Herb Carnegie Herbert H . ( Herb ) Carnegie , Order of Canada , Order of Ontario ( born November 8 , 1919 ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player . Born in Toronto , Ontario to Jamaica n parents , Carnegie was the first Black Canadian hockey player to be offered an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League . Playing career . Carnegie ’ s hockey career began in 1938 with the Toronto Young Rangers and continued in the early 1940s with the Buffalo - Ankerite Bisons , a team in a senior league that played in mining towns in northern Ontario and Québec . From 1944 - 45 to 1947 - 48 , he played for Shawinigan and Sherbrooke of the semi - professional Quebec Senior Hockey League and was named most valuable player in 1946 , 1947 and 1948 . In 1948 , Carnegie was given a tryout with the New York Rangers and offered a contract to play in the Rangers ' minor league system . However , he was offered less money than he was earning in the Quebec league and turned down all three offers made by the Rangers organization during his tryout . Returning to Canada to play in the Quebec Senior Hockey League , he played for Sherbrooke St . Francis and the Quebec Aces before moving to Ontario to play a single season with the Owen Sound Mercurys of the Ontario Hockey Association . During his years in the Quebec Senior League , Carnegie played with future Montreal Canadiens star Jean Beliveau and was coached by Punch Imlach . Facing racism . As a black man playing hockey in the 1940s and 1950s , Carnegie endured his share of racism . In one famous 1938 incident , Conn Smythe , the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs , watched Carnegie play as a member of the Toronto Young Rangers . He is alleged to have said either that he would accept Carnegie on the team if he were white or that he would pay $ 10 , 000 to anyone who could turn Carnegie white . In " Breaking the Ice : The Black Experience in Professional Hockey " , author Cecil Harris noted that “ some doubt has arisen ” as to whether Smythe did indeed utter this remark . According to Harris , Carnegie and others believe that racism played an important part in keeping him out of the NHL . Others interviewed point to his decision to refuse the Rangers offer to play in their organization . Retirement . After his playing career , Carnegie started the Future Aces Hockey School , one of first hockey schools in Canada , in 1955 . In 1956 , he wrote the “ Future Aces Creed ” in an attempt to foster respect , cooperation , self - esteem and self - confidence among young people . Carnegie also continued his athletic career as a golfer , winning the Canadian Seniors Golf Championship in 1977 and 1978 , and the Ontario Senior Golf Championship in 1975 , 1976 and 1982 . In 1987 , he established the Herbert H . Carnegie Future Aces Foundation to provide bursaries for college and university . Carnegie also had a successful business career as a financial planner with the Investors Group . In 1996 , he published his biography , " A Fly in a Pail of Milk : The Herb Carnegie Story . ” ( Mosaic Press , 1996 ) . " Carnegie was named to the Order of Ontario in 1996 and the Order of Canada in 2003 . On May 2 , 2005 , the North York Centennial Centre was renamed the Herbert H . Carnegie Centennial Centre in his honour . On June 12 , 2006 , he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University . A public school in York Region ( north of Toronto ) is named in his honour . Carnegie is now legally blind . Family life . Carnegie currently resides in Toronto . He was married to Audrey May Carnegie for 60 years , from 1940 until her death in 2003 . They had four children , nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren . His grandson , Rane Carnegie , is a hockey player who has played for the Belleville Bulls , Plymouth Whalers , Halifax Mooseheads , Milwaukee Admirals and Bakersfield Condors .