Robservations: Catching up with Craig Ellis … welcoming a member of a Roughriders royal family to Mosaic Stadium … and a very pane-ful experience
Craig Ellis wore many hats — and two different helmets — for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
There was a logo change between his two full seasons with the Green and White (1984 and 1985).
The difference he noticed on Friday, when he dropped by Mosaic Stadium and watched part of the Roughriders’ practice, was even greater.
Ellis, remember, was based at Taylor Field. As much as we will always love the ol’ ballyard, it is barely comparable to the CFL team’s current confines in terms of appearance and amenities. Nonetheless, a return to Riderville produced a comfortable, warm feeling.
“As soon as I stepped on the field, I felt right at home,” said Ellis, 62, who now splits his time between Edmonton and Los Angeles.
The end zone was like a second home when Ellis played for the Roughriders. He scored 29 touchdowns over the two seasons he spent here as an all-purpose running back.
Only Ken Carpenter (32) and George Reed (31) have scored more TDs for Saskatchewan in back-to-back seasons.
Ellis was named the Roughriders’ Most Outstanding Player in 1984 after rushing for 690 yards, catching 91 passes for 871 yards, and returning 42 kickoffs for 1,040 yards. He scored eight touchdowns along the ground and also reached the end zone on four receptions (one of which was a last-second game-winner).
He followed up in 1985 with 17 touchdowns — the second-highest total in franchise history. Carpenter set the club record of 18 in 1955. Campbell scored 17 TDs, all on receptions, in 1966.
Ellis matched Campbell’s TD total in 1985 by rushing for 14 scores and adding three majors via the aerial route.
Additionally, Ellis caught 102 passes to tie a Roughriders single-season record that had been set by Joey Walters in 1982.
All these years later, Ellis is one of only four Saskatchewan players to reach triple digits in receptions.
Don Narcisse established the team record of 123 in 1995. Five years later, Curtis Marsh joined Walters and Ellis in the exclusive 102-catch fraternity.
An especially intriguing element of Ellis’s story pertains to his reinvention as an elite slotback.
His tenure in Saskatchewan concluded on June 20, 1986, when he and centre Willie Thomas were dealt to the Toronto Argonauts for defensive lineman Nick Hebeler and receiver Greg Holmes.
That brings us to another eye-popping stat: In 1986, Ellis played in 19 — yes, 19 — regular-season games.
He scored 10 touchdowns (of course) in 10 games with the Argonauts before being released. He quickly landed on his feet with the Miami Dolphins, for whom he played in another nine contests.
His NFL journey continued in 1987 when he joined the Los Angeles Raiders.
After a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys in 1988, Ellis did not return to professional football until he reported to Edmonton’s training camp in the spring of 1989.
At the time, erstwhile Roughriders Head Coach Joe Faragalli was the field boss in the Alberta capital. He had the wisdom to move Ellis to slotback, a position at which No. 33 enjoyed a spectacular four-year run.
1989: 80 catches, 1,264 yards, nine TDs.
1990: 106 catches, 1,654 yards, 17 TDs.
1991: 66 catches, 1,133 yards, 10 TDs.
1992: 62 catches, 1,018 yards, 10 TDs.
The 1990 season really jumps off the page when you consider that Ellis exceeded 100 catches and scored 17 touchdowns for the second time as a CFLer — and for the first time at a new position.
He celebrated another first on Friday, when he was introduced to new Mosaic Stadium, and cheerfully applied his signature to the Roughriders’ alumni wall.
He plans to return to the alumni lounge on Sunday, well before the 5 p.m. kickoff of a game between the Roughriders and B.C. Lions.
There is, after all, a lot of catching up to do.
HUGH, PART 2
Roughriders tight end Jim Worden used to joke that quarterback Ron Lancaster had a favourite song: “I Only Have Eyes For Hugh.”
The amended lyrics were certainly applicable on Aug. 20, 1965, when Campbell was the only receiver to catch a pass from Lancaster when the Lions visited Taylor Field.
The 58th anniversary of that game is on Sunday, when the Lions will once again oppose the Roughriders in Regina.
And it just so happens that Rick Campbell, Hugh’s son, is the Lions’ Head Coach.
“Gluey Hughie” was responsible for three of the Roughriders’ five receptions when they played to a 10-10 tie with the Lions during a Friday night game in 1965.
Lancaster’s other two completions were to running backs. George Reed caught one pass for 19 yards. Sherman Lewis, who went on to become an assistant coach on four Super Bowl-winning teams, added a two-yard reception.
On the day, Reed carried the football 17 times for 106 yards and one touchdown. He finished the 1965 season with 1,768 rushing yards — a long-standing team record — and as the Roughriders’ first recipient of the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award.
Campbell also enjoyed a statistical peak in 1965, posting career highs in catches (73) and receiving yards (1,329).
