Bill Riley remembered as courageous NHL pioneer, hero to Black hockey players in Nova Scotia and beyond

Bill Riley remembered as courageous NHL pioneer, hero to Black hockey players in Nova Scotia and beyond

Amherst native Bill Riley beat incredible odds to make it to the NHL as a Black man in a deeply racist era

Bill Riley, Black NHL Pioneer, Dies at 75 - The Caribbean Camera

Canadian hockey is mourning the loss of a trailblazer whose career opened doors for generations of Black athletes. Bill Riley, widely recognized as the first African Nova Scotian to play in the National Hockey League, has died at the age of 75 after battling cancer. Bill Riley Born in 1950 in Amherst Nova Scotia, Riley’s path to professional hockey began with the Amherst Ramblers at the junior level. His persistence carried him to the NHL, where…