History of African Americans in the Canadian Football League facts for kids

African Americans have played very important roles in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for a long time, starting in 1946. Many black American players found chances to play professional football in the CFL that they couldn't get in the United States. This was especially true in the mid-1900s. At that time, many African American players came to Canada to avoid the unfair segregation (separation of races) in America.

For many years, there were more black players in the CFL than in the National Football League (NFL). They also achieved many "firsts" in the CFL years before the same things happened in the NFL. Today, the CFL still gives opportunities to black players, and others, who might not make it into the NFL.

Football's Early Days

There were a few black players in the NFL when it first started in 1920. But after the 1933 season, there were no black players in the NFL or any other major professional football league until 1946. During this time, black players could only play in smaller leagues or for independent teams. Back then, college football was much more popular than professional leagues.

This was also when Canadian football started to become fully professional. It grew from rugby and added the forward pass in the 1920s. As it became more popular, teams with professional players started to win more than amateur teams. Being professional meant teams could find talented players from many more places. This helped teams in smaller Canadian cities, especially in the west, who had fewer local players.

Starting in 1935, Canadian teams began to recruit American players. This is still a common practice today. At this time, the CFL was a real competitor to the NFL. It paid similar wages and attracted players with similar skills. However, no African Americans played on any Canadian football team until 1946.

In 1946, professional football began to allow players of all races. The NFL signed two black players, Woody Strode and Kenny Washington, who both played for the Los Angeles Rams. But the NFL's integration was slow. Some teams signed black players one by one. But they didn't actively draft black players until 1949. Some teams even resisted integration for several more years. For example, George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Football Team, refused to sign black players until 1962. The U.S. government finally forced him to do so.

The CFL's barrier against black players was broken in 1946. Montreal Alouettes general manager Lew Hayman signed Herb Trawick. From that point on, many African Americans began to move to the CFL. At that time, the CFL was a strong rival league to the NFL.

CFL Firsts for Black Players

First Black Players

In 1946, Lew Hayman, the Montreal Alouettes GM, brought in Herb Trawick. This made Trawick the first black player in the CFL. Hayman, who was Jewish and from New York City, saw how Montrealers had welcomed Jackie Robinson when he played baseball for the Montreal Royals. Hayman believed the city was ready to accept a black football player.

In 1964, Tom Casey became the first black player to join the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. This happened three years before Emlen Tunnell became the first black player in the NFL's Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Some evidence suggests that Robert "Stonewall" Jackson might have been the first African-American player. He played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1930. He worked for the railways and is in a team photo from that year. Otherwise, Gabe Patterson was the first black player for the Green Riders. In 1948, Ken Whitlock became the Toronto Argonauts' first black player.

First Black Coaches

In 1980, Lew Hayman, as president of the Toronto Argonauts, hired Willie Wood as the first black head coach in the CFL. It took nine more years for Art Shell to become the first black head coach in the NFL. He coached the 1989 Oakland Raiders. (It's important to note that Fritz Pollard was a head coach in the NFL before segregation began.)

Michael Clemons was the first black head coach to win the Grey Cup. He coached the Argonauts to victory in the 2004 Grey Cup. This was two years before Tony Dungy coached the Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl XLI. Interestingly, Lovie Smith, the coach of the Chicago Bears in that same Super Bowl, made him and Dungy the first two African-American coaches to appear in the Super Bowl.

First Black General Managers

Roy Shivers was the general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1999 to 2006. He was the first black general manager in professional football.

Ed Hervey was the general manager of the Edmonton Eskimos from 2012 to 2017. He was the first black general manager to win the Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League.

First Black League Commissioner

On March 17, 2015, the CFL named Jeffrey Orridge as its commissioner. He was the first African-American commissioner in the CFL's history. At the time, he was also the first (and only) non-white head of a major North American sports league. Orridge stepped down as commissioner on June 15, 2017, due to different ideas with the CFL's Board of Governors.

Black Quarterbacks in the CFL

African American quarterbacks were common in the CFL in the 1970s. This was two decades before they became well-known in the NFL.

Warren Moon was not drafted by the NFL. But he won five Grey Cups in six seasons in the CFL. He then became a star in the NFL. His success helped to show that black quarterbacks could indeed succeed in professional football. By the time Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins became the first black quarterback to play in the Super Bowl in 1988, the CFL had already seen many black quarterbacks in Grey Cup games. These included Moon, Damon Allen, Roy Dewalt, Danny Barrett, J. C. Watts, Condredge Holloway, and Chuck Ealey.

Johnny Bright's Story

Johnny Bright was a star player at Drake University. He was the victim of a racist attack in what is now called the Johnny Bright Incident. He turned down an offer to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, who picked him fifth in the 1952 NFL draft. Instead, Bright chose to sign with the Calgary Stampeders. He later explained his decision: "I would have been their (the Eagles') first black player. Many players from the Southern U.S. were joining the NFL then, and I wasn't sure how I would be treated."

In 1959, Bright won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. This was after his third straight season as the CFL's top rusher. He was the first black CFL player to receive this honor.

How Black Players Helped the CFL

The CFL gained many benefits by recruiting black players. African American players in the CFL often performed better than their white teammates in several areas. CFL teams that had the most African American players were often the most successful on the field.

Racism in the CFL

This doesn't mean there were no problems with racism in the CFL. Legendary player Cookie Gilchrist said there was. He is the only player to have refused to join the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He said he refused because of racism and unfair treatment by team management. It is not fully clear if Gilchrist's view was completely accurate. In his later years, Gilchrist developed paranoia due to chronic head trauma.