Who are your Top 5 Favourite B.C. Lions?

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David
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Simple question. No wrong answer here, just who are you Top 5 All-Time Favourite B.C. Lions?

1) Jim Young (my first favourite player. Still have his "growth chart" poster)
2) Willie Fleming (and I never even saw him play!)
3) Leon Bright (captured my imagination in 1977 with his flashy play and nickname "Neon")
4) Carl Kidd (one of the most colourful interviews in team history. Loved his "take no prisoners" attitude)
5) Brent Johnson (to do what he did from the DE position is remarkable. Down to earth guy too)

Honourable mention: Rob Murphy (fun, tough dude), Mike Reilly (just love watching him play and hearing him interviewed. Will be higher on my list the more games he plays for us), and Sean Millington (homegrown talent and workhorse running back who was a load to bring down).


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B.C.FAN
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Off the top of my head but in no particular order:

Joe Kapp "Peanut Butter Joe" owned this town and led the Lions to their first Grey Cup appearance in 1963 and first victory in 1964.
Javy Glatt Often underappreciated, he had a nose for the ball. His forced fumble on the goal line helped the Lions win the 2006 Grey Cup.
Jason Clermont Lion82, as he was known on this board, was impressive with his sure hands, toughness and excellent character.
Bryan Burnham Longshot earned a roster spot with his great hands, which he shows each week, even in double and triple coverage.
Brent Johnson Ratio-breaking defensive end had a non-stop motor and is the Lions' all-time sack leader.

That's 3 nationals and 2 Americans. I tend to identify with unheralded players who show great heart and character.
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KnowItAll
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Doug Flutie
Fernandez
Burnham
Jamie Taras
Passaglia
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David
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KnowItAll wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 1:02 pm
Passaglia
Uggh! I knew I was leaving one (well d'uh) candidate off my list.

YES!! Lui. How could I be stupid enough to forget?


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cromartie
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In no particular order:

Watching Cam Wake play defensive end here and regularly beat double and triple teams was just an absurd delight.

Ian Sinclair taught me to respect the responsibilities, techniques and joy of playing Center and he was ridiculously talented at it.

Rob Murphy Going to second the sentiments on Murphy here.

Jason Clermont Tough as nails on crossing routes and could put his hand in the dirt when the occasion called for it.

Dante Marsh Really one of the smartest members of the secondary in recent memory and he really played the wide corner position at a high level for quite some time.

Honorable Mentions:

Roy Dewalt - I'm not a Lions fan if it isn't for Roy and we have at least one more Cup if he could have stayed healthy. Between he, Baron Miles and Damon Allen, no Lions should ever wear 9 again.

Carl Kidd - Can't say much more than what was mentioned below, but I don't think we win in 2000 if he doesn't show up midway through that season.

Lyle Green - The epitome of a quiet leader, Lyle did whatever he was asked and did it well. It's a pity he wasn't a passing game target more often.

Nick Moore- A little underappreciated while he was here but I'm automatically going to have some degree of fondness for guys from my alma mater (like Lyle).

Barrin Simpson - Probably the best linebacker to come through town in the 00s, it's a shame things ended the way they did with he and Wally.

Byron Parker - It's unfortunately his only year here was 2012. He was one of the best of his era in Toronto, I think and getting to see him as a Lion for a year thrilled me to no end.
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Robbie
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We've certainly had several threads about favourite and top Lions, and it's always difficult to limit this since there are certainly so many good candidates. As such, it's easier to limit this by position, by date era, by award winners, etc. But even though, it can still be very difficult to choose and as such, there's certainly a lot personal bias.

Obviously a general consensus is that the player, aside from being great, also spent a fair amount of time and built a lot seniority with the team: https://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.net/w ... l-2018.pdf and as such, Lions who are added the Wall of Fame/Ring of Honour not only did well, but had a lot of seniority and as such, great but short-term Lions will never be added to such fame club.

For me personally as I try to compose such a list, to help me decide I will add a third condition aside from 1) Doing well, and 2) Built seniority and that is 3) He never played with another CFL team which will inevitably "cloud" one's opinion especially if that player was also a huge rival for the Lions.

David, sorry to have to exceed the 5 player limit, but I'll at least limit this to six positions: Quarterback, Receivers, Defensive Players, Offensive Lineman, Running Backs, and Special Teams. But at least in four cases of the six positions, I can easily narrow it down to just one player as very few other players meet the condition of not playing with another CFL team.

