Herb Trawick broke the CFL's colour barrier in 1946, but his legacy remains largely unknown

Most people know the story of Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play professional baseball, and his connection to Montreal.

Indeed, his story of breaking the colour barrier has inspired generations of Black kids to follow their dreams.

But fewer people know the name Herb Trawick, the man who, in 1946, just six months after Robinson joined the Montreal Royals, signed with the Montreal Alouettes, becoming the first Black football player in the CFL.

“I think he took the gig without thinking about the implications of the gig,” said Herb Trawick Jr. in an interview with CTV News about his father.

On the field, Trawick was a force. At 5-foot 10-inches and 230 pounds, he could run a hundred yards in 10 seconds flat. A 1956 profile in Maclean's Magazine called him the "Gentle Bone-Crusher of the Alouettes."

“The reality of it is, somebody that fast, that thick, when they hit you, you're hit. And i mean, you're hit,” Trawick Jr. said, noting that after a big hit, his father would always reach for his opponent’s hand.

“He always felt like why wouldn't i give him a hand up,” he said.

Trawick played the game hard, but clean. In his 12 seasons with the Alouettes, he was a seven time all-star, played in four Grey Cups, and remains one of the only linemen ever to score a touchdown in a Grey Cup final after returning a fumble recovery 34 yards in 1949.

The Alouettes beat the Calgary Stampeders in that game, 28-15.

His success on the field won him popularity with fans and earned him a spot in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. His charity work and later success as a Black business owner made him a hero in the community.

“It game him an identity,” Trawick Jr. said. “He got a lot of love and he gave it back. He never left Montreal and we didn’t want him to.”

But, despite that, much like his contemporary, Jackie Robinson, off the field, Trawick was still subjected to racist discrimination.

“He was the most popular guy on the team amongst some really heavyweight names, but in the offseason often had to be a doorman, or a wrestler, or sell shoes, which is unheard of,” Trawick Jr. said.

On the road with the team, Trawick Jr. recalled that his dad would often have enter hotels through the kitchen, while his white teammates would go in through the front door.

Trawick always rose above the racism and in the end came out on top.

“I think it took a certain kind of person to process all that because you don't expect to have that on your shoulders,” Trawick Jr. said. “He didn't go play to say ‘I want to take the mantel of racism on and be the first.’ He went to go make a cheque and you know, raise his family."

It has been 64 years since Herb Trawick last took the field as an Alouette. His famous number 56 is still displayed at every home game, one of just a handful to have been retired by the team.

Trawick would have been 101 years-old later this month. There is a park in Little Burgundy named after him but, otherwise, Trawick's trailblazing legacy of dignity, elegance, and grace, exists only in the history books - and in his son.

“You don't know that you ever live up to the legacy,”Trawick Jr. said, “but, you know you're going to keep fighting for it."

Trawick Jr. is a highly respected Los Angeles podcaster and co-host of the podcast Pensados Place, and was himself inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame earlier this year for his work.

“The cards are often stacked against you,” he said, “and you choose what to do with that energy. You can worry and complain about it and often times you should but, the whole time be doing something about it.”

It’s a lesson he learned while watching his father, propel himself to greatness.