Pulford Family Archive
There is a long list, somewhere, containing the names of hundreds of teenage football players who learned from a man who was more than just a coach.
Clarke Pulford is a legend.
Whether it was playing the gridiron game for the first time, or taking it the next step to the university level, making it to the pros, or just the experience of benefitting from his knowledge of the game, Pulford had an impact on people. He became known as one of the most successful and celebrated Canadian high school tackle football coaches of his time.
Football was important to Pulford, but so was a sound education.
A teacher at Northern Secondary School in Toronto for more than three decades, and with a profound interest in mixing academics and athletics to the betterment of students, Pulford was strict, but fair, and direct in communicating his expectations.
“When it comes to education, students expect teachers to be there to help when help is needed – and that’s our job,” said Pulford. “It’s no different in coaching. Players are important, need to be taught and treated so that they respond in a productive way. If not, we have to push aside our pompous attitude at times and work harder to make them better.”
Pulford was gentle, yet effective, exhibiting a perpetual smile, and promoted optimism while being obsessed with a student’s constant pursuit of excellence. His grand plan: success and development.
A multi-sport athlete in his day, talented and well skilled in football, hockey and lacrosse, Pulford attended Weston Collegiate, and then went on to study at the University of Western Ontario in London.
As the story goes, on the day he received his Degree in Physical and Health Education, Pulford, a talented and burly offensive lineman, would learn that the Saskatchewan Roughriders selected his name in the annual Canadian Football League draft.
That year, picked in the top 10 overall in the CFL, Pulford instead chose to hang up his competitive equipment and focus on a teaching career, and moved on to the Ontario College of Education. He would return to football, but this time, as a coach – a job he did with perfection, win or lose.
Pulford coached many players who would move on to outstanding university careers in Canada and the United States – and three: Tommy Europe, Neil Lumsden and Leif Pettersen, hit the spotlight of the CFL.
“It can be tough to teach a coach new tricks, but it’s easy to teach a young player,” said Pulford, who was also a member of the 1954 Ontario Hockey Association Junior B championship team from Woodbridge and, in 1970, coached the Lakeshore Maple Leafs Junior Minto Cup lacrosse champions.
“The kids knew you were the coach, the boss, the leader and they expected you to be up front and get them playing to the best of their capability. If they weren’t playing, they knew it was time to work harder and get better.”
Tommy Europe transferred from nearby North Toronto Collegiate because he wanted to benefit from Pulford and later moved on to Bishop’s University. He had a stint with New Orleans in the NFL and an 11-year career as a defensive back in the CFL with B.C (where he won a Grey Cup), Montreal and Winnipeg, before retiring in 2003 due to on-going nagging injuries. He is now a budding actor in Vancouver and star of two hit TV shows on Slice.
“Mr. Pulford was very focussed, kept us in line – and was a voice of reason,” said Europe, now an actor, stuntman, author, and one of Canada’s most recognized fitness and health coaches. “I learned so much from him and became a better player, and a better person. I can remember the team atmosphere that he created – and what really impressed me is that he taught you more than just football, he taught you about life and to set goals.”
Watching players, and noticing their mental miscues, Pulford’s personality was such that he would fling an important stare that always led to adjustments. But when it came to toasting success of players, no one marvelled and did it with more enthusiasm than him.
Veteran high school football coach Clarke Pulford, who won 11 City of Toronto high school senior football championships (Pulford Family Archive).
At Northern, the school has a history of Pulford’s success with football teams that dominated the Toronto District Secondary Schools Athletic Association with 11 league championships, including a Metro Bowl title, in his 35-year coaching career.
In 2012, recognizing his personal accomplishments in sport and his success with student athletes, officials revamped Northern’s outdoor facilities with a new name – “Clarke Pulford Field”.
At 83 years of age, Pulford has had some health challenges. He had a leg amputated, as a result of an infection, during his days at Northern. Now, living in Stouffville with his wife, Joan, Pulford is blind. In the past year, he twice broke his femur – the longest and strongest bone in his body.
Neil Lumsden has fond memories of his 10 years as a CFL running back with Toronto, Hamilton and Edmonton – and playing on three Grey Cup teams. But the former University of Ottawa grad, and all-star university player, remembers “those two special years when I played for Coach Pulford”.
“You knew he was one of those guys that would help you in football,” said Lumsden, a former Athlete of the Year at Northern and now Director of Athletics at Brock University in St. Catharines. “I can look back and say that (Pulford) inspired me. He was my first introduction to mental and physical toughness in sport – a guy who ran a tight program, one who challenged me to always get better and was a key part of my football success.”
