Lew Hayman
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Lewis Edward Hayman (September 30, 1908 – June 28, 1984) was an American sports figure. He was one of the driving forces behind the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
as coach, general manager, team president, and league president. As head coach, he was a five-time
Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
winner with three different teams. Hayman was a pioneer in bringing African Americans into the CFL, hiring one of professional football's first Black players,
Herb Trawick Herb Trawick (February 22, 1921 – September 16, 1985) was a professional Canadian football player and was the first African American to play professional Canadian football. Trawick spent his entire 12-year career as an offensive lineman and def ...
, and coach
Willie Wood William Vernell Wood Sr. (December 23, 1936February 3, 2020) was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a safety with the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). Wood was an eight-time Pro Bowler an ...
. He was inducted into the
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...
in 2004.


Early years

Hayman was born to a Jewish family in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and grew up in
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New York Military Academy New York Military Academy (NYMA) is a college preparatory, co-ed boarding school in the rural town of Cornwall, north of New York City, and one of the oldest military schools in the United States. Originally a boys' school, it started admitting ...
and was a star basketball player at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, where he was a three-year starter and named '' College Humor'' third team All-American in 1931.


Moves to Canada

After graduating from college, Hayman moved to Canada in 1932 to become assistant coach of the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
football team under Warren Stevens. He was soon also hired as an assistant to coach
Buck McKenna Buck McKenna was a Canadian football coach who was the head coach of Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competin ...
with the
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
football team. When McKenna took ill during the 1932 season, Hayman became interim head coach. He was given the job outright for the 1933 season and, at the age of 25, guided the Argonauts to a
Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
championship. He followed that with back-to-back Grey Cup wins in
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
and
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
. With
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
escalating, the major Canadian football leagues halted operations following the 1941 season and Hayman joined the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
as a flying officer. He was made coach of Toronto's RCAF football team and led the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes to the 1942 Grey Cup championship. He was discharged after the war, having reached the rank of flight lieutenant. Hayman thought he had an agreement with the Argonauts to return as head coach when play resumed in
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...
, but the deal fell through and Ted Morris was hired instead. That left Hayman with bitter feelings toward his former team—which admitted that they had misled him"Morris succeeds Hayman at helm," ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', August 16, 1945
—and Hayman had to settle for a job as coach of the
Toronto Indians The Toronto Indians were a football team from Toronto, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. After the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers moved to the Interprovincial Rugby Footbal ...
football team. One of the members of the Indians was future CFL commissioner
Jake Gaudaur Jacob Gill Gaudaur, Jr., (October 5, 1920 – December 4, 2007) was a Canadian Football League (CFL) player, executive, and commissioner. His 45-year career in Canadian football, including 16 years as the league's fourth commissioner (and its ...
, who had also played under Hayman in the RCAF.


Forms the Montreal Alouettes

The following season, Hayman partnered with Eric Cradock and
Leo Dandurand Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * '' Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts a ...
to form the
Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
CFL team, with Hayman as head coach and general manager, as well as part-owner. In his first season, he broke the league's color barrier by signing
Herb Trawick Herb Trawick (February 22, 1921 – September 16, 1985) was a professional Canadian football player and was the first African American to play professional Canadian football. Trawick spent his entire 12-year career as an offensive lineman and def ...
, an
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
lineman. Other innovations introduced by the Alouettes under Hayman were playing night games, scheduling games on Sundays, and allowing games to be televised. During the off-season in 1946, Hayman became general manager of the
Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss r ...
professional basketball team, the first Canadian-based team in what evolved into the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(known at the time as the Basketball Association of America). When the team's first coach quit a month into the season, Hayman took his place for one game, and is in the record books as having been an NBA coach for that single game. The Huskies disbanded after one money-losing season. Hayman led the Alouettes to their first Grey Cup in 1949 — Hayman's fifth and final Grey Cup as head coach. Following the 1951 season, Hayman stepped down as coach but continued as general manager until the end of the 1954 season. Following the latter, he sold his share of the Alouettes and moved back to Toronto to become a stockbroker.


Returns to the Argonauts

Hayman's career outside of football was short-lived, as he became managing director of the Argonauts in 1956. Despite his previous success as head coach, the Argonauts were largely reduced to being Eastern Conference doormats through this period, finishing last in their division nine times in 11 years from 1956 to 1966 before returning to respectability. During that time, Hayman also became team president. He was elected president of the CFL in 1969 and served a one-year term. After John Barrow was made general manager of the Argonauts in 1972, Hayman was given the title of executive consultant. He was planning to retire when the season ended, but was persuaded by owner
John Bassett John White Hughes Bassett, (August 25, 1915 – April 27, 1998) was a Canadian media proprietor. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett (1886–1958), publisher of the ''Montreal Gazette'', and Marion Avery (née Wright). ...
to sign a three-year contract as team president, followed by 10 years as vice-chairman and director. Hayman again became president of the Argonauts in 1979 and remained in that role until he was succeeded by
Ralph Sazio Ralph Joseph Sazio (July 22, 1922 – September 25, 2008) was a football player, assistant coach, head coach general manager and team president for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also served as president of the Toronto Argonauts. He is a member of ...
during the 1981 season. He died in 1984 at age 75. Hayman was elected to the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
in 1975. The CFL award presented to the outstanding Canadian player in the East Division is called the
Lew Hayman Trophy The Lew Hayman Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding Canadian player in the East Division. Each team in the East Division nominates a player, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of the Hayman troph ...
. In 2004, he was inducted into the
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...
.


Sources

* "Lew Hayman devoted his life to pro football," Rex McLeod, ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', July 2, 1984, p. C16. * "Lew Hayman,
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
accessed November 4, 2006


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayman, Lew 1908 births 1984 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Paterson, New Jersey Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Montreal Alouettes coaches Montreal Alouettes general managers Toronto Argonauts coaches Toronto Argonauts general managers Toronto Argonauts team presidents Toronto Huskies coaches Sportspeople from New York City Sportspeople from Paterson, New Jersey Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players 20th-century American Jews