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The Calgary Stampeders celebrate the Canadian Football League’s announcement of former defensive lineman Charleston Hughes being named as a member of the 2026 class to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Hughes will officially enter the players’ category at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum located in Hamilton Stadium on Sept. 17 ahead of the Hall of Fame Game between the Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes the following day.
After originally joining the Stampeders ahead of the 2008 season, Hughes went on to play 147 regular-season games, nine playoff matchups and four Grey Cup contests with Calgary. During his 10 seasons as a Stamp through the 2017 campaign, the Saginaw, Mich., native recorded 372 defensive tackles, 38 special-teams tackles, 23 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one touchdown. Hughes’ 410 total tackles while suiting up for the Stamps ranks eighth all-time in team history and his 99 career sacks remain tied for the franchise record.
“Charleston is an all-timer,” said Stampeders general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson. “He left it all out on the field every game and nobody played harder than him. It’s a well-deserved honour for Charleston to go into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.”
The Northwood University alumnus was a two-time Grey Cup champion, four-time CFL all-star and six-time CFL West Division all-star with the Red and White. Hughes was also the team’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player on three occasions and was a league finalist for the award in 2013.
He finished his playing days with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (2018-19, 2022) and Toronto Argonauts (2021) and currently sits fifth all-time in league history with a total of 136 sacks.