America to the sport. Nonetheless, in the NHL today, only approximately 5% of the players (43 of >700) are players of color. However, several aspects of hockey's history, and innovations in the game, can be traced back to communities of color. Established in 1895, the Black Hockey League (BHL) of the Maritimes in Canada grew out of local churches in small towns such as Africville, Nova Scotia. By the beginning of the 20th century, the BHL had grown from a 3-team league to include newly formed teams across the region. The league had its own championship at a time when Black players were not allowed to play for the Stanley Cup. The BHL was at its height between 1890 and 1930, with hundreds of players, 12 teams, and as many as 1,200 spectators. Unfortunately, the Canadian government did not provide equitable resources, and churches alone could not maintain these small Black communities. As the NHL developed, focus shifted away from regional leagues. In 2018, Willie O'Ree was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. Although he may have broken the color barrier in 1958, hockey is still a predominantly White sport, and society continues to grapple with systematic racism. NHL players have formed an independent group, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, to work to make the game more socioeconomically inclusive and to help eradicate racism and intolerance.

Lionel Charles Renwick (Rennick) Emmett (1913-96): physician and Olympian.

Lionel Charles Renwick Emmett, a physician who trained in pre-independent India as a medical student, participated in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics as a part of the Indian field hockey team that won the Gold Medal.

The avoidability of head and neck injuries in ice hockey: an historical review.

The number of minor traumatic brain injury (mTBI), cerebral concussions, is increasing and cannot be eliminated by any kind of equipment. Prevention strategies, such as the introduction of "checking from behind" rules have become effective in decreasing the number of severe spinal injuries. A new "head checking" rule should reduce mTBI in the same way in the following years. Mouthguards should be mandatory as an effective device for the prevention of dental and orofacial injuries, as well as reducing the incidence and severity of mTBI. A new internet database system, the International Sports Injury System (ISIS) should improve epidemiological analysis of head, face, and spinal injuries worldwide. ISIS should provide an internationally compatible system for continuous monitoring of risk factors, protective effects of equipment, and protective effects of equipment and effects of changes in rules through the years.