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April 28, 2016

Flutie was fancy-footed on the field

Quarterback Doug Flutie hoists the 1992 Grey Cup

Earlier this week, Doug Flutie’s stint on Dancing With the Stars came to and end as he and partner Karina Smirnoff came up short in a combination of judge scoring and viewer voting.

On the football field, however, as Calgary Stampeders well know, Flutie was the gridiron equivalent of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly or Rudolf Nureyev.

Despite his sincere efforts on the dance floor — including a moving performance dedicated to his late parents — Flutie was denied the DWTS mirror-ball trophy but he can console himself with his football spoils including three Grey Cup rings, six CFL Most Outstanding Player awards, a Heisman Trophy and enshrinement in multiple halls and walls of fame.

“With any sport, his intelligence really took over, and his great athletic ability made him a star.”
– former teammate David Sapunjis

Standing just five-foot-10, Flutie didn’t measure up when it came to others’ expectations about what a quarterback should look like. But when it came to skill and determination, however, Flutie was a giant.

The Manchester, Md., native made a number of stops in a professional career that took him from the United States Football League, the NFL and the CFL, but it’s hard to imagine his impact was greater anywhere else than it was in Calgary.1992 grey cup doug flutie

Flutie came to the team in 1992 when the franchise was just turning the corner and, under the tutelage of head coach Wally Buono and offensive coordinator John Hufnagel and supported by a great cast of players, he helped make the Stampeders champions.

The Stamps were 43-11 in Flutie’s three full seasons as starter and he won the CFL’s MOP award as a member of the Red and White in 1992, 1993 and 1994. He was the Grey Cup MVP in 1992 when the Stamps ended a 21-year championship drought.

The three biggest single-season passing totals by a Stamp were turned in by Flutie including the only 6,000-yard season in franchise history.

His accomplishments on the football field speak for themselves but Flutie’s teammates will tell you he was driven to succeed in every activity from locker-room ping-pong to the Stamps’ off-season basketball tour of Calgary schools.

He even slapped on the pads to play goalie for the Stamps’ hockey team.

“He was an exceptional athlete in any regard,” said former teammate David Sapunjis. “To this day, I say his greatest attribute is his smarts for any sport. Just watching hockey, for example, it didn’t take him long to really understand the game, to pick out mistakes or to pick out great plays that an average fan might not notice. With any sport, his intelligence really took over, and his great athletic ability made him a star.”

Flutie always spoke glowingly about his time in the CFL in general and Calgary in particular even as he was making an unlikely but successful return to the NFL later in his career. He held a special place in heart for former colleagues, too, including his Stamps OC.

“I love Huff,” he said. “I always have. He was, without a doubt. from an X’s and O’s standpoint, the best coach I played for in the CFL. He was great for me in that he saw the things I did well. He understood that I had a feel for the game and he knew when to back off and let me go or when he needed to pull the reins and coach me up a bit. Then he’d turn around and let me go (again). It was awesome. I loved playing for Huff.”