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View Full Version : 2021 Canadian Football Hall of Fame Choices



jerrym
04-14-2021, 12:46 AM
Seven players, coaches and builders are this years additions to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Except for Doug Mitchell, whom I have mixed feelings about, I like them all.



Five legendary players from the Canadian Football League (CFL), an iconic head coach and an instrumental leader are included in the Class of 2021 unveiled today by the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) and Museum.
To be inducted under the Player category are defensive linemen Will Johnson and Mike Walker, wide receiver Nik Lewis (https://www.cfl.ca/players/nik-lewis/111798/) and defensive backs Orlondo Steinauer and Don Wilson. In the Builder category, former Montreal Alouettes Head Coach Marv Levy and the sixth CFL Commissioner Doug Mitchell are to be inducted.

Will Johnson was a CFL sack master. Johnson played 132 games during his nine seasons in the CFL. He played eight with the Calgary Stampeders (1989-1996) and one with Saskatchewan (1997), appearing in three Grey Cups, and becoming a Grey Cup champion with Calgary in 1992. He was named a West Division All-Star six times and a CFL All-Star on five occasions. A model of consistency, Johnson is credited with 99 sacks, good for 13th on the CFL all-time list. The CFL’s sack leader in 1991 and 1994, he recorded nine or more sacks in eight of his nine seasons. The Monroe, Louisiana native was named the West Division Most Outstanding Defensive player in 1991, following a 15-sack season. Johnson also had 288 tackles, eight fumble recoveries and an interception.

Marv Levy made excellence a habit. Levy was named the head coach for the Montreal Alouettes in 1973, following coaching stints in the NFL and NCAA. The Alouettes appeared in the playoffs in all five seasons he led the team, capturing Canadian football’s most cherished prize, the Grey Cup in 1974 and 1977. In 1974, he was honoured with the Annis Stukus Trophy as CFL’s coach of the year. The Alouettes compiled a record of 43-31-4 (.577) during his tenure. With this announcement, Levy is about to become only the third person to be enshrined in both the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum, in Hamilton, Ontario, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio. ...

No one in CFL history has caught more passes than Nik Lewis (https://www.cfl.ca/players/nik-lewis/111798/). A two-time Grey Cup Champion (2008 and 2014), Lewis played 14 seasons in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders (2004-2014) and the Montreal Alouettes (2015-2017), appearing in 226 games. Lewis began his career in Calgary, where he eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each of his first nine years, a feat he repeated again in 2016 with Montreal. He recorded six seasons with 80 or more receptions and two seasons with 100 or more catches. Lewis became the CFL’s all-time receptions leader in 2017, with a total 1,051 receptions. He was a six-time Division All-Star and a three-time CFL All-Star during his career. Lewis finished with 13,778 receiving yards, ranking him fifth all-time and added 71 touchdown receptions.

Doug Mitchell’s unbridled passion for football has made the game stronger at the amateur and professional level. Mitchell played for the BC Lions, but that was just the start of his many football accomplishments and contributions. His contributions to sport, and in particular his dedication to football, have been defining features of his life, along with his successful law career and the remarkable family he has built with his wife Lois. Perhaps best known as the CFL’s sixth Commissioner, serving in that capacity from 1984 to 1988, Mitchell has also served on the CFL’s Board of Governors, as a representative of the Calgary Stampeders. His many contributions to Canadian university football include the creation of the U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Awards honouring Canadian university student-athletes. ...

A born leader, Orlando Steinauer is a two-time Grey Cup champion as a player (1999 and 2004). A dominant defensive back known as much for his smarts and his athleticism, Steinauer played for 13 seasons in the CFL, with the Ottawa Rough Riders (1996), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1997-2000) and the Toronto Argonauts (2001-2008). He was named an all-star at three different positions (cornerback, halfback and safety), earning seven East All-Star nods and five CFL All-Star honours in total. Steinauer career featured 49 interceptions, including five returned for touchdowns. His 1,178 interception return yards are the second most in CFL history behind Less Browne (1,508). ...

Mike Walker anchored some of the best defences in CFL history. He enjoyed a 10-year career in the CFL, playing in 135 games for Hamilton (1982-1989) and Edmonton (1990-1991), and capturing a Grey Cup championship with the Tiger-Cats in 1986, the same year he had a career-high 21 sacks. Walker finished his career with a total of 95.5 sacks (14th all-time), 149 tackles, nine fumble recoveries and two interceptions. He was named a Division All-Star on four occasions and a CFL all-Star three times.

Don Wilson never lost a Grey Cup game. Wilson played 12 seasons in the CFL as a defensive back with Edmonton (1987-1989, 1993-1994, 1998), Toronto (1990-1992, 1995-1996), and BC (1997). The North Carolina State product played in 197 games and appeared in four Grey Cups, winning all four (1987 1991, 1993 and 1996). Wilson was named a Divisional All-Star six times and a CFL All-Star four times. He finished his career with 61 interceptions (fifth all-time), 667 defensive tackles (11th all-time), 1,046 interception return yards (fourth all-time) and eight defensive touchdowns (tied for third all-time).
https://www.cfl.ca/2021/04/13/canadian-football-hall-fame-unveils-class-2021/

jerrym
04-14-2021, 12:58 AM
I'm especially happy to see Orlondo Steinhauer make the Hall. He was one of my favourite players of all time, even when he played for Hamilton. My only regret was that he didn't play his whole career with the Argos and finish by being their HC. Below is Steinauer reflecting in his own words on his career.



