By Rob Vanstone
Ron Lancaster and George Reed are 1-2, expected, in a poll that determined the top 10 players in Saskatchewan Roughriders history.
Appropriately, our series of Saskatchewan Roughriders top-10 polls concludes with Ron Lancaster handing off to George Reed.
The two Canadian Football League icons paced the voting that was done by three football historians — Bob Calder, Tom Fuzesy and yours truly.RELATED STORIES:Rob Vanstone: Cody Fajardo was poised for a breakthrough one year ago
Lancaster and Reed combined for all three first-place votes, with The Little General receiving two of them. It easily could have been the other way around, considering that Nos. 23 and 34 are interchangeable.
“It was a toss-up,” acknowledged Fuzesy, a Roughriders fan of 50-plus years who has traced the team’s history back to its inception as the Regina Rugby Club in 1910.
In 1965, Reed rushed for a franchise-record 1,768 yards en route to becoming the first Roughrider to be named the CFL’s most outstanding player — an award Lancaster won in 1970 and 1976.
Both legends were named the West’s top player on three occasions — Reed in 1965, 1968 and 1969; Lancaster in 1966, 1970 and 1976. They were both six-time winners of the Roughriders’ most-outstanding-player award.
Reed retired in May of 1976, the same year in which he became the inaugural winner of the CFL Players’ Association’s Tom Pate Memorial Award in recognition of sportsmanship and exemplary conduct on and off the field. The second winner was, of course, Lancaster.
Lancaster began our series of top-10 polls by being the automatic winner of the best-quarterback category. Reed was then honoured as the top running back, followed by Ray Elgaard (receiver), Gene Makowsky (offensive lineman), Bobby Jurasin (defensive lineman), Wayne Shaw (linebacker), Eddie Davis (defensive back), Dave Ridgway (special teams), Ken Preston (builder) and Fred Wilson (early era).
All three panellists listed 10 people in each category. A first-place vote is worth 10 points, a second-place vote is worth nine, etc.
Over to you, Ronnie …
1. Ron Lancaster (29 points): A 1982 inductee into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF), Lancaster owned most of the significant CFL passing records by the time he retired in 1978, concluding a 19-year playing career. He spent three seasons with the Ottawa Rough Riders before being traded to Saskatchewan in July of 1963. Three years later, he quarterbacked the Roughriders to their first Grey Cup championship. He also led Saskatchewan to the championship game in 1967, 1969, 1972 and 1976. It’s your turn, George …
2. George Reed (28): Reed entered the CFHOF in 1979, one year after he received this country’s greatest civilian honour by becoming a member of the Order of Canada. That honour recognized his inexhaustible contributions away from the football field. At one time, he was affiliated with 47 charitable or community groups. The incomparable fullback also found time to rush for 16,116 yards, eclipsing the 1,000-yard milestone in 11 of his 13 seasons in green and white. As well, he scored 137 touchdowns. In the 1966 Grey Cup game, he rushed for 133 yards — including a 31-yard TD — in a 29-14 victory over Ottawa.
3. Ray Elgaard (22): In 1983, the Roughriders spent their first-round draft choice (third overall) UBC linebacker Mike Emery. In the second round, with the 12th pick, then-general manager John Herrera claimed Elgaard, who had been a tight end at the University of Utah. Elgaard soon moved to slotback, a position at which he became one of the CFL’s all-time greats. Over 14 seasons, he caught 830 passes for 13,198 yards and 78 TDs. An eight-time member of the 1,000-yard club, Elgaard was the league’s most outstanding Canadian in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Nobody was tougher to bring down in the open field.
4. Gene Makowsky (19): The Saskatoon-born Makowsky spent 17 seasons (1995 to 2011) with his home-province team and was twice decorated as the CFL’s top offensive lineman (in 2004 and 2005). Makowsky was also the runner-up for that award in 2008. This five-time CFL all-star and seven-time all-West lineman entered the CFHOF in 2015.
5. Roger Aldag (13): Aldag grew up in Gull Lake watching his older brother, Barry, play for the Roughriders. The younger Aldag followed the same path and ultimately spent all 17 of his CFL seasons with Saskatchewan. A five-time CFL all-star guard, and an eight-time all-West selection, Aldag was the league’s top offensive lineman in 1986 and 1988.
6. Dave Ridgway (9): “Robokicker,” a 2003 CFHOF inductee, amassed a Roughriders-record 2,374 points from 1982 to 1995. This six-time all-Canadian was the first CFLer to kick eight field goals in a game, accomplishing that feat in 1984 and 1988. His most memorable field goal — The Kick — was a 35-yarder that gave Saskatchewan a 43-40 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1989. Ridgway (No. 36) is one of four players on this list to have his number retired by the Roughriders, the others being Lancaster (23), Reed (34) and Aldag (44).
7. (tie) Bobby Jurasin (8): Jurasin entered the CFHOF in 2006, in recognition of the team-record 142 sacks he registered from 1986 to 1997. He also holds the Roughriders’ record for sacks in a season (22 in 1987). And who can forget his trademark bandana?
7. (tie) Darian Durant (8): “Doubles” quarterbacked Saskatchewan to three Grey Cup appearances, including a home-field championship-game victory in 2013. He was at his best throughout the 2013 playoffs, throwing eight touchdown passes (without an interception) over three games. As well, the Roughriders’ No. 4 rushed six times for 97 yards (91 of which he gained on five carries in the fourth quarter) while rallying the home team from a nine-point deficit in the 2013 West semi-final against the B.C. Lions.
9. (tie) Don Narcisse (5): The eight-time 1,000-yard receiver made at least one catch in all 216 regular-season games he played for Saskatchewan. Over 13 seasons, he caught 919 passes for 12,366 yards and 75 TDs. In a breakout season of 1989, Narcisse put up a career-high 1,419 yards en route to helping the Roughriders snap a 23-year Grey Cup championship drought. His 123 catches in 1995 are an enduring franchise single-season record. The Hall came calling in 2010.
9. (tie) Martin Ruby (5): Ruby, who in 1951 began a seven-season stint with Saskatchewan, was a two-way all-star — at offensive and defensive tackle — in 1953, 1954 and 1956. He also made the West’s dream team (the CFL had not yet been formed) as an offensive lineman in 1951, when Saskatchewan reached the Grey Cup game for the first time in 17 years. An NFL-calibre talent, Ruby was enshrined in the CFHOF in 1974.
Also receiving votes: Eddie Davis (4), Wayne Shaw (4), Fred Wilson (4), Ed McQuarters (3), Ted Urness (2), Jack Abendschan (1), Bill Baker (1).
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