Lionbackers.com

The Lions have played in a total of nine Grey Cups, winning five and losing four. In this latest favourite player poll, I will ask who your favourite Grey Cup starting Lion quarterback is. Three of them played in multiple games and each of them have a 1-1 record. Kent Austin and Damon Allen are the two quarterbacks who have a winning record for the Lions at 1-0, while Matt Dunigan is the only one with a losing record of 0-1.

The 1964 Grey Cup was played before the days when individual Grey Cup player awards were handed out, so Joe Kapp was not a candidate to win a game award. Dewalt was selected as the Offence MVP in the 1985 Grey Cup, while you all know that Dickenson was the 2006 Grey Cup MVP. None of the other quarterbacks won game awards.

Of course, I know that in the 1994 Grey Cup, Danny McManus played the second half but this poll will deal with starting quarterbacks only. I think Kent Austin was one of the more underrated quarterbacks the Lions had as he was often the starter in the decent 1994 regular season. And aside from the 1994 Grey Cup, I believe the 2006 Grey Cup was the other time when the starting quarterback was replaced for any series of downs, as Buck Pierce came on in short yardage situations and it was he who threw the only touchdown pass to Ian Smart, although technically it wasn?t a pass as it was a lateral. It will be forever debated whether the starting quarterback should have been replaced in the 2004 Grey Cup loss. But in the 1963, 1983, and 1988 losses, clearly the best quarterback on the team was the starting quarterback.

I?m sure this will be a tough selection, and in my case, it will come down to the fact that neither Kapp, Dewalt, Dunigan, nor Dickenson were able to lead the Lions to a Grey Cup win in their first appearance. So that just leaves Austin and Allen as the only two quarterbacks who were able to bring the Lions to victory in his first Grey Cup appearance as a Lion starting QB. And as aforementioned that since Austin didn?t play a full game and also threw three interceptions, then my choice falls on Allen.

I assume that it will come down to between dewalt and DD for the majority, but for me, it is between Matt and Kapp, with Matt getting the nod.

My fav will always be '88 Matt Dunigan......sorry, for selfish reasons.

As a Lions fan, I'll always remember Roy Dewalts' performance back in '85

ROY !!!!!!!!!!!

It has to be Dewalt. He was the pivot during the true glory years.

Another vote for Roy Dewalt.

DeWalt here too

Dickenson is the most precise and surgical of the QBs listed. I have more confidence with him running the offence than I did with any of the others, and I saw them all.

I'm surprised that Dickenson got 8 votes given the fact that alot of people thought he can't win the big one. Amazing how one Grey Cup alter that perception.

I gotta go with Kapp. One tough SOB.

Dickenson is a close second.

crburrows wrote:I gotta go with Kapp. One tough SOB.

Dickenson is a close second.

Yep,

TheLionKing wrote:Another vote for Roy Dewalt.

Me too!

I loved Dunnigan. He was a real gun slinger and had a flair for the dramatic.
He had a passion for the game and his attitude was infectious on the team and in the stands.

And I have just now forgiven him for throwing a pick in the red zone, with minutes left in the Grey Cup when a field goal would have tied it. Damn it.

maddeep73 wrote:And I have just now forgiven him for throwing a pick in the red zone, with minutes left in the Grey Cup when a field goal would have tied it. Damn it.

Thanks for remembering the facts correctly. I don't think many others have forgiven Dunigan for his two interceptions in the 1988 Grey Cup.

I'm surprised that more people have selected Dunigan than Allen, Austin, or Kapp.

I voted for Dewalt. For some reason I never really think of Dunnigan as a Lion... not sure why... I tend to think of him as an Eskimo more than anything.