Spending five weeks with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1996, helping win Hamilton’s first Grey Cup in over a decade in 1999, and reaching the mountain top with his former Labour Day enemy Toronto in 2004. ...

“I was aware of the CFL. I was not aware of where Ottawa was. I had actually been enrolled in teachers college because I had been released by the Detroit Lions and figured that I had a good run and that was it,” Steinauer said. “Ottawa called and asked if I’d come on their PR, which excited me because I came from the NFL and I thought the practice roster is pretty good money. Then they said come up it’ll be about $500 a week.” ...

“A defensive back had an ankle injury so I went to Ottawa and I guess they were on their second head coach. I watched a game we lost where the coach made a drastic mistake to not go for two, we went for one and lost the game and there was a player that quit in the locker room and I thought what is this?” ...

At that point, Ottawa was a clearly struggling franchise which offered little more to a young Steinauer than an opportunity to show his ability on film.“Banks might not cash your cheques, so I paid the fee and would cash the cheques. I never put anything in the bank. We ended up 3-15 that year but you wouldn’t have known it. Fans were asking for my autograph and I was just playing special teams. Then they ended up folding.” ...

Steinauer had no expectation of being taken in the Ottawa dispersal draft. Why would he after such a short time in Ottawa with little more than two games of special teams film?
Forever the humble pragmatist, the then 24-year-old Steinauer was surprised when Hamilton took him 12th overall, creating a black-and-gold bond that holds strong another 24-years later.“I led the league in picks in 1997 and my career was kick-started.” That first year in Southern Ontario, Steinauer was named Hamilton’s Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player Nominee.

“Being named a Hall-of-Famer, you reflect on the journey, but not just professionally. I thought of my Pop Warner coaches first,” Steinauer said. “When you start playing football, you play for the love of the game. You want to go to high school and play, then the next step is I want a scholarship but at the end of the day, you boil it down, and it’s really just about wanting to play football. I went to Western Washington, which you attend to become an engineer which I wasn’t, or become a teacher, which is what I went to do.” ...

Steinauer landed in Toronto and continued to produce as a key part of Argonauts’ dominant 2004 Grey Cup champion defence. “We went 14 quarters without a touchdown being scored on us. We gave up something like 15-points per game and we weren’t the most talented, but we were hard to beat,” Steinauer said. “In the locker room after the game, everybody had their personal pint and were partying and I was just sitting there taking it in because I hadn’t enough in ‘99. I watched everybody enjoy having no doubt that’s where we were meant to be at the end of that year.”

“I never wanted to let the person next to me down, and within that, you become the best you can be. It’s not the accomplishments that matter but it’s that mentality and process that’s led me here today,” Steinauer said. “You don’t play for accolades, you play the game to the best of your ability and help make people around you better. Diversity is strength was a great shirt, but our power is in our unity and that’s what I love about Canada and the CFL. That’s never changed from my beginnings.” ...

Recently, he earned another accolade, most wins (15) by a rookie head coach in CFL history en route to being named CFL Coach of The Year. He used that podium to recognize those around him.
https://www.cfl.ca/2021/04/13/steinauer-reflects-humble-journey-cfl-hall-fame-nod/

argolio
04-14-2021, 11:17 AM
Doug Mitchell? The Als went under on his watch, and the 1987 TV contract renewal led the way to years of major financial instability for the league. Maybe one could argue some of that was beyond his control, but he still shouldn't be rewarded for it.

Sort of reminds me of when the NHL tried to induct Gil Stein, or, more accurately, when he tried to induct himself.

paulwoods13
04-14-2021, 11:27 AM
The Mitchell selection is a head-scratcher for sure, and seems like a GOB move. The TV contract definitely was an issue -- CTV's departure stacked the deck strongly in favour of CBC, which could essentially dictate its price after that. The Als folding likely was out of Mitchell's control, but no one will remember the years 1985-89 as a period of league stability. Save Our Stamps, Roughriders telethon, Ott and Ham almost folding, Mtl leaving . . .

On the football side, no arguments with any of the inductees (and nice to see Steinauer and Wilson in there) but there are still a number of glaring omissions from Argo-land: Cahill, Thornton and D.K. Smith are the biggest IMO, and cases could also be made for Schultz, Pleasant and Brazley.

ArgoGabe22
04-14-2021, 06:31 PM
Not to take anything away from the class of 2021 but does anyone have any good excuse why Thornton isn't in yet? Simmons has been pushing for him for years. Once again, wrote an article today,

https://t.co/Cl9Nxjsf8g?amp=1

OV Argo
04-14-2021, 06:41 PM
Not to take anything away from the class of 2021 but does anyone have any good excuse why Thornton isn't in yet? Simmons has been pushing for him for years. Once again, wrote an article today,

https://t.co/Cl9Nxjsf8g?amp=1


A lot of players who could /should be in the CFL HOF.

Sask. Rider fans often lament great LB Wayne Shaw not getting in.

I'd call for Ottawa Rough Rider DB Joe Poirier - 3 time GC Champ; all-star; on the all-time INT list

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