From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Lancaster
Ron Lancaster
Ron Lancaster CFL West All- 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976
Star:
Awards: 1996 Annis Stukus Trophy
1998 Annis Stukus Trophy
2008 CFL Commissioner’s Award
Fame,
Canadian Football Hall of Fame , 1982
Ronald "Ron" Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September
18, 2008[1]) was one of the pre-eminent quarterbacks of
the Canadian Football League during his playing career;
after his retirement as a player, he was also coach and
general manager in the same league, and a sports an-
nouncer for CBC Television. At the time of his death,
he was the Senior Director of Football Operations of the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is enshrined in the Canadian
Football Hall of Fame (1982), the Canada’s Sports Hall of
Fame (1985) and the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall
of Honour (1985).
Early life
Lancaster was born in the Pittsburgh area industrial
Nickname(s) The Little General
town of Fairchance, Pennsylvania but moved to nearby
Date of birth: October 14, 1938(1938-10-14) Clairton, Pennsylvania as a young boy. At the time of his
death, his mother still resided in Clairton.
Place of birth: Fairchance, Pennsylvania
Date of death: September 18, 2008(2008-09-18)
(aged 69) Playing career
Place of death: Hamilton, Ontario Lancaster was a talented quarterback by the time he
graduated from Clairton High School, but due to his small
Career information 5’ 5" (165 cm) stature,[2][3] he was ignored by most col-
Position(s):
Position(s): QB lege scouts. He attended tiny Wittenberg University and
again showed talent, but no NFL scouts showed any in-
College:
College: Wittenberg
terest; however, a scout for the Ottawa Rough Riders of
Organizations the Canadian Football League liked his on-field leader-
ship, and Lancaster was signed by Ottawa.[4]
As coach:
During his rookie season with Ottawa in 1960, while
1979–1980 Saskatchewan Roughriders he shared the quarterbacking duties with another future
1991–1997 Edmonton Eskimos Hall of Famer, Russ Jackson, Ottawa won the Grey Cup.
1998–2003, 2006 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
He spent two more years with Ottawa, but after a losing
As player: season in 1962 (6–7–1), Lancaster was traded to the
Saskatchewan Roughriders. (He would have a losing
1960–1962 Ottawa Rough Riders
1963–1978 Saskatchewan Roughriders record only one other time in his career, in his last season
as a player.)[5]
Career highlights and awards It was with Saskatchewan that "The Little General"
• Grey Cup champion (1960, 1966, 1993, 1999) found his stride. In 16 seasons with Saskatchewan
(1963–1978), he led the team into the playoffs 14 consecu-
CFL All-Star: 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976
tive times, and made it to the CFL’s Western Football Con-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Lancaster
ference final 12 times. During that period, Saskatchewan 1978 SSK 390 205 52.6 2,677 15 27 58.5 10 8
represented the West in the Grey Cup five times (1966, OTT totals 399 198 49.6 3,825 34 38 72.1 46 332
1967, 1969, 1972, and 1976); however the Roughriders SSK totals 5,834 3,186 54.6 46,710 299 358 72.4 290 1,09
won the big game only once, in 1966, when they defeated
CFL totals 6,233 3,384 54.3 50,535 333 396 72.4 336 1,42
the Ottawa Rough Riders 29–14.
Over Lancaster’s 16 seasons with the Roughriders,
they won 170 games with him at quarterback,[5] and had Coaching career
only one losing record, 4–11–1 in 1978, which was Lan-
Lancaster was a player-coach in the 1977 and 1978 sea-
caster’s final season as a quarterback.
sons, serving as Saskatchewan’s offensive co-ordinator.
He was the first quarterback in CFL history to reach
Lancaster became Saskatchewan’s head coach imme-
50,000 career passing yards, was a finalist for the Schen-
diately after his 1978 playing season but found "the glo-
ley Award as most outstanding player in 1966, 1970 and
rious fifties and sixties were over, and he was the first
1976, (winning in 1970 and 1976), was an All-Canadian in
Roughrider coach in sixteen years who did not have Ron
1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976 and a Western all-star in 1966,
Lancaster at quarterback."[6] The Green Riders finished
1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976.[5]
2–14 in consecutive seasons and Lancaster would not
He was so dominant as a quarterback, that on the day
coach again for 11 years.
that he died, which was 30 years after he retired from
After serving as a colour commentator for The CFL on
playing, he was still ranked in the top 3 in career stats in
CBC for several years, he returned to the coaching ranks
a number of categories:
when he was named 12th head coach in Edmonton Eski-
• second in touchdown passes (333, surpassed only by
mos history on February 4, 1991. He coached the Eski-
Damon Allen) [Eight months after Lancaster’s death,
mos from 1991–1997, amassing an 83–42 regular season
Anthony Calvillo moved past Lancaster into second
record and a Grey Cup win in 1993. He passed Hugh
place.]
