With the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ inaugural Hot Wheels Game Day drawing closer, our noble objective is to drive interest by providing a thematic history.
Fasten your seat belts as we dive into wheels, speed, etc., leading up to Sunday’s collision with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
BIG MAC ATTACK
Mac Speedie, a 2020 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was a valued member of the Roughriders’ receiving corps in 1953 and 1954.
As a first-year Roughrider, he was the team’s runaway leader in catches (57), receiving yards (817) and touchdowns (seven, all via the air).
Speedie starred with the Cleveland Browns for seven seasons before signing with Saskatchewan on June 30, 1953.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Speedy Thomas was the Tiger-Cats’ most productive receiver when they visited Taylor Field on Sept. 21, 1975. He caught eight passes for 95 yards in a 28-28 tie.
Before concluding his pro football career with eight appearances on behalf of the 1975 Tiger-Cats, Thomas played for the Cincinnati Bengals (1969-72) and New Orleans Saints (1973-74).
“I got the nickname from my aunt,” Louis Timothy Thomas III told Dick Forbes of the Cincinnati Enquirer in July of 1969. “I used to crawl around a lot, and I crawled fast and would get into all sorts of trouble. One day, my aunt said, ‘He sure is speedy, isn’t he?’ That’s how it started.
“My parents called me that, and my classmates, and hardly anyone calls me Louis now — except maybe for my mother.”
Speedy Thomas had the NFL’s longest reception in 1971 — a 90-yard touchdown against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.
Wearing No. 62 for the Eagles on Sept. 19, 1971: Defensive lineman Mike Dirks, who was a starter on the Roughriders’ defence when Thomas and the Tabbies visited Saskatchewan four years and two days later.
GOLDEN WHEELS
Elbert Dubenion — nicknamed Golden Wheels — tried out for the Roughriders in 1959.
After starring at tiny Bluffton University, Dubenion signed with the Roughriders Jan. 23, 1958, just two days after being chosen by Cleveland in Round 14 of the NFL Draft.
Dubenion was conspicuous on the practice field during his one day at the Roughriders’ training camp before returning to Ohio.
“Dubenion, who showed flashes of great speed in the two workouts in which he took part, was called home when his father suffered a serious heart attack,” the Regina Leader-Post reported in its July 15, 1959 edition.
The story also cited Dubenion’s brisk time in the 100-yard dash: 9.8 seconds.
Despite being expected back in Regina by week’s end, he never did resurface in Riderville.
He signed with the Buffalo Bills in 1960 — leading up to the American Football League’s inaugural season — and quickly became a star.
Over eight seasons with the Bills, Golden Wheels caught 294 passes for 5,294 yards and 35 touchdowns. He averaged 18.0 yards per reception.
The average yards per catch was an eye-popping 27.1 in 1964, when he caught 42 passes for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 14 games.
Dubenion entered the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. The list of enshrinees includes two other former Roughriders players — Cookie Gilchrist (who rushed for 1,254 yards for Saskatchewan in 1958) and Rick Cassata (Ron Lancaster’s backup in 1968).
The Buffalo sports shrine also includes former Bills offensive lineman Al Bemiller, whose grandson (Jake Dolegala) was a Roughriders quarterback in 2022 and 2023.
Dolegala will be part of the visiting team on Sunday.
WEST’S WHEELS
Dale West, a 1997 inductee into the Roughriders’ Plaza of Honour, owns an enduring Saskatchewan sprint record.
Competing on behalf of Saskatoon’s Bedford Road Collegiate, West completed the 100-yard dash in a Dubenionesque 9.8 seconds at the 1959 Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association track and field championships.
The standard stood until the mid-1970s, at which point the metric system was implemented and the distances were changed to metres — rendering West’s 100-yard dash record unbreakable.
TEVAUGHN’S TRAVELS
University of Regina Rams alumnus Tevaughn Campbell set a CFL Combine record for the fastest 40-yard dash when he registered a 4.36-second clocking in 2015.
The standard endured until Steven Turner of Bishop’s travelled 40 yards in 4.31 seconds.
Campbell, currently with the Roughriders, was the U Sports 60-metre dash champion in 2016.
JONATHAN’S JETS
Roughriders defensive back Jonathan Edouard is a talented sprinter in his own right.
Edouard has worked closely with speed trainer Justin Walker, who once honed his skills alongside 2004 Olympic men’s 100m champion Justin Gatlin.
The peak 40-yard time for Edouard: 4.27 seconds during a workout.
What is it like to run such a time?
“It’s the greatest feeling,” he said. “It’s an accomplishment that I really worked hard for. I get to see it every time I run a 40 or I run on kickoff: ‘Hmmm, I’m actually fast. It worked.’ ”
SPEED ROUND
• Kenton Keith, a game-breaking running back with the Roughriders from 2003 to 2006, told me a few years back that his fastest 40-yard dash time was 4.26 seconds.
• Let’s not forget former Roughriders receiver/returner Jason Armstead, whose top 40 times were 4.23, 4.25, 4.28 and 4.29.
• Emil Angi, who played in four games for Saskatchewan in 1946, once finished the 100-yard dash in 9.9 seconds.
• Randall Burks (training camp, 1978) was the Oklahoma state 100-yard dash champion in 1970 (9.7 seconds) and 1971 (9.5). Fast fact: Burks’ only NFL catch produced a 55-yard TD for the Chicago Bears in 1976.
• William Davis ran a 9.6-second 100-yard dash at Angelo State. He erupted for a 94-yard reception in one of his three games with the 1984 Roughriders.
• Receiver Willie Hinchcliff, who played in two games with the Roughriders in 1995, competed for New Zealand in the 100m and long jump at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
• Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris has jokingly given himself two nicknames: “Trevor Vick” and “T-Mobile.” Harris gained nine yards on his only carry in Friday’s 27-22 victory over the host Ottawa REDBLACKS.
• Former Eastern Michigan standout Mathew Sexton, who scored on a 101-yard punt return during his CFL debut on Friday in Ottawa, ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash during his pro day in 2020.
• Offensive linemen are seldom synonymous with speed. A notable exception played in all 18 regular-season games with the Green and White in 2011 and 2012. Here’s to you, Dan Goodspeed!
