New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame features Black inductees in new exhibit

The newest display at the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame was finished to coincide with Black History Month.

"After Black Lives Matter, we decided to do something. I think there had always been a thought in our minds to do something, then when that happened, it was... it's time," said Carla Saul, New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame’s operations officer.

The new display showcases six Black inductees: trailblazing hockey player Willie O'Ree, baseball and hockey star Vincent 'Manny' McIntyre, footballer Chris Skinner, sprinter Eldridge Eatman, wheelchair sport athlete Franklin Henderson, and amateur boxer Ralph 'Tiger' Thomas.

"We have been kept down but we are moving forward, whether it be with what we're doing here now with the center or whether it be in sport,” said Thomas.

The display also shines a spotlight on racism in sports.

"I think a lot of people don't realize what they've had to deal with and the fact that they were able to get past it,” said Saul.

“I would think that would be very difficult trying to achieve success and people just want to push you down all the time, they are very strong people for getting through that and for achieving so much.”

Only six of the over 750 athletes in New Brunswick's Sports Hall of Fame are Black.

"We don't have any women, any black women, so we're hoping that will change in the future,” said Saul.

“There aren't many nominations that we have received of Black athletes, or builders, or teams, so the nominations are what we need to get them.”

The hall of fame has left space in the exhibit for more Black athletes to be nominated.

“We've actually recently incorporated a new form for filling out a nomination that allows people to identify if they're from a group that requires access to equity," said Saul.

To see the exhibit in person, groups can book ahead, or wait until this summer when the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame opens to the public.