Henley should be a shoe in. He has to be at the very least the best player Hamilton has ever had. Especially being a walk on. Ralph Zazio really knew a great player when he seen one.
Tempo:
Good post. I agree with your assessment of Garney Henley. I have not seen anyone who could do as much on the football field as he could.
But...please...its Sazio. NOT Zazio!!!!!
8) While I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly regarding Garney Henley, Ralph Sazio was not the head coach when Henley arrived in Hamilton in 1960 !!! The head man in those days was Jim Trimble, and Garney was sent directly to Hamilton from Green Bay on the advice of the great Vince Lombardi !!!
Garney Henley was a walk on! Wow, didn't know that, excellent info there tempo.
Henley certainly could do it all.Besides being an all pro db with blazing speed,he was remarkable on offense.In one Grey Cup ,from the fullback position ( he was only about 160lb) he ran for a 74 yd td up the middle!
10 CFL all-star selections! According to my quick scan of the nominees,that’s second only to Willie Pless with 11.
But out of curiosity: what import player is not a “walk-on”? It’s not like we draft them.
Yeah, he was one Cat I hated with a vengeance. Man he was good. If I remember correctly, he even played a bit at QB. You rarely see players like that anymore.
An Argo fan
:thup: Garney was one of the best player's in the CFL a true gentlman ---- some players to-day should take some notes. (mr. g ass) :thup: :thup: :thup:
One of a kind....
My favourite football player of all time. I got his autograph when I was a kid, about 1966, still have it. He was an awesome two-way player, a threat from anywhere on the field.
I stand to be corrected, Your right it was Sazio with an S. He was GM at the time when Henley knocked on his door. And no they are not all walk on, as they get invited to camp or for a try out which Henley was not invited.
8) Sorry, but you stand to be corrected again !! Ralph Sazio was not the GM in 1960, it was Jake Gaudaur. Sazio was one of Jim Trimbles assistant coaches at that time !!!!!!
As I mentioned earlier Henley was sent directly to Hamilton from the Packers, on the strong recomendation of Vince Lombardi to Jim Trimble !!!!!
Garney Henley has an autobiography out. I believe it's title is "Paper Tiger"? I read it a few years back. Anyone interested in what the Cats were like back then should pick up a copy. Lots of good inside stuff in it. Without a doubt, IMHO, Garney Henley was the best player this team has ever seen.
I watched Garney Henley play for his entire 16 years, and all of them, as a Ticat.
Henley could do it all and better than anyone else before or since, in my humble opinion.
He is the reason I clung to the CFL for my entire life, always hoping to see
his all around talents duplicated, but this never happened and probably never will.
Whether he was on offense or defense, he was a force to be reckoned with and whoever said that they thought he may have even gone in a couple of times as a quarterback was absolutely correct. He did, and he performed well.
He exuded humility and gave his all every time he set foot on the field.
If it weren't for his meagre 160 lbs., Vince Lombardi would have hung on to him.
Garney Henley will certainly make the top 50 list of best all time CFLers, but in my opinion, he superseeds all players, past and present as number one.
My second pick would be Jackie Parker.
[quote="Tipper As I mentioned earlier Henley was sent directly to Hamilton from the Packers, on the strong recomendation of Vince Lombardi to Jim Trimble !!!!!
[/quote]
My memory of the story was that he was sent to the Hammer as (unrequired) compensation for them having signed a Cat player. This was back when ethics played a bigger role in sport.
The name of his book was, I believe, "A Gentleman and A Tiger". I never read it as it was one of those things you mean to buy at the time and never get around to. Paper Lion (Tiger) was George Plimpton's book.
My earliest memories of watching the Cats on TV include when they were behind late in the game he always went in at flanker. Garney always seemed to come through with the big catch for the winning td.
In my opinion nobody greater.
Thanks Mike. You are absolutely correct. The book explains a lot about how Garney got here. I also agree that there was nobody better at the game than Garney Henley. That being said, we all know it will be an Argo that gets the nod for #1.
Never heard of the book but I put in a request to our library. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Thanks folks
An Argo fan