CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award

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The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy winner from the West Division. The winner of the award is chosen by the Football Reporters of Canada since 1954.[1] Players born outside Canada may win the award if they become citizens and attain National status.

Player achievements[edit]

The most wins by a player is four, for both Russ Jackson (completed in 1969) and Tony Gabriel (completed in 1978).

The first two-time winner, and also the first to win the award in two consecutive seasons, is Normie Kwong, in 1955 and 1956. The first three-time winner is Jackson, achieved as of 1966, while Gabriel is the only player to win three consecutive awards, from 1976 through 1978.

When a Canadian player is voted the recipient of the CFL's overall Most Outstanding Player Award, they are, of course, the recipient of that same season's Most Outstanding Canadian Award. Only three players have achieved this recognition: Jackson (1963, 1966, 1969), Gabriel (1978) and Jon Cornish (2013).

CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners[edit]

Year Player Position Club
1954 Gerry James RB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1955 Normie Kwong RB Edmonton Eskimos
1956 Normie Kwong RB Edmonton Eskimos
1957 Gerry James RB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1958 Ron Howell FW Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1959 Russ Jackson QB Ottawa Rough Riders
1960 Ron Stewart RB Ottawa Rough Riders
1961 Tony Pajaczkowski OG Calgary Stampeders
1962 Harvey Wylie DB Calgary Stampeders
1963 Russ Jackson QB Ottawa Rough Riders
1964 Tommy Grant F Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1965 Zeno Karcz LB Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1966 Russ Jackson QB Ottawa Rough Riders
1967 Terry Evanshen WR Calgary Stampeders
1968 Ken Nielsen F Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1969 Russ Jackson QB Ottawa Rough Riders
1970 Jim Young WR BC Lions
1971 Terry Evanshen WR Montreal Alouettes
1972 Jim Young WR BC Lions
1973 Gerry Organ K Ottawa Rough Riders
1974 Tony Gabriel TE Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1975 Jim Foley WR Ottawa Rough Riders
1976 Tony Gabriel TE Ottawa Rough Riders
1977 Tony Gabriel TE Ottawa Rough Riders
1978 Tony Gabriel TE Ottawa Rough Riders
1979 Dave Fennell DT Edmonton Eskimos
1980 Gerry Dattilio QB Montreal Alouettes
1981 Joe Poplawski SB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1982 Rocky DiPietro SB Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1983 Paul Bennett DB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1984 Nick Arakgi SB Montreal Concordes
1985 Paul Bennett DB Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1986 Joe Poplawski SB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1987 Scott Flagel S Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1988 Ray Elgaard SB Saskatchewan Roughriders
1989 Rocky DiPietro SB Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1990 Ray Elgaard SB Saskatchewan Roughriders
1991 Blake Marshall FB Edmonton Eskimos
1992 Ray Elgaard SB Saskatchewan Roughriders
1993 Dave Sapunjis SB Calgary Stampeders
1994 Gerald Wilcox SB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1995 Dave Sapunjis SB Calgary Stampeders
1996 Leroy Blugh DE Edmonton Eskimos
1997 Sean Millington FB BC Lions
1998 Mike Morreale SB Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1999 Mike O'Shea LB Toronto Argonauts
2000 Sean Millington RB BC Lions
2001 Doug Brown DT Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2002 Ben Cahoon WR Montreal Alouettes
2003 Ben Cahoon SB Montreal Alouettes
2004 Jason Clermont SB BC Lions
2005 Brent Johnson DE BC Lions
2006 Brent Johnson DE BC Lions
2007 Jason Clermont SB BC Lions
2008 Kamau Peterson WR Edmonton Eskimos
2009 Ricky Foley DE BC Lions
2010 Andy Fantuz SB Saskatchewan Roughriders
2011 Jerome Messam RB Edmonton Eskimos
2012 Jon Cornish RB Calgary Stampeders
2013 Jon Cornish RB Calgary Stampeders
2014 Jon Cornish RB Calgary Stampeders
2015 Brad Sinopoli WR Ottawa Redblacks
2016 Jerome Messam RB Calgary Stampeders
2017 Andrew Harris RB Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2018 Brad Sinopoli WR Ottawa Redblacks
2019 Henoc Muamba LB Montreal Alouettes
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Bo Lokombo LB BC Lions
2022 Nathan Rourke QB BC Lions
2023 Brady Oliveira RB Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[2]

Team achievements[edit]

Teams represented by Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners through the years.

Club # of Winners Most recent
Ottawa Redblacks/Renegades/Rough Riders[a] 12 2018
BC Lions 11 2022
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 11 2023
Calgary Stampeders 9 2016
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 8 1998
Edmonton Elks/Eskimos[b] 7 2011
Montreal Alouettes/Concordes[c] 6 2019
Saskatchewan Roughriders 4 2010
Toronto Argonauts 1 1999
Total for Nine Clubs 67

Notes:

  1. ^ As defined in the 2023 CFL Guide & Record Book, for historical record purposes, the Ottawa Football Clubs are considered to be a single entity since 1876 with two periods of inactivity (1997–2001 and 2006–2013).[3]
  2. ^ Edmonton Eskimos changed their name to Edmonton Elks as of the 2021 CFL season.[3]
  3. ^ Montreal Alouettes folded and were replaced by the Montreal Concordes during a four season (19821985), but were renamed to Alouettes in 1986.[3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/gibsons Archived 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Gibsons Finest Player Awards
  2. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/page/more_player_awards_ocanada Archived 2011-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Most Outstanding Canadian
  3. ^ a b c "CFL Guide & Record Book: 2023 Edition" (PDF). Canadian Football League. p. 12. Retrieved December 8, 2023.