CFL.ca Staff
OTTAWA — Chris Flynn, a record-setting quarterback, and the late Gino Fracas, a legendary coach and administrator, will officially become Friday night the first individuals in decades to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for their accomplishments in the Canadian university game.
The duo was announced last February as part of the Hall’s 2011 induction class, along with former CFL players Ken Lehmann, Danny McManus, Joe Montford and Terry Vaughn, as well as CFL coaching legend Don Matthews.
The week-long induction festivities, hosted by the Calgary Stampeders, kicked off on Wednesday and are set to conclude on Saturday with the annual Hall of Fame Game between the BC Lions and the Stampeders. The busts of the seven inductees will be unveiled at a press conference this afternoon (2 p.m. MT), with the Hall of Fame Induction Dinner following at 7 p.m. MT at the TELUS Convention Centre.
Flynn, who starred at Saint Mary’s University from 1987 to 1990 and is the only three-time winner of the Hec Crighton Trophy as CIS player of the year, will join the Hall in the players category. He becomes the first amateur player to be inducted since Gordon Perry in 1970, and the first to be selected based solely on his Canadian university exploits.
Fracas, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 79, will be inducted posthumously as a builder. Following his playing career at the University of Western Ontario and with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, he was a CIS head coach for over two decades at the University of Alberta and at the University of Windsor, where he founded the Lancers football program.
After decades of inducting only professional players and builders, the Hall is going back to honouring individuals from the amateur ranks. Based on recommendations from its amateur sub-committee, one amateur player and one builder could be inducted annually.
“The Hall of Fame represents the football community of Canada, and we are returning to our original mandate,” said Mark DeNobile, executive director of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum. “Our message to the fans of football is that we have listened to our stakeholders and going forward will do our best to fulfill that mandate.”
“It is an honour for CIS to be part of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame recognition,” said CIS chief executive officer, Marg McGregor. “It offers outstanding visibility to the deserving inductees, and it is great to see the Hall recognize the important role of university football in Canada.”
A native of Buckingham, Que., Flynn moved to Halifax in 1987 to begin his university career at Saint Mary’s and instantly became one of the most dominant players in the country. After helping the Huskies claim their first conference banner in 13 years in his rookie campaign, he guided them to three more Atlantic conference titles and a pair of appearances in the Vanier Cup national final over the next three seasons.
Flynn owns the top two single-season performances in CIS history for passing touchdowns (30 in 1989, 27 in 1990) and two decades after his final university game, still holds the CIS career mark of 87 TD passes, despite playing only four seasons. He remains the only player in history to receive three Hec Crighton Trophies as the most outstanding player in Canadian university football.
“Chris is one of the best athletes to ever come out of Saint Mary’s and arguably the best football player to ever come out of the CIS,” said Steve Sarty, Saint Mary’s director of athletics and recreation. “His accomplishments are unmatched; winning three consecutive Hec Crighton Trophies and the excitement he brought to Saint Mary’s is legendary.”
Fracas earned the nod into the Hall for his coaching accomplishments, although he also had a spectacular playing career. At Western Ontario, he was a three-time all-star and two-time Yates Cup champion between 1951 and 1954. As a CFL player in Edmonton, he captured back-to-back Grey Cups in 1955 and 1956.
After retiring from the CFL, he took over the head coaching position at the University of Alberta in 1963. Fracas led the Golden Bears to three league championships over the next four years including a berth in the inaugural Canadian College Bowl final (now the Vanier Cup) in 1965, where his Bears dropped a 14-7 decision to the Toronto Varsity Blues. He then returned to his hometown of Windsor, Ont., and in 1968 became the first head coach in Lancers history, a position he held until 1986. A two-time OUAA West coach of the year (1976, 1977), he guided the Lancers to the Central Canada Intercollegiate championship in 1969 and a share of the Yates Cup title in 1975.
Every year since 1988, CIS has presented the Gino Fracas Award to an outstanding volunteer coach, in honour of the former player, coach, administrator and University of Windsor professor.
“We are thrilled that Gino’s legacy will carry on through his induction into the Hall of Fame,” said Windsor director of athletics, Gord Grace. “He was an icon at the University of Windsor and his contributions to the sport of football were truly outstanding.”
“On behalf of the Fracas family, we are extremely pleased to see Gino inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said son Mark Fracas. “I think his colleagues and friends would agree with me when I say that our father was an exceptional coach and innovator. His induction to the Hall was always a dream of his and now that dream has come true”.
