''Too Colourful for the League'' is a 52-minutes 2001 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

made for CBC-TV, directed by Daniel Cross and

Mila Aung-Thwin Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice. He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cross ...

and produced by Diversus Productions. The film was produced by

Evan Beloff Evan Beloff is a Canadian film writer, producer, director and production company executive. He is known for Bigfoot's Reflection (2007), Daughters of the Voice (2018) and A People's Soundtrack (2019). 1990s A Montreal native, Evan holds a doubl ...

, Ari Cohen and

Max Wallace Max Wallace is a New York Times-bestselling author and historian specializing in the Holocaust, human rights in sport, and popular culture. He is also an award-winning filmmaker, and long-time disability advocate. Literary works In the Name of ...

, who were nominated for a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

for best documentary. It was written by

and co-produced by Daniel Cross. This documentary examines the struggle of blacks in hockey in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from the 1930s to the present day telling the story of black players' courage and determination to play in a white-dominated sport. It focuses on an effort by former Montreal citizenship judge Richard Lord to nominate legendary black hockey player

Herb Carnegie Herbert Henry Carnegie, CM, O.Ont, OMC (November 8, 1919 – March 9, 2012) was a Canadian ice hockey player of Jamaican descent. After his playing career was over, he became a successful businessman working in the investment industry. In 1954 ...

into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

. During the 1940s, Carnegie was widely acknowledged as one of the best hockey players in the world, playing alongside Jean Béliveau for the Quebec Aces. Yet he never was allowed to play in the NHL because of a long-time color barrier, which was only broken a decade later by

Willie O'Ree Willie Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred t ...

of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. In the film, veteran

referee

Red Storey Roy Alvin "Red" Storey, (March 5, 1918 – March 15, 2006) was a Canadian athlete, referee and broadcaster. He played football, lacrosse and ice hockey. While active as an athlete, he turned to officiating in all three sports and continued as ...

recalls watching Carnegie try out for Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe. According to Storey, Smythe turned to him and said, "I'd give $10,000 to turn that boy white." It was broadcast by CBC, CTV,

CBC Newsworld CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

and

Canal Plus Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

References

External links

* 2001 films EyeSteelFilm films Canadian documentary television films Documentary films about ice hockey Documentary films about Black Canadians Documentary films about racism in Canada History of Black people in Canada 2001 documentary films Racism in sport Anti-black racism in Canada Films directed by Daniel Cross Canadian ice hockey films CBC Television original films Canadian sports documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films {{sport-documentary-film-stub

See also

References

External links