Menu
June 23, 2016

Andrew bucks the trend

Brad Sinopoli playing quarterback during a pre-season game against Edmonton in June 2012 (Photo by David Moll)

There have been some very unique aspects to football in Canada over the years.

The rouge, of course, is a delightfully named CanCon characteristic.

Then there was that period when fans in this country had to patiently explain why a nine-team league had one team named the Rough Riders and another named the Roughriders.

And of course, there has been the ongoing discussion — sometimes simmering and sometimes on full boil — about developing homegrown quarterbacks and finding the next Russ Jackson.

So it was a big deal when Andrew Buckley survived the final cuts this past weekend and made the Calgary Stampeders roster. Now only does the ginger-haired pivot carry a Canadian passport, he’s called Calgary home his entire life and apprenticed at Rundle College and the University of Calgary Dinos before the Stamps came calling.

Tommy Denison

Tommy Denison

When Buckley made the cut, Dave Dickenson said his Canadian-ness had nothing to do with it and it’s easy to believe the Stamps head coach because being a national does nothing to help the team’s ratio situation.

At any other position, being a Canadian or an American is carefully noted but the CFL considers quarterbacks simply as quarterbacks. Critics argue that this specific geography-blindness kills any incentive for CFL clubs to draft and develop Canadian signal-callers, but on the other hand it does make the moment all the more special when a home-brew defies the odds and makes it.

Buckley is just the sixth Canadian QB to crack the Stamps roster in 71 years and the previous five had wildly divergent results.

Tommy Denison, for instance, suited up for one game in 2004 but never had an opportunity to take the field and throw a pass.

Bob Torrance

Bob Torrance

Brad Sinopoli never tossed a pass in regular-season action, either, but he wound up making a pretty nice living for himself on the other end of throws when he made the transition to receiver in 2012.

The former University of Ottawa star returned to his collegiate city as a free agent in 2015 and earned the Most Outstanding Canadian award as a member of the RedBlacks.

Greg Vavra

Greg Vavra

Bob Torrance dressed in 27 games for the Stamps in 1991, 1992 and 1995 but with quarterbacks like Danny Barrett, Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia populating the roster during that time, the U of C Dinos product did a lot of sitting and watching.

His action was limited to completing three of four passes in 1992, a year that ended with a Grey Cup championship for the Stampeders.

Another Dinos alum that suited up for the Red and White was Greg Vavra, who joined the Stamps in 1984 a year after leading the U of C to a Vanier Cup.

Vavra saw significant playing time as a CFL rookie and threw for 1,901 yards and 10 touchdowns, but in 1995 he was relegated to a lesser role by the arrival of Rick Johnson and veteran Joe Barnes.

Gerry Dattilio

Gerry Dattilio

He would head to the BC Lions in 1996 and would later play for Edmonton but he never received another extended opportunity as a starter.

The other Canadian QB in Stamps history as Gerry Dattilio, who sandwiched two seasons in Calgary in the middle of career largely spent with the Montreal Alouettes.

Dattilio was Calgary’s No. 1 QB in 1982 when he threw for 2,788 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The following season, he lost considerable playing time to Bernard Quarles but still saw enough action to throw for 1,213 yards and 11 TDs.