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July 7, 2016

One tough Granny

In Stampeders history, there have been players with tough-sounding names.

Butch. Bubba. Tank.

Then there’s that lineman who played for the Red and White in the late 1960s and early 1970s who went by the very unintimidating handle “Granny.”

But as CFL offensive players of the era knew all too well, this Granny was anything but frail and feeble or in need of assistance to get across the street.

liggins_grannyGranville (Granny) Liggins was relatively undersized for a lineman — six-foot and 225 lb. — but he was panther-quick and a nightmare for opponents. The Tulsa, Okla., native was a four-time division all-star including back-to-back honours as a member of the Stamps in 1971 and 1972.

When he first joined the Stamps, he teamed with follow tackle John Helton and middle linebacker Wayne Harris to create a Bermuda triangle that had opposing running backs thinking the CFL field wasn’t quite wide enough.

Then, in 1971, the Stamps moved Liggins to the offensive side of the ball and he was a named a CFL all-star in his very first season at the new position and helped the Stamps win their first Grey Cup championship in 23 years.

The former University of Oklahoma Sooners star — Liggins earned consensus all-American honours in 1967 and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting — remained with the Stamps until partway through the 1973 season when he was traded to Toronto. The Argos moved Liggins back to the defence and he would earn all-star acclaim on that side of the ball in 1975 and 1976.

Liggins remained with the Boatmen until 1978 and he saw action with Hamilton and Ottawa before calling it a career.

He remained in Canada after his football career and eventually became a Canadian citizen.