It was long overdue.
Chuck Ealey is finally in the College Football Hall of Fame.
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Criminal that it took this long.
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Absolutely criminal. I met Chuck Ealey at a book signing for a book on black quarterbacks in the CFL. The author had relied on many old CFL & Pro football magazines I sold him - many of those from 1948 to 1962, when I had a book & memorabilia shop in Winnipeg.
Ealey came in from Toronto where he worked for Investors Syndicate to speak at the book signing. Unfortunately, other than the author's family and a radio host I was the only Blue Bomber fan who bothered to attend. Unlike some of the feckless fair-weather fans in Winnipeg who are nothing but knife 'n forkers and/or jock-sniffers I enjoy the history and camaraderie of days of old.
I was able to speak with Mr. Ealey for approx. 1 hour after the event ended. Many of the fair weather Bomber fans like Pumpr, Do or Die and a mope calling himself General Tailor used to come into my shop and steal on a regular basis. These duds were the same type who were snitching me to Lord Lyle Bauer - which ended up badly for them as I became the only fan in Bomber history to get called out by a general manager. Why did it end up badly? Well, for one Bauer showed himself to be what I suspected him to be - a violent & cowardly weasel. He was canned within a few months of the board of directors being informed he had tried to invoke violence against yours truly - and sent some of the aforementioned house-boys into my place of business to cause disruption and threaten violence. I still question how some of these folks even held jobs in Winnipeg society; their level of humanity would have to be ranked somewhere between dry ice and rabid geese. A dude named Rob Young wrote a book on Lyle Bauer - I think it sold about 11 copies, which was 10 more than I thought it would.
Ilk like Bauer, those so-called Wpg fans, etc. shouldn't be allowed inside 5 miles of a football game.
Meanwhile, true American heroes and legends of the CFL game like Chuck Ealey get 1 man to attend a book-signing.
I'm sure glad it was me!
In the end I guess I'm the only one of those marks who can read. Most still on the borderline personality spectrum.
Glad Chuck Ealey finally got his day. btw - I bought several of the books on Chuck and the CFL's black quarterbacks. Most are signed by either the author or Ealey. Be glad to sell a couple of them now - but certainly not to the kind of vermin who tried to ransack my store and besmirch me on the pitiful web sites set up in Winnipeg.
Still watch the games and post on CFL.ca but the nutbars usually infest web sites and try to get me banned. They succeeded on the nutbar sites in Wpg and even sent out goon search parties to go after me and get me banned (for life) on riderfans.com.
Glad I sold 95% of my bomber memorabilia from 1935 to 1969, What didn't sell was donated to the Sports Hall of Fame or given as gifts to old players and/or their families.
Funny little world . . .
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Never heard of him. He did play for Toledo (bottom of the bowl in D1) so even if he did post fabulously great stats it was against fellow MAC schools that were pretty bad back then relative against the rest of D1. That was due to no limits on athletic scholarships being offered back then, I assume. Schools like Ohio State would stock pile players to sit on the bench, etc.
The stats have to have a correction factor (which means lowered for Toledo) to compare as if all D1 football schools played each other once.
Do yourself a favour and educate yourself. Watch the Documentary called The Stone Thrower. Then you might get a better understanding of the importance of this player and why he should have been in the College HOF decades ago
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I emailed the College Football Hall of Fame on Sunday, January 24th, 2021 with the following in defense of inducting Mr. Chuck Ealey. This was in response to an article I came across from the Hamilton Spectator written by Mr. Scott Radley.
Enjoy.
Hello Mr. Ron Dilatush,
My name is Dino Sepe. I’m writing to you for consideration for a future inductee for the College Football Hall of Fame. I’m selecting Mr. Chuck Ealey for induction for the College Football Hall of Fame.
I read an article on Saturday, January 16th, 2021, from the Hamilton Spectator about Mr. Chuck Ealey on still not being inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame. The article can be seen here:
When you look at Consideration Section what I noticed on the College Football Hall of Fame, Mr. Chuck Ealey does qualify for at least 3 of those points listed as I placed in bold:
The criteria for Hall of Fame consideration include:
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First and foremost, a player must have received First-Team All-America recognition by a selector that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
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A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation's Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played.
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While each nominee's football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether the candidate earned a college degree.
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Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years. * For example, to be eligible for the 2021 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1971 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.
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A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided, he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
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Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a potential candidate's collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.
*Players who do not comply with the 50-year rule may still be eligible for consideration by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Veterans Committees. Veterans Committee candidates must still meet First Team All-America requirement.
Once nominated for consideration, all FBS player candidates are submitted to one of eight District Screening Committees, depending on their school's geographic location, which conducts a vote to determine who will appear on the ballot and represent their respective districts. Each year, approximately 15 candidates, who are not selected for the Hall of Fame but received significant votes in the final selection, will be named automatic holdovers and will bypass the district screening process and automatically appear on the ballot the following year. Additionally, the Veterans Committee may make recommendations to the Honors Court for exceptions that allow for the induction of players who played more than 50 years ago. The Honors Court annually reviews the Hall of Fame criteria to ensure a fair and streamlined process.
Of the 5.4 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,027 players have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of those who have played the game during the past 150 years. From the coaching ranks, 221 individuals have achieved Hall of Fame distinction.
The 2021 voting deadline is July 7. If you would like to become a member and receive this year's ballot, please contact NFF Director of Membership Ron Dilatush at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com.
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Mr. Chuck Ealey completed his Degree during his 4 year stay at the University of Toledo.
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Mr. Chuck Ealey lead from 1969 – 1971, a 35 – 0 record for the University of Toledo. He guided Toledo to a Tangerine Bowl victory in 1970.
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Being bypassed in the NFL Draft, Mr. Chuck Ealey came up here in Canada to play for the Hamilton Tiger – Cats where he helped the Tiger – Cats to a Grey Cup victory in 1972 in his rookie season.
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Mr. Ealey had a pretty good football career in which he was the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 1969, 1970, and 1971. This was followed up in 1972 with a Grey Cup, along with a CFL Most Outstanding Rookie.
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After football, Mr. Chuck Ealey has been successful till this day in which he currently is a Regional Director for Investors Group located in Mississauga, Ontario just west of Toronto.
Mr. Ron Dilatush, I know the Inductees for 2021 was already decided and that’s fine. Looking at the 50-year time lapse after Mr. Chuck Ealey’s last game, it is going to be more difficult for him to be Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. I also realize that the College Football Hall of Fame receives thousands upon thousands of ballots for future inductees. Let’s hope that for 2022, Mr. Chuck Ealey will be part of the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
Thanks,
Dino
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Well done, Dino!
Thanks for taking the time to care!
I care! Chuck cares! Now, most importantly, you care!
Terrific stuff
Hopefully this educates those who know little but their narrow perception of small school vs big school
Or ask HOF QB Warren Moon and many other Quarterbacks of note how they feel about Chuck
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Great story LBS! Love your personal insight to the game/players.
BTW, why did Lyle Bauer have an axe to grind with you?
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I saw thru Bauer from almost the get-go. He was brought in after Cal Murphy and a few others had basically bankrupted the organization. Bauer was getting plaudits for forcing local companies to take 5 cents on the dollar for monies the Bombers owed them. Basically, printers, food suppliers, equipment companies, etc. At the same time, Bauer was lured from a fairly cozy job in Rosetown, Saskatchewan selling refried sh*t, aka fertilizer to farmers. Intuitively I knew Bauer wouldn't quit his feces-related job to hook up with a near-bankrupt organization - unless he had been personally guaranteed the money by provincial government decree. Indeed, he was!
After the team continued to flounder - but was doing a bit better at the box office, Bauer's antics as a dictator & authoritarian caught my attention. I started showing up on local radio call-in shows as 'Nasty Nate' talking football mostly but asking the Winnipeg football club for transparency regarding club executive salaries. Heck, we were able to obtain what players and coaches were making, so why not Bauer?
Once, Bauer was a guest on one of these stations. I phoned in and asked him how much he was making and whether it was guaranteed by the province. He hemmed & hawed for a few seconds before citing some antiquated legislation protecting him from releasing or disclosing such info.
I didn't buy it. Didn't buy it then. Don't buy it now. Bauer was lying like he never lied before.
