His CFHOF video clip:
[video][/video]
It took him over five years before he finally won the respect of his teams and became a full-time starter in 1995, and arguably he turned out to be a much better QB than the quarterbacks who were the starters in each of those five season. And all but one of them are unlikely going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was privileged to win his Grey Cup in 1990, backing up Tom Burgess. Despite the huge win in the 1990 GC, I don't think most CFL fans including Bombers fans would consider Burgess as legendary and it's doubtful if he will be inducted. In his last season as a Bomber in 1992, he backed up hall of famer and legend Matt Dunigan. But in the most important game, the 1992 Grey Cup, Dunigan was totally ineffective after three quarters by not scoring any points and only 47 yards passing. McManus was put into action in the fourth quarter and managed to put up 10 points but it was too little too late. It was a very smart move by the Lions to sign up as a free agent in 1993, but still he was regulated as a backup to Danny Barrett, despite the huge frustration that the Lions fans felt in not replacing Doug Flutie. McManus started three games in 1993 and won all three, but coach Dave Ritchie made the wrong decision in starting Barrett in the 1993 WDSF. The defence did its job in constraining Flutie and the Stampeders to only 17 points, but Barrett and the offence could only put up 9 points. I'm sure McManus could have put on more points than Barrett did. We all know about 1994 so I won't go into too much detail other than repeating what I said several times before, Kent Austin was the starter for most of the games. Maybe after a learned lesson from a year ago, coach Ritchie was smarter this time and started McManus in the 1994 WDSF. That said, it was good for both McManus and Austin to back each other up as each starting QB became injured in all three playoff games. He had a good first season as a starter in 1995 with 4,655 yards, second most in the league but a mediocre defence costed the team playoff success again.
Of all the threads about McManus as a Lion, the general consensus among Lions fans as they consider him good, but not their top, best, and favourite Lion QB. Maybe that's why there wasn't any backlash or lamenting after McManus was lost as a free agent to Edmonton in March 1996, unlike four years ago in which there was so much backlash over the loss of Doug Flutie. And perhaps after the 1995 season there were already many departures in terms of the owner, GM, and head coach then losing the QB and best WR was rather routine. The 1996 starting QB Andre Ware was ineffective before legend Damon Allen was signed. But given the fact that most people found him frustrating and also didn't really deliver until 2.5 years later in 1999 when the team finally finished first in the west, it's probably fair to say McManus was more well-liked than Allen. Especially since McManus immediately took the Eskimos to a GC appearance and then with Hamilton, had many more productive seasons with a MOP and GC MVP.
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A young McManus in 1987 as a Florida State college player.
![Image](http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fsu/sports/m-footbl/auto_action/6218973.jpeg)