Hogan: Who Should Become the Next All-time Argo?

This season the Toronto Argonauts will add another name to the list of All-Time Argos.

It’s an honour bestowed upon a player to recognize his stellar career in Double Blue. To be considered, a player must have spent five seasons in Toronto, though that stipulation was waived in the extraordinary case of Doug Flutie.

Only a player’s accomplishments as an Argo are considered, and the voting is done by members of the Toronto Argonaut Alumni Association.

Last year Ricky Ray became just the 27^th player so honoured.

Here is a list of ten players that Argonauts.ca would rate as the most likely to be honoured, along with the reasons why.

CARL BRAZLEY: The defensive back arrived in Toronto in 1983 with big talent and a bigger personality. Brazley was a fantastic cornerback who was named a CFL All-Star and won a Grey Cup in his first season in Double Blue. He’d also win a Grey Cup in 1991 with the Argos.

The Louisville, Kentucky native played in 138 regular season games over 10 seasons with the Argos. He would be named the team’s Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1985.

LANCE CHOMYC: He is by far the leading scorer in Argonauts history with 1,498 points, 337 field goals and 412 converts. The University of Toronto product has three of the Argos four 200-or-more-point seasons. He is second in team history with 5 career field goals in Grey Cup games, including a team record 50-yard effort in 1987.

Chomyc was named a CFL All-Star in 1986 and 1991. He was the East’s nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian in 1991, earning the team’s nod in that category in 1986 and 1991. In 1986 he was named the Argos Most Outstanding Player. He appeared in two Grey Cup games, winning in 1991.

KEVIN EIBEN: The Delta, B.C. native put together an incredible career at linebacker. He is second on the team’s list of career defensive tackles, a stat kept since 1987. Three times he had over 100 tackles in a season and holds the CFL record for most tackles by a Canadian with 113. He is also second in career playoff tackles as an Argo and holds the club mark with 33 special teams tackles in a season.

Eiben was named the Argos Most Outstanding Canadian a whopping six times and was named the East’s Top Canadian on three occasions. He was named a CFL All-Star three times. Eiben had a dream season in 2004, being named the team’s Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Most Outstanding Canadian, a CFL All-Star, and winning a Grey Cup. He played 165 regular season games over an 11-season tenure in Double Blue and has subsequently won three Grey Cups as an Argo coach.

GLAD MURPHY: In terms of pre-CFL era Argos there is no one more deserving of recognition than William Ewart Gladstone “Glad” Murphy. It was once said that Murphy, who was an Olympic rower and reached five OHA Sr. A provincial hockey finals, was “probably the best all-around athlete in Canada.” He played six full seasons in Double Blue 1909-14, plus the first game of the 1915 season, a game that would tragically lead to his death.

A hard hitting, intimidating player who seemed to be everywhere on the field at once, the Kingston native participated in the team’s first three Grey Cup games and was their captain for the first Argo Grey Cup victory in 1914. He was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1914 and the runner-up a year earlier. He scored touchdowns on offense, defence, and special teams, scoring five TDs on fumble recoveries.

In the ill-fated season opener in 1915, Murphy suffered a serious spinal injury and would die from the injury in February 1916.

CHAD OWENS: An electrifying receiver/returner who in 2012 became just the sixth Argo to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award. He is second in Argo history in both career kickoff and punt return yards, holding the top two single-season kickoff return marks. He is one of four Argos to have over 1,000 punt return yards in a season.

The “Flyin’ Hawaiian” is third in combined yards behind Michael Clemons and Dick Shatto. In 2012 he would be named the league’s Most Outstanding Player, set a league record with 3,863 combined yards, be named a CFL All-Star, set a team record with 207 receiving yards in a playoff game, return a punt for a TD in a playoff game, and win a Grey Cup. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2010, the team’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player three times, was named Toronto’s Most Outstanding Player twice, and was named a CFL All-Star four times.

REGGIE PLEASANT: The greatest ball hawk in Argo history, Pleasant holds the team record with 47 interceptions. The club record for single-season interceptions is 10, and while the Pinewood, South Carolina native doesn’t own that record, he recorded nine picks in a season three times and twice had three interceptions in a game.

He played in two Grey Cup games with Toronto, winning one in 1991, a game in which he had a pair of interceptions, one of just two Argos to accomplish that in a championship game. He was a CFL All-Star in 1988 and was named the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1990.

NOEL PREFONTAINE: Only Don Moen suited up in more games as an Argo than the versatile punter/kicker, who played 207 regular season games in Double Blue. He’s second to Lance Chomyc on the all-time scoring list, and his 67,073 punting yards is slightly over 9,000 more than second place Hank Ilesic.

He’s the Argos all-time playoff scoring leader and his 47-yard field goal is tied for the second-longest in team playoff history. The San Jose State product was a six-time CFL All-Star while with Toronto, twice named the East’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, and was the Argos Most Outstanding Canadian in 2002. Prefontaine was a member of the 2004 and 2012 Grey Cup champs.

CHRIS SCHULTZ: While it can be difficult to back up an offensive lineman’s contributions with statistics, there is little doubt the 6’8” Burlington native made a massive contribution to the Boatmen. A fiery competitor on the field and a true student of the game off it, Schultz was dominant at the left tackle spot for 124 games in Double Blue, despite a history of knee injuries.

He was named Toronto’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 1987 and 1989 and was a CFL All-Star in 1987 and 88. He was a member of the 1991 Grey Cup championship team and the 1987 Grey Cup finalists.

ADRION SMITH: A big play player as a defensive back and as a returner. Smith ranks second all-time with 44 interceptions as an Argo but will be forever etched in team lore with a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown that clinched the 1996 Grey Cup, and a TD on a 95-yard return of the second half kickoff of the 1997 Grey Cup that essentially put it out of reach. It’s the second-longest kickoff return in Grey Cup history.

“Pee-Wee” was the Argos Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2003, and a two-time CFL All-Star. The Kansas City native won three Grey Cups with Toronto; 1996, 1997, and 2004.

DARRELL K. SMITH: A touchdown machine. “D.K.” is fourth in team history with 53 career touchdowns and tied for second with 52 receiving touchdowns. He had a team record 20 touchdown catches in 1990. His four TD catches against the Ticats in 1990 is tied for the team record for most in one game. His 25 games with 100-or-more receiving yards is second in team history, as is his nine 100+ yard games in one season.

The Youngstown, Ohio native is the only Argo other than Terry Greer to have multiple games with over 200 receiving yards. His 465 career catches ranks fifth in Toronto history. Smith’s five touchdown catches in the playoffs is the most by an Argo and he trails only Ulysses Curtis in playoff receiving yards. His 99-yard TD catch is the longest in team playoff history. Smith was a member of the 1991 Grey Cup champs and was a two-time CFL All-Star.