Even as I write this, Worden’s quip resonates.
In a 1965 pre-season game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Campbell was responsible for all seven of the Roughriders’ completions, which produced 99 yards.
When the Roughriders travelled to Winnipeg for an Aug. 25, 1965 game, Lancaster found Campbell eight times for 206 yards. The combined receiving totals for everyone else on the visiting side: Three catches, 38 yards.
There was more of the same on Sept. 5, 1966, when the Montreal Alouettes visited the Roughriders, back in the days when a Labour Day weekend matchup with the Blue Bombers was not automatic.
The Alouettes were powerless to defend the pass as the Roughriders went 14-for-15 for 247 yards and three TDs.
All three scoring strikes were to Campbell, who made 11 catches for 194 yards.
After one reception, Campbell lateralled the ball to halfback Paul Dudley, who extended the play by five yards.
Dudley was also conspicuous when he found Campbell for a 28-yard TD toss on a trick play.
Lancaster handled the rest of the aerial attack, going 13-for-14 for 219 yards.
In the years ahead, Lancaster would visit Regina as a head coach with Edmonton and Hamilton.
Campbell also coached at his old haunt, Taylor Field, while employed as Edmonton’s field boss from 1977 to 1983. (He later served as Edmonton’s GM from 1986 to 1997 and, in that capacity, brought Ellis back to the CFL.)
And now, we have the pleasure of welcoming Rick Campbell — another member of a Roughriders royal family — to Mosaic Stadium for the third time as a Lion.
A TIME FOR REFLECTION
I felt the pane.
That’s what happens when you walk into a floor-to-ceiling window, face-first.
I was glassy-eyed, as it were, following a collision that occurred while I was attempting to leave Mosaic Stadium’s players’ lounge early on Thursday afternoon.
A lengthy and revealing interview with quarterback Trevor Harris had just concluded. After extending to Trevor my profuse thanks for his time and insights — he truly is a spectacular person — I turned toward what I presumed to be an exit and …
BOOOOOOM!
To everyone’s relief, the glass was OK — albeit a little smudged.
You can see, quite clearly, where I left my DNA on a glassy wall that, as it turns out, is a yard or two to the left of something that is commonly known as a door.
Trevor, bless his heart, was most concerned.
But, hey, these things happen. Football is a contact sport, correct?
After shaking off the cobwebs, I valiantly located the door (see: progress) and made my way to our fourth-floor offices.
As I bounced from desk to desk, disruptively telling everyone the same silly story about how I walked into a pane of glass, I detected mild discomfort.
The head ached, albeit just a tad — principally because the impact had pushed my glasses against my face, with the sad consequence being a welt on the bridge of my newly compressed nose.
Clearly, it was time for a consultation, so I reached out to Greg Mayer — who joined the Roughriders earlier this year after spending 25-plus years in the Western Hockey League, with the Moose Jaw Warriors (1997-2003) and Regina Pats (2003-23).
Because Greg is the Head Athletic Therapist, I figured that he was uniquely qualified to provide athletic therapy for my head.
Me (warbling): “Greg, should I see a doctor?”
Greg: “At your age, maybe I’d go to an optometrist. That would be the first thing I’d look at. Get a map. Get a bearing on your surroundings. Is that too blunt?”
Me: “Not at all. Give it to me straight, Greg. What do you diagnose?”
Greg: “Hurt feelings? Hurt pride? I’ve got to send my injury list to the CFL right now: ‘Rob Vanstone, day-to-day, with hurt feelings.’ ”
Me: “Have you ever heard of such an injury?”
Greg: “True story — with some self-deprecation. I did it in Red Deer in 2016. We were playing the Rebels in the playoffs. Me, Struchie (Pats Assistant Coach Dave Struch) and (Equipment Manager) Gord Cochran were going for coffee before Game 7. I was carrying the tray. I put my Splenda and cream in there, took a turn, and walked straight into the glass. There was coffee everywhere. So don’t feel bad. You’re not the first person.”
Me: “Speaking from personal experience, then, is there a form of therapy that you would recommend and one that has worked for you?”
Greg: “I think you should go home tonight and watch the 2014 Super Bowl that was won by the Seattle Seahawks. That always makes me feel good … Hold on. You’re a Denver Broncos fan. Sorry. Never mind.”
The pain, I fear, will not disappear.
ROLL CREDITS …
- Nice people who deserve a plug: Levi Robert Johnson, Kaare Vedvik, Trevor Harris, Greg Mayer, Kelly Peterson, Trent Reschny, Jim Kubiak, Shane O’Donnell, Jake Paczko, Antonio Pipkin, Wayne King, Naaman Roosevelt, Isaiah Woodley, Dave Morgan, Neetika Mahawar, Amid Kumar and Chryssoula Filippakopoulos.
