Famous Five make it to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame

By Chris Lawton

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is not, as sometimes mistakenly said the CFL Hall of Fame. Rather it is a place that represents all levels of football in Canada, both amateur and professional. There are two main areas for nomination to the Hall. As a builder (think Coach, administrator, someone involved in building the game). So, for example this season we have former referee Glen Johnson who spent 24 years as an on-field official covering 416 games and 11 Grey Cups, as well as Frank McCrystal who was coach of the Regina Rams and had a celebrated career in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). Beside the main categories, there is also a media wing to the Hall – so 2025 will see Paul Friesen and Judy Owen added in this category.

All that being said, the area that elicits most interest is the player category. This year five former CFL players are entering the Hall. This year entering the Hall from the CFL are two Offensive linemen, one linebacker, one defensive back and one wide receiver. Let’s take a closer look at the future inductees who will be officially enshrined on Friday September the 19^th.

Bryan Chu, OL 1997-2009 Montreal Alouettes

Games Played: 218

CFL All-Star: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008. Division All-Star: 2000-2006, 2008-2009.

2002 CFL Most Outstanding Lineman.

2 x Grey Cup champion (2002, 2009) as a player.

Taken 18^th overall by the Als in the CFL draft, Bryan Chu was a rock on the o-line at a time of consistent excellence for the Als. During his time with the team, they went on run that saw them appear in the playoffs every year, appear in seven Grey Cup games and win it all twice. In addition to being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2002, Chiu was a nine-time divisional All-Star and a seven-time CFL All-Star. The teams he played on had an overall 152-81-1 record.

Jeremaine Copeland, WR 1997-2009 Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders & Toronto Argonauts

Games Played: 168. 622 receptions for 10,014 yards and 75 touchdowns.

CFL All-Star: 2003, 2004, 2009. Division All-Star: 2003, 2004, 2009.

2 x Grey Cup champion (2002, 2008) as a player.

Jeremaine Copeland made his way to the CFL after a season with the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe in 2000. Followed by a championship winning year with the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL in 2001. He had five CFL seasons with over 1,100 yards receiving and his best year came in 2003 with Montreal when he had 99 catches for 1,757 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Having started out with the Alouettes from 2001 to 2004, Copeland joined the Stampeders. For Calgary he had 318 receptions for 5,298 yards and 43 touchdowns over five seasons. That included having seven grabs in the Stampeders win over Montreal in the 2008 Grey Cup game.

Scott Flagel, DB 1982-1987 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 1988 Calgary Stampeders (3 games), 1988-1989 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 1989-1991 Ottawa Rough Riders

Games played: 163. 40 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries. Seven kicks blocked.

CFL All-Star: 1986, 1987, 1989. Division All-Star: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991.

1987 Most Outstanding Canadian.

Grey Cup champion (1984).

Scott Flagel had the joy of playing for his hometown team and winning a Grey Cup with them. He played in all 16 games in 1983 and 1984 making a mark as one of the best safeties in the league. In 1985 he confirmed that with 69 tackles, 6 assists, 4 interceptions and a touchdown.

In 1987 he was named MOC after having 3 fumble recoveries, 5 interceptions, 53 tackles, 26 assists and 24 special teams’ tackles. Although he would get Division All-Star nods with the Ticats and Rough Riders, his best years were in Winnipeg where it would appear his fondest memories remain.

Darryl Hall, DB-LB Hybrid 1990-1992 & 1996-2000 Calgary Stampeders

Games played: 143. 546 tackles, 23 sacks, 36 tackles for a loss and 16 interceptions.

CFL All-Star: 1991, 1992. Division All-Star: 1991, 1992, 1998.

2 x Grey Cup champion (1992, 1998).

Hall spent his entire CFL career with Calgary with a break for stints in Denver and San Francisco in the NFL. He is attributed with revolutionising the DB/LB crossover position into the modern roving player responding to the increased receiver sets that were being popularised. Both of his Grey Cup wins came in Calgary.

Jovan Olafioye, OL, 2010-2016 & 2018 BC Lions, 2017 Montreal Alouettes

Games played: 156.

CFL All-Star: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. Division All-Star: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

2012 CFL Most Outstanding Lineman.

Grey Cup champion (2011).

To this day Jovan Olafioye is the only BC Lions player the be chosen as a team finalist for Outstanding Player in seven consecutive seasons (Most Outstanding Lineman 2010-2016). He was the League’s Most Outstanding Lineman in 2012, and the West Division nominee for that in 2011 and 2015. A nine-year career in the trenches saw him appear in all 18 games in a season eight times.

There we have it. The ‘famous five’ CFL players to make it into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. All deserving and all arriving via different routes. Let’s look forward to their official inductions in September.

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK