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Ron Lancaster

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Ron Lancaster
No. 23
Nickname(s)The Little General
Born:(1938-10-14)October 14, 1938
Fairchance, Pennsylvania
Died:September 18, 2008(2008-09-18) (aged 69)
Hamilton, Ontario
Career information
CFL statusNational
Position(s)QB
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
CollegeWittenberg
Career history
As coach
1979–1980Saskatchewan Roughriders
1991–1997Edmonton Eskimos
1998–2003Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2006Hamilton Tiger-Cats
As player
1960–1962Ottawa Rough Riders
1963–1978Saskatchewan Roughriders
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1970, 1973, 1975, 1976
CFL West All-Star1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976
Awards1970 - CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
1976 - CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
1977 - Tom Pate Memorial Award
1996 Annis Stukus Trophy
1998 Annis Stukus Trophy
2008 CFL Commissioner's Award
Career stats

Ronald Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008) was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, he led the team to its first Grey Cup championship in 1966 and is the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards, attempts, completions, touchdowns, and interceptions.[1] At the time of his retirement, he was the CFL's career leader in passing yards and still ranks sixth overall as of 2016. After his retirement as a player, he served as a head coach and general manager in the CFL; he led his teams to two Grey Cups and currently ranks fourth all-time with 142 regular season wins. He was also a colour commentator on the CFL on CBC from 1981 to 1990. At the time of his death, he was the Senior Director of Football Operations of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1982), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1985) and the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Honour (1985).

Early life

Lancaster was born in the Pittsburgh area industrial town of Fairchance, Pennsylvania and moved to nearby Clairton as a young boy. At the time of his death, his mother still resided in Clairton.

Playing career

Lancaster was a talented quarterback by the time he graduated from Clairton High School, but because he was 5′5″ (165 cm),[2][3] he was ignored by most college scouts. He attended tiny Wittenberg University and led its team to a 25-8-1 record between 1956 and 1959,[4] and two Ohio Athletic Conference championships in 1957 and 1958.

By the time he graduated from Wittenberg he had grown to 5’10". His college coach had a friend with the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and Lancaster signed with them. During his rookie season in 1960, Lancaster shared the quarterbacking duties with another future Hall of Famer, Russ Jackson, and also played defensive back. The Ottawa Rough Riders won the Grey Cup that season.

In 1963 Lancaster's playing rights were sold to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for $500 with the stipulation that if Saskatchewan ever wanted to trade him, Ottawa would have the first right of refusal.

It was with Saskatchewan that "The Little General" found his stride. In 16 seasons with the Roughriders (1963–1978), he led the team into the playoffs 14 consecutive years and made it to the CFL's Western Football Conference final 12 times. During that period, Saskatchewan played for the Grey Cup five times (1966, 1967, 1969, 1972, and 1976) and won it once, in 1966, when they defeated Lancaster's former team, the Ottawa Rough Riders, 29–14.

In Lancaster's career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, he won 170 games as quarterback,[5] and had only one losing record, 4–11–1 in 1978, his last season as a player.

He was the first quarterback in CFL history to reach 50,000 career passing yards, won the Schenley Award as most outstanding player in 1970 and 1976, was an All-Canadian in 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976 and a Western all-star in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976.[5]

In November 2006, the Canadian sports network TSN ranked Lancaster seventh on its list of Top 50 Players of the CFL's modern era.

At the time of his death, thirty years after his retirement as a player, he was still ranked in the top three in career statistics in a number of categories:

  • second in touchdown passes (333, surpassed at the time only by Damon Allen) [Eight months after Lancaster's death, Anthony Calvillo moved past Lancaster into second place.]
  • third in pass completions (3,384)
  • third in pass attempts (6,233)
  • third in yards passing (50,535)