Campbell for first place on the Eskimos’ list for coaching
• third in pass completions (3,384)
wins October 27, 1996.
• third in pass attempts (6,233)
Lancaster became the 17th head coach in Hamilton
• third in yards passing (50,535)
Tiger-Cat history on November 26, 1997. He coached the
In November 2006, the Canadian sports network TSN list-
Tiger-Cats from 1998–2003. He took the team to the Grey
ed Lancaster in 7th place on their Top 50 players of the
Cup twice (1998, 1999) winning it in 1999. On July 10, 2006
CFL’s modern era.
Ron Lancaster was re-hired as the teams head coach on
an interim basis after the firing of coach Greg Marshall.
Career statistics Lancaster’s 142 career regular-season wins, place him
fifth on the CFL’s career regular season wins list.[7]
Passing Rushing
Year Team Att Yards Avg Long TD
Att Comp Pct Yards TD Int Rating CFL coaching record
1960 OTT 201 101 50.2 1,843 16 18 71.4 19 134 7.1 40 0
1961 OTT 100 49 49.0 966 9 8 79.8 17 122 7.2 23 1
1962 OTT 98 48 49.0 1,016 9 12 65.7 10 76
Broadcasting career
7.6 22 0
1963 SSK 226 106 46.9 1,727 11 19 54.2 CBC Television invited Lancaster to become a colour
34 139 4.1 15 2
commentator on CFL broadcasts in 1980. He was part of
1964 SSK 263 144 54.8 2,256 16 13 83.1 26 152 5.8 28 3
a trio that included Don Wittman doing the play-by-play
1965 SSK 305 160 52.5 2,586 17 26 64.2 33 84 2.5 20 3
and former Argonaut head coach Leo Cahill doing colour
1966 SSK 303 182 60.1 2,976 28 20 96.4 29 91 3.1 with 1
commentary along 24 Lancaster. He was with the CBC
1967 SSK 330 169 51.2 2,809 16 24 66.1 29 131 4.5 25
from 1980–1991 and was 2 member of the CBC team at
a
1968 SSK 358 181 50.6 2,969 12 17 70.2 the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea as the play-
25 197 7.9 24 2
1969 SSK 354 188 53.1 3,104 25 28 73.5 5.2 for 3
by-play broadcaster48 basketball.
22 115
1970 SSK 330 175 53.0 2,779 16 22 69.7 21 71 3.4 20 2
1971 SSK 375 192 51.2 2,759 16 23 64.1 5 0 Illness and death
0.0 2 0
1972 SSK 357 208 58.3 2,942 23 20 83.1 12 1.7 was 0
In72004, Lancaster 15 diagnosed with bladder cancer,
1973 SSK 464 263 56.7 3,767 22 27 74.7 but8 appeared to have beaten it after treatment. In 2008,
17 2.1 13 1
1974 SSK 395 222 56.2 2,873 20 20 75.0 he8 was15 1.9 with lung cancer and immediately
diagnosed 12 1
1975 SSK 441 239 54.2 3,545 23 27 72.6 started11
14 treatment. Lancaster was positive in his outlook,
0.8 10 0
1976 SSK 494 297 60.1 3,869 25 25 80.6 stating5"Five years 2
5 1.0 ago, I 2
survived a battle with cancer,
and now we have another battle on our hands. The goal
1977 SSK 449 255 56.8 3,072 14 20 69.8 14 48 3.4 9 3
is to get this taken care of and move forward just like I
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Lancaster
Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Result
SSK 1979 2 14 0 .125 5th in West Conference – – Missed Playoffs
SSK 1980 2 14 0 .125 5th in West Conference – – Missed Playoffs
SSK Total 4 28 0 .125 0 West Division - - 0 Grey Cups
Championships
EDM 1991 12 6 0 .667 1st in West Division 0 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM 1992 10 8 0 .556 2nd in West Division 1 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM 1993 12 6 0 .667 2nd in West Division 3 0 Won Grey Cup
EDM 1994 13 5 0 .722 2nd in West Division 0 1 Lost in Division Semi-Finals
EDM 1995 13 5 0 .722 2nd in North Division 1 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM 1996 11 7 0 .611 2nd in West Division 2 1 Lost in Grey Cup
EDM 1997 12 6 0 .667 1st in West Division 0 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM Total 83 43 0 .659 2 West Division 7 6 1 Grey Cup
Championships
HAM 1998 12 5 1 .694 1st in East Division 1 1 Lost in Grey Cup
HAM 1999 11 7 0 .611 2nd in East Division 3 0 Won Grey Cup
HAM 2000 9 9 0 .500 2nd in East Division 0 1 Lost in Division Semi-Finals
HAM 2001 11 7 0 .611 2nd in East Division 1 1 Lost in Division Finals
HAM 2002 7 11 0 .389 3rd in East Division – – Missed Playoffs
HAM 2003 1 17 0 .056 4th in East Division – – Missed Playoffs
HAM 2006 4 10 0 .286 4th in East Division – – Missed Playoffs
HAM Total 55 66 1 .455 1 East Division 4 3 1 Grey Cup
Championship
Total 142 137 1 .509 2 West Division 11 9 2 Grey Cups
Championships
1 East Division
Championship
did five years ago. We will approach this the same way as [2] "The Little General: The Life and Times of Ron
then and I thank you all in advance for your kindness as I Lancaster". CBC-TV. http://www.cbc.ca/
am on my path to recovery."[8] Lancaster died of a heart lifeandtimes/lancaster.html. Retrieved December
attack[9][10] 6 weeks later on September 18, 2008. 4, 2008.
