It’ll be a star-studded celebration, a reunion of sorts that will be a huge tip of the cap to 150 years of football in Ottawa.
More than 70 former Ottawa REDBLACKS, Renegades and Rough Riders will be in the spotlight during what is being called The Legacy Game, Friday, July 31 – when the Ottawa REDBLACKS host the Montreal Alouettes (7:30 p.m.) at TD Place.
Front and centre will be a couple of CFL legends – Henry Burris and Tony Gabriel. When you think of football here, the names of Burris and Gabriel are near the top of any list; while never teammates, they are intertwined in history for their involvement in big plays, in particular one, which for each, has been called The Catch. Different eras, different circumstances. But the difference-making moments made them each heroes, if they already hadn’t reached that status.
For Gabriel, The Catch, a 24-yard touchdown reception that gave the Rough Riders a 23-20 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 1976 Grey Cup, was huge, but it was the play before that, he says, that really set the tone.
Rough Riders quarterback Tom Clements called a crossing pattern. Jim Foley was lined up on the left side and it was Gabriel’s job to come across on top.
Remembered Gabriel: “Tommy hits me way high up over the middle, over my left shoulder. I catch the ball. I get slammed by Lorne Richardson; it was a good tackle. I’m on the ground, and Bill Manchuk hits me with a forearm shiver to the helmet. My head is bouncing off the ground, I’m seeing stars. I put my hands on my legs while I was bent over. I’m trying to shake the cobwebs out of my head. Our big offensive tackle, Jim Coode, comes over and says, ‘Gabber, get up. Time’s running out.’ I was woozy and was trying to shake it off as I got back into the huddle.”
The delay gave the Rough Riders a bit of extra time. On the next play, in the final seconds of the game, Clements waved off a play sent in from the sidelines, instead calling “Rob-I-Fake-34-Tight-End-Flag.” Gabriel started running toward the goalpost, planted his foot and cut right. The ball sailed into his arms; Gabriel made The Catch and spiked the ball backwards over his head. Game over.
Said Gabriel: “The blocking was good, Tommy had lots of time and threw the ball over my right shoulder. All I could see were dollar signs as soon as I tucked that sucker in. The (Grey Cup) winners got $6.000, the losers got $3,000.”
Looking back, Gabriel, who later spent 35 years in the financial world before retiring in 2015, wonders about the what-ifs.
“You look at the hypotheticals,” he said. “What if Tommy hadn’t changed the play, what if we had gone with the play that was sent in by the coach? People look back at The Catch, but the way I frame it, it was the play before as well, it’s the combination. You have to take the two plays together. The fact I was able to catch the crossing pattern high over the middle and take the hit to my helmet …
“I laugh at what happened next; here’s the young All-American quarterback and he had the gumption to change the play that had been called by the coach.”
Ironically enough, Gabriel, who wore jersey No. 77, is now 77 years old.
For Burris, it was also about much more than The Catch; there were greater things to come, further stamping his place among Ottawa’s all-time greats.
The Catch was a 93-yard touchdown reception by Greg Ellingson, with Burris, after bobbling a high snap, heaving the ball far downfield out of desperation. His receiver caught the ball and evaded a couple of defenders to give Ottawa a 35-28 East final win over Hamilton. In just their second season, the REDBLACKS advanced to the Grey Cup.
“The most significant moment for me was the second-and-25,” said Burris. “It just seemed that in Ottawa fashion, things were starting to spiral backwards, especially on that drive. I almost threw an interception to Arnaud (Gascon-Nadon). We get a 15-yard penalty, and need 25 yards for a first down. We knew Hamilton was going to run a double-cloud coverage. I still get chills when I think about the play and hear (TSN 1200’s) AJ (Jakubec) making the call. The crowd was so loud; it felt like the emotions that had been locked up inside the fans for so long all came out.”
Ottawa lost the Grey Cup game, a nailbiting 26-20 setback to Edmonton.
“(The East final) win was a stepping stone,” said Burris. “We were destined to win the Grey Cup the next year.”
And, in the 2016 Grey Cup, sure enough, the REDBLACKS came away with a stunning 39-33 overtime decision over the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders. And, Burris? Yeah, what he did in that game was incredible.
During the pre-game warmup, the then-41-year-old Burris felt a grind and a pop in his left knee and limped into the locker room. There were injections, painkillers and a knee brace strapped on. Just moments before the start of the game, he ran to the REDBLACKS sideline and went on to complete 35-of-46 passes for 461 yards. Three of those pass completions went for touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns, including the game-winner, juggled, then finally caught by Ernest Jackson.”
After it was all over, Burris said his knee felt like a watermelon. But it was mission accomplished, and Ottawa had won its first Grey Cup since 1976.
Recalled Burris: “I told the doctors before the game, I told everybody, ‘This is my last game, whatever you have to do, get me on that field.’ I said, “It’ll heal. Just do whatever you can to get me back out there.’.. I was ready to burst out there on the field and get after it. On that first snap, I one-hopped a pass to Brad. (Sinopoli) I was just nervous. I snapped out of it.”
There was a huge defensive play late in the game, with defensive back Abdul Kanneh (also scheduled to be at Friday’s Legacy Game), catching a bit of the shoe of Calgary QB Andrew Buckley, knocking him to the turf when it appeared he would gallop into the end zone with what may have been the winning score.
“I can still see Abdul making that tackle,” said Burris. “Abdul laid out on the field and clipped (Buckley’s) heel; if he doesn’t catch a bit of (Buckley’s) shoe, he goes into the end zone untouched.”
The moment and the impact it had on Ottawa’s football community, so long starved for success, isn’t lost on Burris.
“We were able to make an impact while helping grow an organization, grow football in the community,” said Burris. “I’d go to Farm Boy to get some groceries and I’d have parents and grandparents coming up to me telling me about what it meant to them. We made so many great friends in Ottawa, a place we still call home. Our hearts still beat red and black. I’m excited to be going back.”
Burris, who had been the offensive co-ordinator/quarterbacks coach, then interim head coach at Florida A&M, listened to offers to return to college football this season. Living in Tallahassee, FL, he started Air Academy, training and mentoring quarterbacks. He’s also done some appearances on SiriusXM’s NFL Radio. He hopes he gets a shot at a head coach, possibly in the CFL.
“I interviewed for some jobs, but it didn’t make sense with my son (Barron, a kicker) still at home. “I’ve told guys up north, ‘Don’t forget about me, once Barron is finished his senior football season, let’s talk.’ I’m looking forward to getting back into the heat of the battle. It has to be the right opportunity, but coaching is definitely that I want to do.”
Burris is looking forward to seeing former teammates and players from before his time.
“They call me old school, but I like to say the generation before me, the legends who wore the colours, are the real OGs,” he said. “They laid the foundation for us.”
