In the battle to bring Herb Carnegie into the Hockey Hall of Fame

Born to a Jamaican immigrant in Toronto, Carnegie retired in 1954 at the age of 35 and became a successful financial adviser. He was also a championship golfer, but according to his family, the number of days after his play was defined by community involvement. He started the Hockey School registered in Mitchellfield, North York, and in 1987 founded the Herbert H. Carnegie Future Ace Foundation with his wife Audrey and his daughter Bernice. The Foundation has provided $ 860,000 in scholarships to children across Canada, says Bernice. Bernice accompanied Carnegie to a school in the Greater Toronto Area. They talked to students about his life, how he overcame challenges, and his Future Ace philosophy that emphasized the importance of self-esteem and sportsmanship, and finally character-building exercises by hundreds of schools. Was incorporated into. His contribution was officially recognized in 2001 when the North York Centennial Arena was renamed in honor of him. In 2008, the public school in Vaughan, Ontario was named after him.

Carnegie considered the positive attitude that is essential to the success he enjoyed in his life. His daughters say they avoided discussing the racism they encountered as hockey players at home, at least when their children were young. Because he did not want his children to be influenced by negative thoughts and doubt their ability to achieve what they wanted. Still, over time, questions about being deprived of the NHL’s career continued for Carnegie. Towards the end of his life, a constant reminder of refusal was lacking in him enough to leave a breach on a brick wall that was once inaccessible. Carnegie wept when the subject emerged during an interview with CBC Sports a few years before he died. “I was good enough for Reefs,” he said in an interview. “According to Conn Smythe,’If anyone can whiten him, I’ll take Carnegie for Maple Leafs tomorrow.’ I received the statement at the age of 18. Do you think? I can’t forget. Because he cut my knee. He broke my leg. It’s terrible. That’s why I don’t want people to experience it. “

Bernice, the third of Herb and Audrey’s four children, says the pain worsened as his father grew older. “Because he had more time to sit down and think about what didn’t happen. My dad’s interview didn’t stop. And they always raised Conn Smythe and always the fact that he didn’t participate in the NHL. He was growing up, and as he grew older, he realized that “I couldn’t do anything about it,” so it weighed even more heavily on him.