Famous Ex-NFLers that found their way to the Argos...

[jerrym]

Dave Mann played for the Chicago Cardinals (later the St. Louis and Arizona Cardinals) of the NFL for three years from 1955 to 1957 where he showed the versatility as a punter, running back and special team player that also marked his career as an Argonaut. In his best game as a Cardinal, Dave rushed for 108 yards against the Chicago Bears (https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2010...defeat-in.html)

As an Argo he was an outstanding running back, receiver (leading the East in receiving in 1960 and 1961), defensive back, punter (with a career punting average of 44.2 yards and the second longest punt in CFL history of 102 yards), and towards the end of his career he also kicked off and did place kicking.

If you knew Dave Mann at the end of his career, you might think of him as a pretty good punter. Which he was. What you might not know is that Dave Mann at the start of his career was an oustanding offensive and defensive halfback. Dave Mann started his career in the NFL, playing three seasons (1955-57) with the Chicago Bears. Mann was never the #1 running back, but he put up a 336 yards rushing in 1955 with 4 touchdowns while catching 16 passes for another 137 yards and a touchdown. Oh yeah, he also did the punting for those three years.

Mann came north to Toronto and the CFL in 1958 and had 107 carries for 556 yards with another 319 yards on 33 catches. Putting another bullet in the "he was jsut a kicker" myth is 17 kickoff returns for 351 yards and a 116 yard punt return for a TD. Mann didn't play in 1959, but returned to the Argos in 1960 and spent another 11 years in Toronto until his retirement after the 1970 season.

1960 was Mann's best season in the CFL. He didn't rush the ball as much with only 37 carries for 217 yards but he led the East in pass receiving (catches and yards) with 61 catches for 1380 yards and 13 tochdowns. And those numbers were in a 14 game season! In 1961, Mann again led he East in receiving with 53 catches for 659 yards. Mann was named an East All-Star at Flanker for both 1960 and 1961 (there were no CFL All-Stars until 1962). Mann's use on offense fell off after that with 39 catches in 1962 and only 11 in 1963.

After that, Mann saw almost no action on offense. Through his entire career, Mann continued to be the Argo punter and never averaged below 41 yards a punt in any season. In fact in only two years was he below 42 yards a punt. Mann's career high was a 46.8 yard average in 1967 with a 46.7 in 1969 being a close runner-up. Towards the end of his career, Mann also took on the kickoff and placekicking duties for the Argos. If you need any more proof of Mann's versatility, go back to his first season in the CFL, when he also played defense and recorded 4 interceptions.

http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/m/mann_dave.htm

[doubleblue]

Dave Mann played for the Chicago Cardinals (later the St. Louis and Arizona Cardinals) of the NFL for three years from 1955 to 1957 where he showed the versatility as a punter, running back and special team player that also marked his career as an Argonaut. In his best game as a Cardinal, Dave rushed for 108 yards against the Chicago Bears (https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2010...defeat-in.html)

As an Argo he was an outstanding running back, receiver (leading the East in receiving in 1960 and 1961), defensive back, punter (with a career punting average of 44.2 yards and the second longest punt in CFL history of 102 yards), and towards the end of his career he also kicked off and did place kicking.




http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/m/mann_dave.htm

I don't remember Dave Mann rushing the ball that much because they had Dick Shatto at the time, but the stats are there. Became a great receiver hooking up with Tobin Rote. He became one of those naturalized Canadians later in his CFL career which probably added years to his time with the Argos as just a punter.