The First African American/Canadian Rough Rider

A mention of Black History Month by the CFL reminded me of something I'd meant to clear up for myself some time ago.

I once believed, on the strength of seeing a lone Black dude in a 1951 Grey Cup celebration photo, that he had to have been the first African American to play for the team.

I'd seen team pictures from prior to that year and there were no Black players on them. I later identified #81 above as Steve Hatfield and left it at that.

Someone wrote to me years ago to point out that he thought there had been a Black player prior to Hatfield. I wish I could remember who that gentleman was. If you're that guy and you happen to read this some day, thank you for drawing my attention to the possibility. I wish I'd have taken more time to look into it when you first contacted me.

We'll start with Hatfield regardless. In August of 1950, Ottawa hosted the NFL's New York Giants in an exhibition game at Lansdowne Park. In that game, Steve Hatfield scored two touchdowns for the Giants as the American club won 27-06.

Evidently that left on impression on Ottawa coaches as Hatfield joined the club the next year.

I don't believe that Hatfield played beyond the 1951 Grey Cup season and reliable statistics even for that season appear to be difficult to come by. From what I can gather, Hatfield returned to the States to finish his studies in 1952 and intended to play for the Chicago Cardinal in 1953 but injury scuttled those plans.

But before Steve Hatfield became a Rough Riders, there was Ray Skerrett.

Skerrett was from Montreal where he excelled in track and field. He had tried out for the Alouettes and they could not deny his speed but they feared that he was not stout enough to take the pounding of a regular football schedule.

Skerrett joined the Ottawa Rough Riders and immediately impressed the home crowd with his speed and quickness during a 1949 exhibition game against Hamilton. Rough Riders won 25-01, a score which included a touchdown by Skerrett.

The image below is the only one of him I've been able to find, at least in action for Ottawa. Unfortunately, it looks like it was taken by candle light in a coal mine at 3AM. I know it was 1949, but still...

Skerrett did not play much beyond that one game. There were some rumours that other players didn't want him on the field (can you guess why?) but those were denied by team brass, naturally. Officially, Skerrett was nursing an ankle injury and in fairness, many mid-week practice reports stated that he walked with a limp.

He did see action again in a home victory against Hamilton on September 18th though apparently was not particularly effective against them on that occasion. He participated again in a game on October 9th, scoring one of the team's several touchdowns in a 42-33 victory against Montreal.

Skerrett is conspicuously absent from the team picture taken during the playoffs, though by then his season had been shut down due to injury. This was announced in the Ottawa Journal in early November. He was, however, present for the team's first (ever?) quarterback club in late August.

Skerrett would ultimately join his hometown team early in the 1950 season and played for the Windsor Royals in 1951 but in 1949, it appears he made history as Ottawa's first Black player.