History of African Americans in the Canadian Football League

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African Americans have played prominent roles in the

This was also the time period in which Canadian football began to "professionalize". Having evolved out of rugby with the adoption of the forward pass in the 1920s, Canadian football grew in popularity in the subsequent years until teams made up of professional players began to dominate and displace amateur teams.^[1] Professionalization meant that teams were able to attract talent from a significantly wider pool. This benefited teams in smaller, primarily western Canadian cities that had a smaller pool from which to draw and were thus at a disadvantage compared to the larger eastern metropolises.^[1]

Beginning in 1935 Canadian teams began to recruit American players, a trend that continues today. At this time, the CFL was a legitimate competitor to the NFL, paying comparable wages and attracting a similar level of talent. However, there were no African Americans on any Canadian football team until 1946.

The CFL's colour barrier was broken in 1946, when Montreal Alouettes general manager Lew Hayman signed Herb Trawick. From that point on, a steady flow of African Americans began to migrate to the CFL, which, at the time, was a legitimate competitor league to the NFL.^[3]

CFL firsts

Players

In 1946, Montreal Alouettes GM Lew Hayman brought in Herb Trawick, making Trawick the first black player in the CFL.^[4] Hayman, a New York City-born Jew, saw the way that Montrealers had embraced Jackie Robinson with the Montreal Royals and believed the city was ready to accept a black football player.^[5]

In 1964,

Trawick may not have been the first black player in the CFL. There is photographic evidence that Robert "Stonewall" Jackson was the first African-American player, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in 1930. He was a porter with the railways and is in a team picture from that year.^[6] Otherwise Gabe Patterson was the first black player to play for the Green Riders. In 1948, Ken Whitlock became the Toronto Argonauts' first black player.^[7]

Coaches

As Toronto Argonauts president in 1980, Heyman hired

General manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from December 24, 1999 until August 21, 2006, Roy Shivers was the first black general manager in professional football.^[8]

General manager of the

On March 17, 2015, the CFL named U.S.-born Jeffrey Orridge as its commissioner. He is the first African-American commissioner in the CFL's history and at the time of his appointment the first (and only) non-white head of a major North American sports league.^[9] Due to philosophical differences between Orridge and the Board of Governors of the CFL, Orridge announced he would step down as commissioner effective June 30, 2017.^[10] His last day as commissioner was June 15.^[11]

Black quarterbacks

African American quarterbacks were commonplace in the CFL in the 1970s, two decades before they would become prominent in the NFL.^[3]

Undrafted in the NFL,

I would have been their (the Eagles') first

Negro player. There was a tremendous influx of Southern players into the NFL at that time, and I didn't know what kind of treatment I could expect.^[12]

In 1959, following his third straight season as the CFL's rushing leader, Bright won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award, the first black CFL player to be so honoured.^{[citation needed]}

Benefits to league

The CFL gained advantages through the recruitment of black players. African American players in the CFL outperformed their white counterparts in a number of areas. CFL teams that employed the highest percentage of African Americans were those teams that had the most on-field success.^[3]

Racism in the CFL

All of which is not say that there were no problems with racism in the CFL. There was, according to legendary player Cookie Gilchrist, who is the only player to have refused induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, citing racism and exploitation by team management. Whether Gilchrist's perspective was accurate is unclear; Gilchrist had developed paranoia due to chronic head trauma in his later years.^[13]

Bibliography

• Danakas, John (November 13, 2007). Choice of Colours: How African American quarterbacks became Canadian stars. Lorimer.
  ISBN 978-1-55028-991-6
  .

• Black players in American professional football
• Black Canadians

References