Career statistics

  Passing   Rushing
Year Team Att Comp Pct Yards TD Int Rating Att Yards Avg Long TD
1960 OTT 201 101 50.2 1,843 16 18 71.4 19 134 7.1 40 0
1961 OTT 100 49 49.0 966 9 8 79.8 17 122 7.2 23 1
1962 OTT 98 48 49.0 1,016 9 12 65.7 10 76 7.6 22 0
1963 SSK 226 106 46.9 1,727 11 19 54.2 34 139 4.1 15 2
1964 SSK 263 144 54.8 2,256 16 13 83.1 26 152 5.8 28 3
1965 SSK 305 160 52.5 2,586 17 26 64.2 33 84 2.5 20 3
1966 SSK 303 182 60.1 2,976 28 20 96.4 29 91 3.1 24 1
1967 SSK 330 169 51.2 2,809 16 24 66.1 29 131 4.5 25 2
1968 SSK 358 181 50.6 2,969 12 17 70.2 25 197 7.9 24 2
1969 SSK 354 188 53.1 3,104 25 28 73.5 22 115 5.2 48 3
1970 SSK 330 175 53.0 2,779 16 22 69.7 21 71 3.4 20 2
1971 SSK 375 192 51.2 2,759 16 23 64.1 5 0 0.0 2 0
1972 SSK 357 208 58.3 2,942 23 20 83.1 7 12 1.7 15 0
1973 SSK 464 263 56.7 3,767 22 27 74.7 8 17 2.1 13 1
1974 SSK 395 222 56.2 2,873 20 20 75.0 8 15 1.9 12 1
1975 SSK 441 239 54.2 3,545 23 27 72.6 14 11 0.8 10 0
1976 SSK 494 297 60.1 3,869 25 25 80.6 5 5 1.0 2 2
1977 SSK 449 255 56.8 3,072 14 20 69.8 14 48 3.4 9 3
1978 SSK 390 205 52.6 2,677 15 27 58.5 10 8 0.8 2 3
OTT totals 399 198 49.6 3,825 34 38 72.1 46 332 7.2 40 1
SSK totals 5,834 3,186 54.6 46,710 299 358 72.4 290 1,096 3.8 48 28
CFL totals 6,233 3,384 54.3 50,535 333 396 72.4 336 1,428 4.3 48 29

Coaching career

Lancaster was a player-coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 1977 and 1978 seasons and also served as Saskatchewan's offensive co-ordinator.

He became Saskatchewan's head coach in 1979 but found, as one writer put it, that "the glorious fifties and sixties were over, and he was the first Roughrider coach in sixteen years who did not have Ron Lancaster at quarterback."[6] The Roughriders finished 2–14 in 1979 and 2-14 in 1980. Lancaster would not coach again for eleven years.

After serving as a colour commentator for The CFL on CBC from 1981 to 1990, he became head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos on February 4, 1991. From 1991 to 1997, he had a record of 83–42 in the regular season and a Grey Cup win in 1993. He passed Hugh Campbell's team record for wins on October 27, 1996.

Lancaster signed on to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as head coach on November 26, 1997. Between 1998 and 2003, he took the team to the Grey Cup twice (1998 and 1999), winning it in 1999. On July 10, 2006, Lancaster was re-hired as the team's head coach on an interim basis after the firing of Greg Marshall.

At the time of his death, Lancaster’s 142 career regular-season wins placed him fourth on the CFL’s career regular season wins list.[7]

