Racine, Lumsden, Okeke named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame!

I admit that I did not know that the Hall of Fame inductions were last night.  If I had, I would have paid greater attention.

There's a fair amount of Ottawa (or Ottawa-based, at least) content in the 2014 class.  The following is copied from TSN's recap of the event:

(Neil) Lumsden, 60, of London, Ont., enjoyed a stellar college career at Ottawa and in '75 helped the Gee-Gees go 11-0 and capture the Vanier Cup. Lumsden ended his collegiate tenure as the Vanier Cup MVP. He left school first in all-time CIS scoring (410 points) and his 148 points in '75 was second all-time. That season, Lumsden scored 37 points -- including five TDs -- in a single game.

Lumsden played in the CFL from '76 to '85 with Toronto, Hamilton and Edmonton, winning three Grey Cups with the Eskimos (1980-'82) and being named the top Canadian in the '81 contest. Lumsden was also in the Ticats' front office when they won their last league title in '99.

(Moe) Racine, 76, a native of Cornwall, Ont., was an offensive lineman and kicker with Ottawa from 1958-'74, appearing in five Grey Cup games and winning four times. He played 201 career games with the Rough Riders and was an East all-star three times. The franchise retired his No. 62 jersey upon his retirement.

The picture of Racine above was lifted from the cflapedia website and is probably originally from Scott Grant's extensive portfolio.

Can't claim too much "Ottawa-ness" to former offensive lineman Uzooma Okeke, but he did play with the last Rough Riders team in 1996.  He started gathering all-star status fairly regularly the following year (of course...) with Montreal and was with them until 2006.  Played with the Shreveport Pirates prior to joining the Rough Riders so he might be the poster boy for what a quality work environment can do for one's career.

As an aside, I love that the Canadian Hall of Fame is a football Hall of Fame and not a pro football Hall of Fame. If you impact the game significantly at the amateur level, that accomplishment should be recognised.

The OSEG Media Newsroom blog has far more detailed articles on both men.  Give that a look over here.

2013 CIS Conference All-Stars, Ottawa-style

While I watch former Cumberland Panther Alex Skinner quarterback Laval in the Dunsmore Cup, I thought it would be a good time to review the OUA and CIS award winners that were announced earlier this week, all of whom come from the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

FIRST TEAM

Running Back: Brendan Gillanders - Ottawa
Defensive Tackle: Ettore Lattanzio - Ottawa

SECOND TEAM

Quarterback: Aaron Colbon - Ottawa
Centre:  Shavin Fernando - Ottawa
Guard: Taylor Servais - Ottawa
Safety: Matthew Bond-Lapointe - Ottawa

Let's copy their achievements from the OUA website:

(Brendan) Gillanders’ 1061 all purpose offensive yards was tops among CIS running backs. He scored five touchdowns (3 receiving, 2 rushing)...

Gee-Gee defensive tackle Ettore Lattanzio rounds out the OUA first team defence .The Ottawa native led the OUA and tied for the CIS lead with 10 quarterback sacks.

Lattanzio also earned the J.P. Metras Trophy as the top lineman in the conference.

Ottawa quarterback Aaron Colbon passed for 2490 yards averaging 311.1 yards per game to finish second in OUA. He tossed 20 touchdowns en route to the first all-star recognition of his impressive career in garnet and grey. He is joined on the OUA second team by fifth-year centre Shavin Fernando (Ottawa) and fourth-year guard Taylor Servais (Ottawa).

While Carleton was shut out in their first year back from dormancy, other local players earned OUA honours out of town.

Linebacker Sam Sabourin continued the tradition and earned his third all-star recognition. The Stittsville, Ont., native had 34.5 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions in his fourth-year.

Place kicker Tyler Crapigna (Nepean, Ont.) hit 16 of 19 field goals attempted for an 84% success rate and second team all-star status.

Ottawa has been well-represented in other conferences as well.  Receiver Geoff Conventry made the RSEQ all-star team in gathering 25 receptions for 306 yards and a score for Bishop's.  Out East, two more o-linemen were honoured for their play in Chris Fanning and James Young, both with Acadia, as was the Axemen's kicker, Ryan Begin, an Orleans native.

Last but hardly least, linebacker Ron Omara not only made the AUS all-star team, he was also named the conference's top defensive player.  Omara lists Aylmer, QC, as his hometown.  He was an Ontario Football Conference All-Star for the Ottawa Sooners in 2010.