He was survived by his wife, Bev and his three chil- [3] [|Henshaw, Jim] (November 20, 2007). "The Legion
dren Lana, Ron, and Bob, and four grandchildren.[11] of Decency: Rider Pride". http://the-legion-of-
At the 2008 CFL season Awards ceremony on Novem- decency.blogspot.com/2007/11/rider-pride.html.
ber 20, 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Commis- Retrieved December 4, 2008.
sioner’s Award for outstanding contribution to the CFL [4] "Life and Times: Ron Lancaster". CBC News.
by Commissioner Mark Cohon .[12] http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/lancaster.html.
Retrieved September 21, 2008.
Videos [5] ^ "Ron Lancaster". Front Office Team. Hamilton
Tiger-Cats. Archived from the original on
Seen in game 3 of the 1970 Western finals in its entirety September 18, 2008. http://www.webcitation.org/
5avqBC9G2. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
Notes [6] Mullick, Rajeev. CFL Legends: Ron Lancaster.
Retrieved January 17, 2006.
[1] http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/ [7] All-time CFL coaching wins. Retrieved October 25,
?id=249878&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main 2006.
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Lancaster
Sporting positions
Preceded by Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coaches Succeeded by
Walt Posadowski 1979–1980 Joe Faragalli
Preceded by Edmonton Eskimos Head Coaches Succeeded by
Joe Faragalli 1991–1997 Kay Stephenson
Preceded by Hamilton Tiger-Cats Head Coaches Succeeded by
Don Sutherin 1998–2003 Greg Marshall
Preceded by Hamilton Tiger-Cats Head Coaches Succeeded by
Greg Marshall 2006 Charlie Taaffe
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Grey Cup winning Head Coach Succeeded by
Wally Buono 87th Grey Cup, 1999 Steve Buratto
Wally Buono 81st Grey Cup, 1993 Dave Ritchie
[8] Masters, Mark (August 6, 2008). "Lancaster facing Alternative names
another fight with cancer". National Post (Canada).
Short description CFL Hall of Fame player and coach
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/
story.html?id=705066. Retrieved September 18, Date of birth 1938-10-14
2008. Place of birth Fairchance, Pennsylvania
[9] Maki, Allan (August 19, 2008). "Lancaster cast a Date of death 2008-09-18
long shadow in the CFL as a Hall of Fame player,
Place of death Hamilton, Ontario
coach, GM and broadcaster". Globe and Mail
(Canada). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
servlet/story/GAM.20080919.LANCASTER19/
TPStory/TPComment. Retrieved September 19,
2008.
[10] "CFL fans remember Ron Lancaster". CBC Sports.
September 19, 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/
football/story/2008/09/18/ron-lancaster-
fans.html. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
[11] "CFL icon Lancaster dies at 69". CBC Sports.
September 18, 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/
sportsnews/story/2008/09/18/lancaster-
death.html. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
[12] "Als’ Calvillo, Argonauts’ Dorsey take CFL
honours". Toronto Star. November 20, 2008.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/540819.
Retrieved November 21, 2008.
See also
• List of gridiron football quarterbacks passing
statistics
References
• CFL Facts, Figures and Records 2007.
• Official WFC, EFC and CFL statistics 1960 to 1978.
• The Canadian Encyclopedia
Persondata
Name Lancaster, Ron
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ron_Lancaster&oldid=460790262"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Lancaster
Categories:
• Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches
• Hamilton Tiger-Cats general managers
• 1938 births
• 2008 deaths
• American color commentators
• American emigrants to Canada
• American players of Canadian football
• American television sports annoucers
• Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
• Canadian Football League announcers
• Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners
• Canadian football quarterbacks
• Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductees
• Canadian television sportscasters
• Deaths from lung cancer
• Deaths from myocardial infarction
• Edmonton Eskimos coaches
• Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches
• Grey Cup champions
• Ottawa Rough Riders players
• People from Clairton, Pennsylvania
• People from Hamilton, Ontario
• Saskatchewan Roughriders players
• Wittenberg University alumni
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