 From that point on, a steady flow of African Americans began to migrate to the CFL, which, at the time, was a legitimate competitor league to the NFL.In 1946, Montreal Alouettes GM Lew Hayman brought in Herb Trawick, making Trawick the first black player in the CFL.Hayman, a New York City-born Jew, saw the way that Montrealers had embraced Jackie Robinson with the Montreal Royals and believed the city was ready to accept a black football player.