Herb Trawick (February 22, 1921 – September 16, 1985) was a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

player and was the first

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 ...

to play professional Canadian football. Trawick spent his entire 12-year career as an offensive lineman and defensive guard with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (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 East Division of the Canad ...

College career and military service

Trawick attended Kentucky State College for Negroes and graduated with a degree in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

. He was a three-time All-American in football, from 1940 to 1942. After school he enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

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 opposing ...

Professional career

Lew Hayman 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 as coach, general manager, team president, and league president. As head coach, he was a ...

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 ...

were managing the new

franchise in 1946, and they did not fail to notice how popular and well-received the first black baseball player in the pros, Jackie Robinson (when he played minor league ball with the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...

), was. They were determined to have a black player on their team. Trawick was not their first choice, but he was the best. Surprisingly quick for and , he went on to play 12 seasons (1946–1957) with the Larks, 147 regular-season games in all, and be voted an

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

All Star seven times. When he retired in 1957, Trawick was the only "original" Alouette remaining with the team. He also played in 4 Grey Cup games, scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the Als 1949 Grey Cup championship win against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

. Trawick played in the three-game Grey Cup set against the Edmonton Eskimos from 1954 to 1956, and had a touchdown on a fumble return called back in the classic

42nd Grey Cup The 42nd Grey Cup football game was played on November 27, 1954, before a full house (27,321 in attendance) at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The underdog Edmonton Eskimos won a contest over the Montreal Alouettes 26–25. The game, ...

game. Though he was welcomed in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and made it his home, things were not perfect. Though university educated, he could only find work as a doorman. He became a Canadian citizen in 1953. He was noted for his generous community charity work.

Awards and honours

Much loved by his fans, Trawick's jersey No. 56 is one of seven retired by the Alouettes. Trawick was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Kentucky State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975. Trawick died on September 16, 1985, in his adopted home town of Montreal. On July 16, 1997, a park was named in his honour by the City of Montreal. Parc Herb-Trawick is situated southwest of the intersection of Lionel-Groulx Avenue and Richmond Street. In 2006, Trawick was voted to the Honour Roll of 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 ...

's Top 50 players of the sport's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trawick, Herb 1921 births 1985 deaths African-American players of Canadian football American emigrants to Canada United States Army personnel of World War II American players of Canadian football Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football offensive linemen Kentucky State Thorobreds football players Montreal Alouettes players Players of American football from Pittsburgh Players of Canadian football from Pittsburgh Sportspeople from Montreal United States Army soldiers 20th-century African-American sportspeople