CFL coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Result
SSK 1979 2 14 0 .125 5th in West Conference – – Missed Playoffs
SSK 1980 2 14 0 .125 5th in West Conference – – Missed Playoffs
SSK Total 4 28 0 .125 0 West Division
Championships		 - - 0 Grey Cups
EDM 1991 12 6 0 .667 1st in West Division 0 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM 1992 10 8 0 .556 2nd in West Division 1 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM 1993 12 6 0 .667 2nd in West Division 3 0 Won Grey Cup
EDM 1994 13 5 0 .722 2nd in West Division 0 1 Lost in Division Semi-Finals
EDM 1995 13 5 0 .722 2nd in North Division 1 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM 1996 11 7 0 .611 2nd in West Division 2 1 Lost in Grey Cup
EDM 1997 12 6 0 .667 1st in West Division 0 1 Lost in Division Finals
EDM Total 83 43 0 .659 2 West Division
Championships		 7 6 1 Grey Cup
HAM 1998 12 5 1 .694 1st in East Division 1 1 Lost in Grey Cup
HAM 1999 11 7 0 .611 2nd in East Division 3 0 Won Grey Cup
HAM 2000 9 9 0 .500 2nd in East Division 0 1 Lost in Division Semi-Finals
HAM 2001 11 7 0 .611 2nd in East Division 1 1 Lost in Division Finals
HAM 2002 7 11 0 .389 3rd in East Division – – Missed Playoffs
HAM 2003 1 17 0 .056 4th in East Division – – Missed Playoffs
HAM 2006 4 10 0 .286 4th in East Division – – Missed Playoffs
HAM Total 55 66 1 .455 1 East Division
Championship		 5 3 1 Grey Cup
Total 142 137 1 .509 2 West Division
Championships
1 East Division
Championship		 12 9 2 Grey Cups

Broadcasting career

CBC Television signed Lancaster as a colour commentator on CFL broadcasts in 1980. He was part of a trio that included Don Wittman doing the play-by-play and former Argonaut head coach Leo Cahill doing colour commentary (Cahill left after the 1985 season). He was with the CBC from 1981 to 1990 and was a member of the CBC team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea as the play-by-play broadcaster for basketball.

Illness and death

In 2004, Lancaster was diagnosed with bladder cancer, but appeared to have beaten it after treatment. In 2008, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and immediately started treatment. Lancaster was positive in his outlook, saying, "Five years ago, I survived a battle with cancer, and now we have another battle on our hands. The goal is to get this taken care of and move forward just like I did five years ago. We will approach this the same way as then and I thank you all in advance for your kindness as I am on my path to recovery."[8] Six weeks later, on September 18, 2008, Lancaster died of a heart attack.[9][10] He was survived by his wife, Bev, his three children Lana, Ron, and Bob, and four grandchildren.[11][12]

At the 2008 CFL season Awards ceremony on November 20, 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Commissioner's Award for outstanding contribution to the CFL by Commissioner Mark Cohon.[13]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Saskatchewan Roughriders Media Guide". Riderville.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Little General: The Life and Times of Ron Lancaster". CBC-TV. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  3. ^ Henshaw, Jim (November 20, 2007). "The Legion of Decency: Rider Pride". Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  4. ^ "Tributes pour in for 'Mr. CFL,' legendary Ron Lancaster | Toronto Star". thestar.com. September 18, 2008. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  5. ^ a b "Ron Lancaster". Front Office Team. Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  6. ^ Mullick, Rajeev. CFL Legends: Ron Lancaster. Retrieved January 17, 2006.
  7. ^ 2009 Canadian Football League Facts, Figures & Records, Canadian Football League Properties/Publications, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 978-0-9739425-4-5, p.234
  8. ^ Masters, Mark (August 6, 2008). "Lancaster facing another fight with cancer". National Post. Canada. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  9. ^ Maki, Allan (August 19, 2008). "Lancaster cast a long shadow in the CFL as a Hall of Fame player, coach, GM and broadcaster". Globe and Mail. Canada. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
  10. ^ "CFL fans remember Ron Lancaster". CBC Sports. September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  11. ^ "CFL icon Lancaster dies at 69". CBC Sports. September 18, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  12. ^ "CFL mourns passing of Ron Lancaster". Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Als' Calvillo, Argonauts' Dorsey take CFL honours". Toronto Star. November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
Sources
  • CFL Facts, Figures and Records 2007.
  • Official WFC, EFC and CFL statistics 1960 to 1978.
  • "Ronald Lancaster". The Canadian Encyclopedia
Preceded by Grey Cup winning Head Coach
87th Grey Cup, 1999
81st Grey Cup, 1993 		Succeeded by
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