Category
Athlete
Sport
Multi-Sport
Hometown
Gagetown
Year Inducted
1997
black athlete
Vincent "Manny" McIntyre (D)
HONOURED MEMBER
Biography
It is only right that, on the 50th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in baseball’s major leagues, New Brunswick salutes its own multi-sport pioneer in the person of Gagetown’s Manny McIntyre, one of but a handful of black hockey stars, and the first black Canadian to sign a professional baseball contract. It is almost impossible to mouth the name “Manny McIntyre” without book-ending it with those of Herbie and Ossie Carnegie, - members of “Les Noirs,” – a three-some that filled junior and senior arenas for five years. His career began in Fredericton, prospered in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and in Europe, and reached its highest heights in Sherbrooke, Quebec, where he starred for the senior hockey “Saints” and the St. Louis Cardinal-sponsored baseball “Canadians.” With his line-mates and fellow Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree, he served as an inspiration to so many others who dared to dream of major league careers.
Enrolled in the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, June 7, 1997.
Quick Facts
Played high-caliber hockey in the Northern Ontario League, Quebec Provincial League and the Quebec Senior League
Played hockey in Nova Scotia in 1943-44 with the Pictou Shipbuilders and the Truro Bearcats
Played hockey with the Carnegie brothers (Herbie and Ossie) in 1948-49 for the Sherbrooke Saints of the Quebec Senior Hockey League. The trio of Black Canadians became known as "Les Noirs.’’
Played baseball with the Halifax Shipyards in 1944, helping the team to a Halifax Defense Baseball League Title
Played baseball for Trois-Rivieres of the Quebec Provincial League in 1945
Became the first Black Canadian to sign a professional baseball contract in 1946 when he signed with the Sherbrooke Canadians.