In 1926 the first minority hockey player suited up and broke the color barrier in the NHL. He was an Ojibwe Indian and he hid his ancestry for years, but eventually his ethnicity was discovered. He was never a star and images of Abel are extremely rare with this being the only example we have ever seen, taken about 1929-30 when he was traded to the Black Hawks. The photo is fantastic, developed on double weight paper, and it was used to make his rookie hockey card as well (1933 Canadian Gum) which makes it an incredible piece of hockey history. One of the most important images of any hockey player we have ever seen, this is being offered here for the first time ever and it grades almost perfect. While we normally defer to any identification on the back of photographs as identifications and not signatures, this one may be signed as the script is very ornate and most simple identifications are not written in this style.

Size: 8x10
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 4.5/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 9.5/10