1. Quarterback: Travis Lulay
The only great Lions QB who never played for another CFL team. All the other great Lions quarterbacks like Flutie, Dunigan, Allen, McManus, Dickenson, Pierce, and to a lesser extent Dewalt, Printers, and Kapp all played for other CFL teams in their careers and some of them did very well for the other team and thus, were also a huge rival as well and when one remembers them, one is less likely to remember them as a Lion.

2. Receivers: Jim Young
He spent his entire 13-year CFL career as a Lion. Other long-term great Lion receivers like Simon, Clermont, P. Jackson, Arceneaux, Alexander, Darren Flutie, Sandusky, D. Williams have all played for the CFL teams while Mervyn Fernandez decided to bolt for the NFL and had a less-than-memorable return in 1994.

3. Defensive Players: Brent Johnson, Glen Jackson, Norm Fieldgate
Three great long-term defensive Lions who devoted their entire career as a BC Lion.

4. Offensive Lineman: Jamie Taras, Al Wilson, Cory Mantyka
Three great long-term offensive linemen Lions who devoted their entire career as a BC Lion. Angus Reid would be a good candidate but he started his career as an Alouettte.

5. Running Back: Willie Fleming
Fleming holds Lions individual record with most rushing yardage at 6,125 and was a Lion throughout his entire CFL season while John Henry White and Larry Key would have honourable mentions. Jim Evenson, Sean Millington and recently Andrew Harris would be good candidates but clearly have played for other CFL teams.

6. Special Teams: Lui Passaglia
Enough said with his 25-years as a Lion, plus his subsequent years as a coach/staff member. The closest rival would be Paul McCallum but he's also obviously and infamously remembered as a Roughrider over his huge mistaken in the 2004 WDF.
Last edited by Robbie on Sat Apr 04, 2020 11:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
祝加拿大加式足球聯賽不列颠哥伦比亚卑詩雄獅隊今年贏格雷杯冠軍。此外祝溫哥華加人隊贏總統獎座·卡雲斯·甘保杯·史丹利盃。還每年祝溫哥華白頭浪隊贏美國足球大联盟杯。不要忘記每年祝溫哥華巨人贏西部冰球聯盟冠軍。
改建後的卑詩體育館於二十十一年九月三十日重新對外開放,首場體育活動為同日舉行的加拿大足球聯賽賽事,由主場的卑詩雄獅隊以三十三比二十四擊敗愛民頓愛斯基摩人隊。
祝你龍年行大運。
恭喜西雅图海鹰直到第四十八屆超級盃最終四十三比八大勝曾拿下兩次超級盃冠軍的丹佛野馬拿下隊史第一個超級盃冠軍。
maxlion
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Swervyn Mervyn - in the schoolyard, I was Mervyn and my best friend was Roy Dewalt.

Elimimian - smart and classy leader

Lui - the legend

Lots of others I could choose for 4 and 5. Geroy, Damon Allen, Larry Crawford, Ryan Phillips, John Henry White...
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Sir Purrcival
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Dave Dickinson
Jim Sandusky
Travis Lulay
Cam Wake
Ryan Thelwell
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Robbie
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maxlion wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:52 pm
Lots of others I could choose for 4 and 5. Geroy, Damon Allen, Larry Crawford, Ryan Phillips, John Henry White...
You are definitely one of the very few who would list Damon Allen when it comes to favourite Lions.
Sir Purrcival wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:03 pm
Jim Sandusky
Ryan Thelwell
When it comes to two most favourite Lions receivers, I'm certain that you are the only person who would list these two. Nothing wrong with such selections in that they were good and perhaps underrated, but unfortunately were overshadowed by other good receivers at that time.
祝加拿大加式足球聯賽不列颠哥伦比亚卑詩雄獅隊今年贏格雷杯冠軍。此外祝溫哥華加人隊贏總統獎座·卡雲斯·甘保杯·史丹利盃。還每年祝溫哥華白頭浪隊贏美國足球大联盟杯。不要忘記每年祝溫哥華巨人贏西部冰球聯盟冠軍。
改建後的卑詩體育館於二十十一年九月三十日重新對外開放,首場體育活動為同日舉行的加拿大足球聯賽賽事,由主場的卑詩雄獅隊以三十三比二十四擊敗愛民頓愛斯基摩人隊。
祝你龍年行大運。
恭喜西雅图海鹰直到第四十八屆超級盃最終四十三比八大勝曾拿下兩次超級盃冠軍的丹佛野馬拿下隊史第一個超級盃冠軍。
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DanoT
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Travis Lulay
Doug Flutie
Geroy Simon
Jason Claremont
Solomon Elimimian

