There are many beloved stars in the history of the Calgary Stampeders, but there’s often a special place in the hearts of Red and White supporters for a local product.

Case in point is born-and-raised Calgarian Harvey Wylie, a Crescent Heights High School alum who attended Montana State before starring for the Stamps for nine seasons between 1956-64.

Calgary loved him and he loved the city right back.

“I played for a good ball club in a great city,” Wylie said on the occasion of his retirement. “I was born and raised in Calgary. I never wanted to play for anybody else. I had an opportunity to play in NFL but I turned it down because I was making my professional career in engineering, and (Calgary) was home. It was nice to play for Calgary with a lot of great guys and great friends. I’m just sorry we never made it to the Grey Cup.”

Wylie played offence, defence and special teams for the Stamps and was the 1962 winner of the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian award. He was a West all-star on five occasions and was twice named a CFL all-star.

Recognition kept coming years after Wylie’s career ended as he was honoured by the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and added to the Stamps’ Wall of Fame in 1988. He’s also a member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

It was as a defensive halfback that Wylie earned his all-star accolades but what really wowed the fans were his exploits as a kick returner. Three of the six longest kickoff returns in Stamps history belong to Wylie, he had a kickoff return of at least 100 yards in four straight seasons from 1959 to 1962 and his five career kickoff-return touchdowns are three more than any other Calgary player.

In the Stamps’ all-time record books, Wylie is also second only to Wayne Harris in career fumble recoveries with 21 and runner-up to Larry Robinson in interceptions with 35 including a single-season record of 10 in 1959.

Wylie was a record-breaker in college, too. Nicknamed the “Canadian Comet” on campus at Montana State, he still shares the school standard for longest kickoff return in school history.

In addition to football, Wylie excelled in other sports. He played junior hockey for the Calgary Buffaloes and had a tryout for Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox.