did you know Don Maynard NY Jet great was a ticat?

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
#1

Trivia for winter... an ex Ticat was Broadway Joe Namath's bets receiver

One of the chief joys of New York Jet fans during the 1960s was that the player who caught a lot of long passes from quarterback Joe Namath had been cut by the hated New York Giants. His name was Don Maynard. Maynard played at Texas Western College and was with the Giants in 1958, but caught only 5 passes.

After being released, he went to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League for one season, :rockin: then signed with the New York Titans of the new American Football League in 1960.

He became a starter immediately and caught a total of 171 passes in his first three seasons. In 1963, the team was renamed the Jets and Namath became the starting quarterback. During the next ten years, Maynard averaged more than 20 yards per catch four times.

Maynard's biggest game was the AFL championship playoff against the Oakland Raiders in 1968, when he caught 6 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-23 victory. The Jets won on to become the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl.

The fast, 6-foot-1, 185-pound Maynard led the AFL in touchdown receptions with 14 in 1965; in yardage with 1,434 in 1967; and in average yards per catch with 20.2 in 1967 and 22.8 in 1968. He played the 1973 season with the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring.

During his 15 professional seasons, Maynard caught 633 passes for 11,834 yards, an 18.7 average, and 18 touchdowns. Although he was named to the All-AFL team only once, in 1969, he was chosen as an all-time All-AFL wide receiver.

and now you knwo the rest of the story?

any one else out there with interesting trivia ab out ex tabbies?

#2

Great read smokey, had no idea about Maynard playing with the Cats.

#3

George Blanda,the old Raider qb and kicker was briefly with the Cats. He,like Maynard,is enshrined in Canton. Other Hall of Famers with CFL connections:Fred Biletnikoff, Len Dawson, Jim Finks, Bud Grant, Forrest Gregg, John Henry Johnson, George Trafton, and Marv Levy.
Pat Lynch (the old guy in section 7) :slight_smile:

#4

yr right... about the NFL Hall of Fame and canadian connections but you forgot Warren Moon..

who in addition to the Eskimos of the CFL had an NFL career which spanned Oilers, Viklngs, Seahawks and KC Chiefs..

Despite spending his first six professional seasons in the CFL, during which time he led the Eskimos to 5 Grey Cups, Moon ranked third all-time in NFL passing yardage and fourth in touchdown passes thrown at the time of his retirement.

now for another ex Tabbie:

Gerry McDougall of UCLA played for the Hamilton Tiger Cats from 1957 through 1961. In 1962, he played 14 games for the Toronto Argonauts (does anyone know how he got THERE!?! :thdn: , then played four with the American Football League's San Diego Chargers.

McDougall was with the Chargers from 1962 through 1964, then returned to Hamilton. Playing until 1966, he set the Ticats all-time rushing record of 4,270 yards, until it was broken in 2004 by Troy Davis. :cowboy:

#5

Gerry was somehow involved with a trade for the incomparable Cookie Gilchrist, was he not? Sorry my memory isn't what it used to be............

#6

Gerry was traded to the Argos for Bobby Kuntz

"Bobby was pound for pound the toughest player on two legs," said former teammate Angelo Mosca. "He and Ted Page were the toughest two players I ever saw."

Mosca recalls one game in Calgary when Kuntz hit the line so hard his helmet split.

"I never saw that before."

Said former Ticat linebacker Zeno Karcz, "some guys are tough, but Bobby was fearless."

Kuntz announced his retirement in 1963 but returned 10 games into the season. He retired again in 1964 but came back for the last four games, replacing the injured Herb Paterra. He retired for good in '66.

#7

Who is the most recent ex-Ticat to win the Super Bowl? Cornerback Nick Harper, who played with Indy for six seasons and won it with them in 2007. He seems to have another shot this year with the Titans. Harper played one year with Cats, starting all 18 games in 2000 and once earning "defensive player of the week" honours.

#8

Felix Carl Wright (born June 22, 1959 in Carthage, Missouri), is a former professional American football player who played safety from 1985-1992 for the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League.

Undrafted out of Drake University, Wright played for 3 years in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. His best year was 1984, when he was named an All-Star and intercepted 2 passes in Hamilton's 72nd Grey Cup game loss. He signed with the Browns in 1985. His greatest NFL highlight came on a Monday night game in 1987 when he intercepted two passes for 108 yards and one touchdown versus the Los Angeles Rams. In 1989, he led the NFL in interceptions with 9.