Carnegie's induction culminates a decades-long effort by family, hockey historians, current and former players, and fans to get the man who blazed a trail as a player, innovator and philanthropist into the Hall.
"My father clearly made history and tried to pursue a career that was traditionally not considered for Black men, and he did well," said his daughter, Bernice. "He did encounter setbacks, for sure, and challenges. But what I love so much about my dad is how he navigated around the difficulties and kept coming up a winner in life."
Carnegie, who died March 9, 2012, at the age of 92, will become the Hall's fifth Black inductee, joining Grant Fuhr (2003), Angela James (2010), Willie O'Ree (2018) and Jarome Iginla (2020).
O'Ree, who became the NHL's first Black player when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958, has said that Carnegie should have entered the League before him.
"Herb Carnegie was an excellent hockey player, but more importantly, he was a beautiful human being," O'Ree said.
The son of Jamaican immigrants to Canada, Carnegie played in the Quebec Provincial Hockey League, the Quebec Senior Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League from 1944-54. He played for the Quebec Aces of the QSHL from 1949-53, where he mentored young teammate Jean Beliveau, a future Montreal Canadiens great and 1972 Hall of Fame inductee.
Carnegie was part of the "Black Aces," professional hockey's first all-Black line, which also featured his brother, Ossie, and Manny McIntyre, with the Timmins Buffalo Ankerites in 1941.