Seven decades later, Kwong's New York minute still matters

Perhaps one day Larry Kwong will be as revered as Jack Johnson and Jackie Robinson.

Johnson became the first African-American to fight for boxing's world heavyweight title when he challenged - and beat - Tommy Burns in 1908. Robinson made history by breaking big league baseball's longstanding color barrier when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

On March 13, 1948, less than a year after Robinson forever changed the complexion of North American pro sports, Kwong, whose birth name was Eng Kai Geong, became the first player of Asian ancestry-and the first non-Caucasian-to skate in the National Hockey League when he suited up for the New York Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens.