Rob Vanstone: Snap count — Antonio Pipkin is the latest of 300-plus Roughriders quarterbacks

Newly acquired quarterback Antonio Pipkin, who is poised to practise with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the first time, is already No. 1 — at least in one sense. 

He is, as far as we can ascertain, the first Roughrider to emanate from tiny Tiffin University. 

As well, Pipkin is the 303rd documented quarterback in the history of the Roughriders, dating back to the franchise’s formation as the Regina Rugby Club (RRC) in 1910. 

Pipkin was acquired from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on the weekend for Global punter Kaare Vedvik. If Pipkin is activated in time for Sunday’s date with the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium), he will become the 164th quarterback to wear a RRC, Regina Roughriders or Saskatchewan Roughriders uniform during a regular-season game. 

The other quarterbacks on the list of 300-plus names include prospects, draftees or anyone whose contractual rights have been owned by the Green and White. 

That includes David Archer, who was chosen first overall in the 1997 Ottawa Rough Riders dispersal draft but never played a down for Saskatchewan. 

The criteria also applies to Rip Ripstein, whom the Roughriders chose in the fifth round (39th overall) of the 1966 CFL Draft. 

Ripstein, as it turned out, never attended training camp with the Roughriders. He did, however, play a role in Saskatchewan sports history. 

After playing university football for McGill, Ripstein moved to the junior ranks and joined the Montreal-based Notre Dame de Grace Maple Leafs. 

Ripstein led the Maple Leafs to the Canadian junior final against the Regina Rams, who proceeded to win their first national championship. 

On Nov. 11, 1966 at Saskatoon’s Gordie Howe Bowl, the Rams downed Notre Dame de Grace 29-14.  

That also happened to be the score 15 days later, when Saskatchewan defeated Ottawa at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. That 15-point win gave Saskatchewan its first Grey Cup title, after a 56-year wait. 

More than a half-century earlier, the RRC hit the turf for the first time. 

The 1910 rugby side used three players at quarterback over the course of four games, all of which were played against the Moose Jaw Tigers. 

Allan Ferguson was the starter on opening day (Oct. 1), when the RRC fell 16-6 at the Moose Jaw Baseball Grounds — where the Moose Jaw Public Library is now situated. 

Billy Ecclestone took over behind centre for Game 2, won 7-6 by Moose Jaw on Oct. 8. The game was played at Dominion Park, near the current location of Regina’s Value Village. 

Charlie Galvin started the RRC’s final two games of 1910. After being blanked 38-0 in Moose Jaw on Oct. 15, Regina fell 13-6 at home eight days later. 

Thankfully — with profuse apologies to ardent fans of the Moose Jaw Tigers — the losing streak would be halted at four. 

That brings us to the RRC’s first victory, which doubles as the lead item in this eruption of Roughriders quarterbacking trivia! 

A BURST OF FIRSTS 

•  First victorious quarterback in franchise history: Player-coach Fred Ritter, who guided the RRC to a 15-11, season-opening conquest of Moose Jaw on Sept. 23, 1911 at Dominion Park. (I covered that game.)
•  First Roughriders quarterback to start in a Grey Cup game: Fritz Sandstrom (1923, versus Queen’s). Sandstrom also took first-team snaps in 1928, when the Roughriders returned to the national final (versus the Hamilton Tigers).
•  First Roughriders quarterback to start in three Grey Cup games: Angie Mitchell (1929, 1930, 1931). Ron Lancaster (1966, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1976) and Darian Durant (2009, 2010, 2013) are the only other RRC/Roughriders pivots to make three or more Grey Cup starts. (Mitchell was also on the roster for the 1932 Grey Cup game, for which Austin DeFrate was the Roughriders’ primary pivot.)
• First Roughrider to throw a forward pass in a Grey Cup game: Jack (Jersey) Campbell, who in 1929 also became the first pitcher in Grey Cup history, period. Campbell launched nine throws in that game, completing eight. Mitchell threw two passes.
•  First Roughrider to throw a home-field touchdown pass: Fred Goodman — to Mitchell on Oct. 24, 1931 versus the Saskatoon Quakers at Regina’s exhibition grounds.
• First Roughrider to throw a touchdown pass in a Grey Cup game: Walter (Oke) Olson, who found Steve Adkins for a score during the 1934 national final against the Sarnia Imperials. Olson also ran for a touchdown in the Roughriders’ 20-12 loss.

YOU’VE “GOTTA” READ THIS! 

• Last Roughriders quarterback to wear No. 23 before Lancaster arrived in 1963: Dave Sarette, 1962. Sarette’s longest completion, fittingly enough, was for 23 yards. His lone TD pass was caught by Jack Gotta (Aug. 6, 1962 versus Calgary), who also snared Lancaster’s first scoring strike as a Roughrider (Aug. 23, 1962, also against the Stampeders).

