Bill symons named to ontario sports hall of fame

[jerrym]

Bill Symons, the first Argo to gain 1,000 yards (I'll never forget that season and his role in rebuilding the Argos from the inept bunch they had been for years) is one of my all-time favourite Argos. Congratulations Bill. It should have happened sooner. Good to see him going in with another all-time great - Garney Henley, even if he had the misfortune of playing for the pussycats. The article below includes the url for buying tickets to the induction in case you're interested.

he Argos’ running back suited up for 103 games over 8 seasons with the B.C. Lions and Argos, establishing and surpassing records in the process.

“I had some great years facing off against (fellow inductee) Garney Henley, and I’m proud to still call Toronto and Ontario my home,” said Symons. “This induction is a tremendous honour and I couldn’t be more grateful.”With the Argonauts, Symons amassed over 6,500 yards from scrimmage and 44 total touchdowns, while also adding over 2,000 yards in kick returns. Symons made team history in 1968 when he became the first Argos player to top the 1,000 rushing yard plateau, as well as the first Double Blue player to earn the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award. Argos fans will also remember Symons’ 100-yard touchdown run in the 1968 East Semi-Final against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which remains the longest play from scrimmage in CFL playoff history.

Symons will be honoured along with fellow 2015 inductees Henley, Roberto Alomar, Laurie Graham, Sharif Khan and Shawn O’Sullivan at a ceremony on September 24, 2015 in the Frontenac Ballroom at the Westin Harbour Castle & Conference Centrein downtown Toronto. Tickets are available by visiting ontariosportslegendshof.com

http://argonauts.ca/article/argos-gr...s-hall-of-fame

[1argoholic]

Sweet!! He was fun to watch.

[jerrym]

Here is a montage of Bill's running for those of us whose memory might be slipping a little and for those who never had a chance to see him live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6obRpLga-XM

[jerrym]

Symons played eight years in the CFL, from 1966 to 1973. Symons saw limited action at running back in his first season with the BC Lions, with only eight carries. At the time the Lions had Willie Fleming to carry the ball and veteran Canadian fullbacks Bill Munsey and Ned Beamer, but Symons was also used on kickoff returns and on defense (one interception). Symons moved to Toronto for 1967 and stayed there for the rest of his career. In 1967, Symons showed his potential as a running back, rushing for 349 yards in 9 games with a 5.3 yard average. The next three years, and especially 1968 were Symon's best in the CFL. In 1968, Symons ran for 1107 yards in the 14 game season to lead the East in rushing, and caught 44 passes for another 536 yards. For his efforts, Smons was named to the Eastern and All-Canadian All-Star teams and was also named the Outstanding Player in the CFL. Symons ran for 905 yards in 1969 to win his second Eastern rushing title and 908 yards in 1970 when he finished second in the East in rushing and picked up his second All-Canadian All-Star recognition. Symons played three more seasons in Toronto, but saw his touches drop significantly as the trend was started towards smaller and faster backs over the big fullbacks. Symons finished his career with 4300 yards and was elected to the Canadian Football Hall-of-Fame in 1997.


Games Played and Rushing

GP TC Yds Avg TD Long

1966	BC	10	7	20	2.8	0	8
1967	TOR	9	63	349	5.3	2	22
1968	TOR	14	164	1107	6.8	9	75
1969	TOR	14	165	905	5.5	5	36
1970	TOR	14	170	908	5.3	6	98
1971	TOR	14	103	418	4.1	2	43
1972	TOR	14	58	235	4.1	3	29
1973	TOR	14	84	358	4.3	5	30

Receiving GP Yds Ave TD LONG

1966	BC	1	26	26	0	26
1967	TOR	11	205	18.6	0	65
1968	TOR	44	536	12.2	2	68
1969	TOR	23	319	13.9	3	41
1970	TOR	26	329	12.3	2	75
1971	TOR	30	325	10.8	1	47
1972	TOR	28	317	11.3	1	27
1973	TOR	23	230	10	2	35

http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/s/symons_bill.htm