Even Bob Irving, the recently retired Hall of Fame house broadcaster of the Bombers protected and shielded Bauer from further questions. I was also able to get Paul Friesen and other media scribes to write columns about this oddity. They wrote a couple but Bauer or his cronies must have got to them because they never followed up.
Once, I showed up at a late spring training camp session at the old Bomber stadium. Was talking to fellow fans, approx. 3 rows away was Lyle Bauer. I had a slight advantage - I knew what he looked like. He had no idea what I looked like. Until it was brought to his attention later - "Hey, Lyle that guy who's been hounding you about salaries was 2 or 3 rows away from you, why didn't you pound the crap outta him?"
Later that week, Bauer posted on a local bomber web site that he would have liked to meet me, and set me free with a hail of fists. I brought this threat to the attention of local media and the web site owner. Bauer later came out and withdrew his threat.
But I always knew he was like my Sword of Damocles - especially after my continued efforts over time had him fired like he's never been fired before.
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Quite the story LBS. So Bauer made a public apology to you?
He should thank his lucky stars that local law enforcement didn’t pay him a friendly visit…
Or did they?
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Players like Chuck Ealey paved the way for black quarterbacks who have the skills to be respected for those skills on a football field rather than the colour of their skin. Way too long for him to be inducted into the CFHF.
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Perhaps local authorities did visit Bauer, I don't know. I did not submit a complaint about his threats so it was good he issued a public apology. Prolly the first time in his godforsaken life Bauer has apologized for anything.
Suspect someone in government (Gary Doer) or the bomber board of directors found out Bauer was swash-bucklin' and told him to lower the room temperature.
As a side note - Bob Irving has been getting a ton of accolades for his service to the Bombers and radio station CJOB over his 50 yrs in radio. However, the one thing that will always bother me is how Irving became a servant of the football club, indentured to the service of bomber GMs, coaches, board members & prime players. Irving was perhaps the least independent thinker I've ever encountered over the years he covered the football team (ie. 1974 to 2021). He was not only Lyle Bauer's house-boy, he was owned and operated by lesser criminals like Jeff Reinbold (Irving was like a butler to Reinbold), Ray Jauch, Coach Cal, Hillbilly Jim, Joe Mack, and for the last 8 years Mountain Mike O'Shea & Kyle Walters, not to mention Wade Miller. Irving knew where his bread was buttered. But he didn't have to be on his knees for the better part of a half century immo.
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Great news about Mr. Ealey. I knew about him in college and as a radio fan of the Ti-cats. What some people do not know is that he was undefeated as a starter in high school AND college. Truly remarkable. If anyone knows about books written about Ealey other than the black QBs book ( I have it) please let me know. Thanks.
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Correction factor: 85 scholarships x 126 FBS-like schools back in the 1970s means 10,710 ball players would have been taken. Chuck was not among them in an era with NO scholarship limits.
Ohio State would offer scholarships to players so other schools could not snatch them up and use them against Ohio State. That was wide spread among the top schools and their conferences.
Was Chuck's high school grades poor?
My point is, he should have been taken up by someone with a full ride even if that meant being on the bench the entire time, which was long before 85 scholarships per school was in effect.
Your ability to deep dive and spin the stats is impressive
What isn’t is your inability to understand why Ealey belongs in the HOF
But he is…and that’s all that matters…and that’s that
Agreed. The documentary on him was inspiring.
Nice to finally see him get his kudos.
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Hello Everyone,
Here is a link to an article I wrote on CFL News Hub.
Enjoy
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It would be nice to somehow integrate CFL News Hub with 3DownNation and this forum in a more intimate and close way, right now it seems all very disconnected and disjointed unless I'm missing something?.... I realize these are different entities but still, hmmm.... I mean we are all on the same page, football fans based in Canada many of whom enjoy whatever form of gridiron as played in Canada. ?
I just get the feeling that the CFL only cares about the CFL and what it needs to do to survive without any consideration at all with gridiron as played in Canada at all levels. But I guess that's the schtick with a pro sports league, it's all about profit for the league and their owners, not about the health of the sport at all levels within the country. I get that.
Great work on Ealey and the college HOF .
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