The indigenous Australian said he had regularly been targeted with racist taunts playing in the WAFL during the 1960s but credited the AFL's racial vilification policy - introduced in 1995 - with creating better playing conditions for today's indigenous players.
Click here for full Hall of Fame coverage
"In the 1950 and 1960s, being an Aboriginal person or a part-Aboriginal person, it wasn't really a good thing and some of the abuse you got over the fence and so worth ... wasn't very nice," Cable said at the Crown Palladium on Wednesday night.
"I was a person who never really worried about that. I just got on with what I was doing and tried to get the footy ... I looked at myself as a human being [with] two arms, two legs and just [told myself] 'get on with it'.
"But I did feel at times when people did say things and you knew that it was coming towards you that it wasn't nice.
"So I guess in saying that I would like to thank the AFL for the vilification policy. I think that has been wonderful for everybody - that's for all races. I think it's great because people should not be abused because of where they come from or the colour of their skin.
"I think that people are all starting to understand we're all one, we're all under the same roof, and so why don't we work together and do something about it. And I think the AFL have led the way in that regard."
WAFL and VFL great Cable was inducted as the Hall of Fame's 24th Legend on Wednesday night.
Cable, now 68, became one of the game's most skilful and courageous rovers during an 18-season career that spanned 1962-79 and 403 games in the WAFL with Perth, in the VFL with North Melbourne and in state games with Victoria.
He was a three-time Sandover medallist, a record five-time Simpson medallist and won eight club best and fairest awards, including an incredible seven consecutive from 1965-71. He also played in four WAFL and two VFL premierships.
Earlier on Wednesday night, Robert Harvey, Glenn Archer, Shane Crawford, Chris Grant, 1950s-60s Melbourne great 'Big Bob' Johnson and South Australian icon Graham Cornes were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Harvey was one of the elite midfielders of his era, winning the 1997-98 Brownlow Medals, four club best and fairest awards and eight All Australian selections. He is also the only player to play 21 consecutive VFL/AFL seasons.
Archer was a fearless defender who was a key member of North Melbourne's 1996 and 1999 premierships, winning the Norm Smith Medal in the former. He was also named North's 'Shinboner of the Century' in 2005 and was a three-time All Australian.
Crawford was a hard-running midfielder, who won the 1999 Brownlow Medal, four club best and fairest awards, selection in four All Australian teams and, most memorably, his only premiership in his 305th and final game.
Western Bulldog Grant started his 341-game career as a 17-year-old full-forward, was a dominant centre half-forward in the mid-1990s before moving to centre half-back. In 1997, he became the first ineligible player to poll the most votes in a Brownlow Medal count.
The late Johnson was a massive figure in Melbourne's golden era in the 1950s and early '60s, playing in five flags with the Demons before crossing to East Fremantle and captain-coaching the Sharks to a WAFL flag.
Cornes was a high-flying centre half-forward with Glenelg in the SANFL from the late 1960s and played in the VFL with North Melbourne in 1979 before coaching SA's State of Origin team and Adelaide.
Nick Bowen is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
