He was before my time but condolonces to Wally’s family.
Perhaps some of you older gentlemen remember him? Any interesting stories to share?
My sincerest condolences to Wally’s family. He was the pivot for the Blue Bombers in the late 60s after Bud Grant bolted to the NFL w/ John Michaels, Leo Lewis and Kenny Ploen retired and the dynasty was in the rubber room.
Wally came in, trying to salvage an experiment, The John Schneider Experience, an experiment that went savagely wrong. Wally was an improvement but by then, the Bombers sinking faster than the Titanic. Only a few individuals stood out, the remainder were recycled hobos or canucks in over their heads.
Wally fought hard but the surrounding cast was the real problem. The sordid history of the United States of Bad Imports.
Also played for the Argos…one of the few scrambling QB’s at the time. Came to the Cats for a saeason or 2 after the Argos.
I seem to recall us picking up Gabler in a trade with Toronto mid season in either ‘70’ or ‘71’ as a replacement for an injured Joe Zuger .
I remember his time in Toronto. Wally certainly made the rounds after Toronto - Winnipeg and Hamilton a few times.
Playing Career:
| Year | League | Team | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | CFL | Toronto Argonauts | 14 | 0 |
| 1967 | CFL | Toronto Argonauts | 14 | 14 |
| 1968 | CFL | Toronto Argonauts | 14 | 14 |
| 1969 | CFL | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 13 | 12 |
| 1969 | CFL | Toronto Argonauts | 3 | 0 |
| 1970 | CFL | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 9 | 7 |
| 1970 | CFL | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 5 | 0 |
| 1971 | CFL | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 8 | 0 |
| 1972 | CFL | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 | CFL | Toronto Argonauts | 10 | 0 |
I suppose that, based on the numbers, there are those who would describe his career as being ‘mediocre’.
He played before my time but based on today’s average CFL career (3 years), I’d say he was well above average.
It’s funny MJ but if you look at the QB’s from that era as compared to today and compare them strictly on stats there really is no comparison . If most QB’s today had the stats of
a Lancaster or a Zuger or a Gabler or a Wade for example they wouldn’t be in the league for very long . Most of them had barely over a 50% completion rating and most of them threw way more ints then TD’s over their careers .
In the old days quarterbacks didn’t have plays written on armbands or headsets. Many called their own plays. It’s very hard to compare stats.
Agreed. I generally dislike comparing eras and like to compare against the competition they faced. Obviously coaching levels and off-season training is different today too.
I think dbs could really clutch and grab receivers all over the field back then no? I’m sure that has something to do with it.
The DB’s all seemed to be ballhawks then as compared to today . Not unusual to see multiple guys around the league with double digit ints or very close to it on the season back then. I remember Al Brenner getting 9 in ‘71’ and 15 in ‘72’ for the Cats . Garney snagged 10 in the ‘70’ season . Lewis Porter had 7 in ‘74’ . Don Sutherin had 11 in ‘61’ , 8 in ‘62’ and 10 in ‘69’ .
These are just Cat players for a reference but it was the same league wide . You simply just don’t see numbers like this anymore . Most years now sees 5 or 6 ints at best leading the league at the end of most seasons .
When receivers hit the line running and you can barely touch them it’s a huge offensive advantage. Basically what the league wanted - a wide open offensive show that we really saw explode in the 80s. Makes you appreciate dbs like Jamal Peters, Deatrick Nichols, Kabien Ento all the more with the way they can still shut down receivers.
I would also say a lot of offences have moved to the short underneath passing game - quick throws of 5-6 yards are a lot easier on a quarterback and very difficult to defend. Definitely skews the completion percentage - if your qb doesn’t complete at least 60% of his passes these days you’ve got problems.
I question the 1966 stats indicating that Wally never started any games. If he didn’t who did start all games for the Argos that year?
Wally was replaced by a up and coming QB, Tom Wilkinson. Wally was traded to Winnipeg for Dave Ramey. Toronto converted Ramey from a RB to a DB. As indicated Wally had a few times with Hamilton. Mostly to replace Zuger who seemed to prone to injuries after his 1969 split finger incident in Regina. Zuger ended the 1971 season with a career ending separated shoulder on the last game of the season. Zuger retired from Hamilton and gave the Detroit Lions a chance as a punter. It did not work out. So Wally was the No 1 QB in Hamilton to start the 1972 season and game 1 against Regina resulted in a last play FG by a 19 year old rookie, Ian Sunter. Things did not go well for Wally in the next few games and was replaced in game 2 in BC by another rookie QB named Chuck Ealey. Jerry Williams, Hamilton’s coach decided that Chuck had the necessary tools to be the starter. Wally was let go. Chuck didn’t win his first 3 games, but then won 10 straight to finish first in the East, defeating Ottawa in the 2 game total point 30-27, then defeated Regina in the GC the same way they won game 1, last play FG by Ian Sunter, 13-10. Wally would never be on a GC participating team although close with the Argos in 1968 and Hamilton in 1970 and 1971.
Yes! I agree, that must be an error by the Stats Crew dudes. Thanks for pointing that out. The only other Argo QBs in 1966 were “old-timer” Eagle Day (traded to Toronto by Calgary) and the rookie Bill Van Burkleo (who hardly saw any action). My guess is that he probably started MOST, if not all, of their games in 1966. Here the passing stats for the 1966 season:
I did a little research as I thought Peter Liske might have started the season in Toronto, but a quick look at google shows him in Calgary for all of 1966.