Jack Gotta passes away

[ArgoRavi]

Former Ottawa, Calgary and Saskatchewan head coach Jack Gotta has passed away at the age of 83: http://www.stampeders.com/article/jack-gotta-obituary

Gotta was one of the league's characters during the 1970s and 1980s and even did a one-year stint as a colour commentator on CTV in 1984. Although Gotta's final head coaching job in Saskatchewan did not work out well, he did win a Grey Cup as Ottawa's head coach in '73 and rebuilt a dreadful Calgary team into a contender of sorts during his time there.

Allan Maki remembers Gotta in the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/former-cfl-player-coach-and-gm-jack-gotta-dies-at-83/article12899113/

[ArgoRavi]

Here is another good column about Jack Gotta: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/01/the-wonderful-life-of-cfl-legend-jack-gotta

His quote in response to what Lamoureux had done is a classic one in Canadian sports.

[gilthethrill]

That was an amazing article by Simmons...Gotta sounded like a hoot! RIP.

[ArgoRavi]

That was an amazing article by Simmons...Gotta sounded like a hoot! RIP.

From what I have seen of Dan Hawkins, he seems to have a similar personality to Gotta's. Gotta was certainly a character. He probably should have stayed with CTV rather than go to the wretched Riders in the mid 1980s.

[jerrym]

In 1973, the Ottawa Rough Riders started 0-4 with Jack Gotta as head coach. After the fourth loss, Gotta told the players that he had picked them and he was sticking with them until the end of the season. The Riders won the Grey Cup that year. I lived in Ottawa at the time and you could count on there being a great story on some Gotta comment every week in the paper. While I love today's game, I do miss the fun part of it that was so evident in characters like Gotta, Cahill and Tricky Dick Thornton, that is often missing from today's game (Belli being one of the few exceptions).