COLLEGE CONNECTIONS 

• Only Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to spend any time with the Roughriders: Pat Sullivan (Auburn, 1971), whose first practice with the team was on Sept. 21, 1977. Five days later, he returned home to Birmingham, Ala.
•  Only Roughriders quarterback to appear on a football card without ever playing a single down for the team: Major Harris. He was added to the practice roster on Aug. 18, 1991 and released just 11 days later. Within that period, the former West Virginia star was deemed to be card-worthy, presumably because he owned a big name in football circles.

HALL PASS 

•  Only (short-term) Roughriders quarterback to be born in China: Former USC Trojans star Frank Hall, who attended Saskatchewan’s training camp in 1958. He was born in Tsingtao on Sept. 23, 1935.

NAME GAME 

• Highest Scrabble score by a Roughriders quarterback: 1970 draftee and training-camp attendee George Kunyckyj, whose surname is worth 30 points.
•  Longest name by a quarterback: Terrance J. Williams Bennett (practice roster, 2000; training camp, 2001).
• Most frequent surname: Smith, unsurprisingly. See: Harold Smith (five games in 1985; eight in 1986), Keith Smith (brief appearance at training camp in 2000; 16 games in 2001), Dylen Smith (training camp, 2003), Kent Smith (training camp, 2010) and Brett Smith (18 games, 2015).

WILDER WORLD OF SPORTS 

•  Longest gain by a quarterback on his only touchdown pass as a Roughrider: Craig Juntunen (96 yards to Willie Wilder; Sept. 10, 1979 versus Calgary).
• Second-longest gain by a quarterback on his only touchdown pass as a Roughrider: Lloyd Patterson (70 yards to Wilder; Oct. 7, 1979 versus Ottawa).

LIFE AFTER QUARTERBACKING 

• Quarterbacks who went into officiating: Gary Lane (seven regular-season games and three playoff contests, 1970; training camp, 1971) was the side judge in the 1989 and 1999 Super Bowls. Jim McKean (primarily a punter for six games, 1966) was a Major League Baseball umpire from 1974 to 2001. He received World Series assignments in 1979, 1985 and 1995.
•  Another Roughriders connection to the 1989 Super Bowl: Cincinnati Bengals head coach Sam Wyche was the older brother of Bubba Wyche, who was Ron Lancaster’s backup in 1969, 1971 and 1972.
• One more such connection: Mike Norseth, a reserve quarterback with the Bengals during the 1989 Super Bowl, was wooed by the Roughriders after graduating from the University of Kansas. Even after being a seventh-round draftee by Cleveland in 1986, Norseth gave serious consideration to the Roughriders’ offer before opting for the Browns.

JUMP SHOTS 

• Roughriders connections to the NBA: (1) Frank Tripucka starred at quarterback for Saskatchewan for much of the 1950s. His son, Kelly Tripucka, played in the NBA from 1981 to 1991. (2) Shea Patterson, a current Roughrider, is the grandson of former NBA player George Patterson (Detroit Pistons, 1967-68). Kelly Tripucka played for the Pistons from 1981 to 1986.
• One more hoops connection: Jack Hartman (14 games, 1950) was an immensely successful basketball head coach at Coffeyville Community College (1955 to 1962), Southern Illinois (1962 to 1970) and Kansas State (1970 to 1986). The latter school is based in Manhattan, Kan., where Jack Hartman Drive can be found near Fred Bramlage Coliseum.

OH, BROTHER! 

•  Brother act #1: Randy Mattingly (16 games in 1974 and 1975; training camp, 1976) is the older brother of New York Yankees legend Don Mattingly.
•  Brother act #2: Tom Flacco (training camp, 2021) is a sibling of Joe Flacco, who piloted the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2013.
•  Brother act #3: Fred McNair, who dressed for 14 games with the Roughriders of 1992, preceded his brother (Steve) as a star quarterback at Alcorn State. Steve McNair called signals for the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 Super Bowl. After the 2003 season, McNair and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) were named the NFL’s co-MVPs.
• Brother act #4: Jimmy Klingler (training camp, 1994) is the younger brother of David Klingler, who was drafted sixth overall by Cincinnati in 1990. David Klingler was the 1990 recipient of the Sammy Baugh Trophy, which is awarded on an annual basis to the NCAA’s top passer. (Baugh turned down a lucrative offer to become the Roughriders’ Head Coach in 1958.)
• Other Roughriders connections to the Sammy Baugh Trophy: Sullivan (14-day trial, 1977) won the award in 1970. Miami’s Steve Walsh (Quarterbacks Coach, 2018 and 2019) was the 1988 recipient. Three other Baugh winners: Brigham Young’s Steve Sarkisian (Roughriders, 1997 to 1999), 1996; Hawaii’s Colt Brennan (training camp, 2012), 2006; and, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell (practice roster, 2009), 2007.

ONE PLAYER, 495 YARDS 

• In the interest of trivia, we conclude today with another Pipkin item. On Nov. 12, 2016, he led Tiffin to a 56-7 victory over Northern Michigan. In addition to completing 27 of 29 passes for 292 yards and five TDs, Pipkin rushed 11 times for 205 yards. He reached the end zone on runs of 73 and 13 yards in his final game with the Tiffin Dragons. Has there even been a better quarterbacking stat line? Discuss …