Honourable Mention:
Andrew Harris
Paris Jackson
Jim Young
Darnell Clash
Adam Bighill
Korey Banks
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KnowItAll
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Robbie wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:54 pm
maxlion wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:52 pm
Lots of others I could choose for 4 and 5. Geroy, Damon Allen, Larry Crawford, Ryan Phillips, John Henry White...
You are definitely one of the very few who would list Damon Allen when it comes to favourite Lions.
Sir Purrcival wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:03 pm
Jim Sandusky
Ryan Thelwell
When it comes to two most favourite Lions receivers, I'm certain that you are the only person who would list these two. Nothing wrong with such selections in that they were good and perhaps underrated, but unfortunately were overshadowed by other good receivers at that time.
I think favorite doesn't actually mean best.

While JS didn't make my top 5 list, he was still a fav of mine and it was one of many reasons I was pissed at Galat when we lost him.
Every day that passes is one you can't get back
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David
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KnowItAll wrote:
Sat Apr 04, 2020 1:05 pm
I think favorite doesn't actually mean best.
That's correct KIA. When I created this thread, I was just looking for Top 5 favs. It's more of a visceral reaction. If you have to put tons of research into this, they probably weren't your favs! :wink:

As for Ryan Thelwell, Robbie, longtime Lionbacker SammyGreene hasn't weighed in but I am pretty sure he was a big Thelwell fan. Not sure if he ends up on his list, but I recall him remembering him fondly.


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maxlion
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Robbie wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:54 pm
maxlion wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:52 pm
Lots of others I could choose for 4 and 5. Geroy, Damon Allen, Larry Crawford, Ryan Phillips, John Henry White...
You are definitely one of the very few who would list Damon Allen when it comes to favourite Lions.
Those pre-Buono years from 1996 to 2002 were pretty forgettable outside of the Grey cup win in 2000. Allen didn't have the same sort of charisma as some other players who passed through here, and there wasn't a lot of on field excitement either.

Yet Allen managed to become the franchise's all time passing leader and, in hindsight, I think the franchise really was fortunate to have his consistency and professionalism during those years. And while he wasn't too charismatic, he always carried himself with class, was involved in the community, and was a devoted family man. So while at the time I, like most other fans, was very happy to see him replaced by DD, I have come to really appreciate his contribution to the Lions and the CFL.
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Gridiron Ernie
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Sonny Homer - I was tempted to simply write down his name five times and be done with it, but common sense prevailed. heh heh. Loved the guy, from back in the day when they still said "flanker". The pride of Trail, BC. and later North Vancouver.
Willie Fleming - I was still a kid just learning to understand the game, but even just hearing his name on the radio play-by-play was electric (this before the family finally got T.V.)
Brent Johnson - did this guy even have a trace of ego at all? What a smooth athlete! One of our team's true treasures.
Jason Clermont - Such self-confidence, instilled absolute confidence in fans that he'd get it done! Such talent, such consistency. A beautiful sight to see that big body leave a scattering of prone DBs in his wake.
Travis Lulay - I've such abiding respect for this true gentleman. And the man could play! No, fate was not always kind, but he had his shining moment., and that was excitement writ large in my mind.

Honourable mentions:
Bryan Burnham - he's only in this latter category because I held off on selecting a current-roster guy simply because it feels too close -- I can't be objective enough. But, I love this man. He's special. As good a player as he is, he's an even better man.
Darren Flutie - Doug's brother was always the Flutie I admired most. It's a matter of personality type for me I guess. A quieter spirit. Anyhow, I always think of Darren anytime I think of my fave Lions receivers all-time.
Angus Reid - he shouldered the vital responsibilities of the centre position in exemplary fashion, and was so well-spoken -- one of the more articulate players the Leos have had, and that's a huge bonus IMO.

I'll leave it there. But I've not even got round to the singular excitement for me of recalling old faves Cam Wake, Mervyn Fernandez, or tight end (remember them?) Harry Holt.

Thanks David, for thinking/sharing about the topic for this thread. Take care everybody.
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Gridiron Ernie
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Where's my head?!! Been thinking too hard without a helmet I guess... But he's in my football-fan heart forever... Mr. Solomon Elimimian is without a shadow of a doubt one of my all-time fave BC Lions. The way he carried himself both on and off the field was (and still is for another team) a special combination.
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