Born: | Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | April 20, 1962
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Career information | |
Status | Retired |
CFL status | National |
Position(s) | Tackle |
Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
Weight | 280 lb (130 kg) |
University | University of Cincinnati |
Career history | |
As player | |
1985–90 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
Career highlights and awards | |
Mike Derks (born April 20, 1962) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) offensive lineman and Grey Cup champion. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, after playing for the Cincinnati Bearcats he joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for six seasons, winning the championship in 1986. [1]
The Canadian Football League is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a city in Canada. They are divided into two divisions: four teams in the East Division and five teams in the West Division. As of 2024, it features a 21-week regular season in which each team plays 18 games with three bye weeks. This season traditionally runs from mid-June to early November. Following the regular season, six teams compete in the league's three-week playoffs, which culminate in the Grey Cup championship game in late November. The Grey Cup is one of Canada's largest annual sports and television events. The CFL was officially named on January 19, 1958, upon the merger between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union or "Big Four" and the Western Interprovincial Football Union.
The Montreal Alouettes are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and are the current Grey Cup champions, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 110th Grey Cup Game in 2023. Their home field is Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for the regular season and as of 2014 also home of their playoff games.
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks were founded in 1949 as the Edmonton Eskimos and have won the Grey Cup championship fourteen times, most recently in 2015 and the most of any CFL club based in Western Canada. The team has a rivalry with the Calgary Stampeders and is one of the three community-owned teams in the CFL. The team discontinued using the Eskimos name in 2020, with the new name Elks formally announced on June 1, 2021.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Field.
The Labour Day Classic is a week of the Canadian Football League (CFL) schedule played over the Labour Day weekend. Labour Day weekend, roughly 12 or 13 weeks into the CFL season, is known for its matchups that do not change from year to year, unlike other "rivalry" weeks of the CFL schedule. Labour Day weekend is also one of typically two weeks in the CFL schedule that the league plays on a Monday. Multinational Balkrishna Industries' OK Tire brand is the presenting sponsor of the event as of 2022.
The 1986 CFL season is considered to be the 33rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 29th Canadian Football League season.
Paul Frederick Bennett is a former award-winning and all-star defensive back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and Grey Cup champion.
Mervyn L. Fernandez, nicknamed "Swervin' Mervyn", is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver with the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and Los Angeles Raiders in the National Football League (NFL).
Rocky DiPietro is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. During his 14-year career as a slotback and wide receiver, DiPietro became the CFL's all-time pass reception leader in 1989 and had a career total of 706 receptions for 9,762 yards and 45 touchdowns. DiPietro retired in 1991 after starring in four Grey Cup games, winning it in 1986. He was named to the Tiger-Cats Wall of Honour in 1994, and inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1997. His cousin Paul DiPietro was a member of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup championship team and became an established star in Switzerland. Dipietro's nephew-in-law, Riley Sheahan, became an NHL player for several teams.
Less Browne is a former gridiron football defensive back who played in the United States Football League (USFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Pittsburgh Maulers (USFL), Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Rough Riders and the BC Lions.
Willie Pless is a former Canadian football linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and Saskatchewan Roughriders, winning the 1993 Grey Cup with the Eskimos. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
James "Quick" Parker was a Canadian football player who was a leading defensive player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Richard Kent Austin is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is the quarterbacks coach for Auburn University. Austin served as the head football coach at Cornell University from 2010 to 2012. He was the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2007 and CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2013 to 2017 and the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia from 2019 to 2022.
John Helton is a former defensive tackle for the Calgary Stampeders from 1969 to 1978 and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1979 to 1982 of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Robert Ackles was a Canadian Football League executive for the BC Lions. He also was a former American football executive in the National Football League. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
CFL on CTV was a presentation of Canadian Football League football aired on the CTV Television Network from 1962 to 1986. CTV dropped coverage of the CFL after the 1986 season. CTV's coverage was replaced by TSN and the newly created Canadian Football Network.
The Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA) represents Canadian football players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The association was established in 1965, when local lawyer John Agro became concerned by the number of Hamilton Tiger-Cats players approaching him with legal questions about contracts, medical coverage and pensions.
Norman H. Kimball is a Canadian former football executive. Joining the organization in 1961, he served as the general manager of the Edmonton Eskimos from 1966 to 1985. He won the Grey Cup with the team in 1975 and for five years straight from 1978 to 1982. From 1971 to 1974, he was Chairman of the CFL General Managers. In 1975, he became the Chairman of the CFL's Player Relations Committee. He was also President and Chief Operating Officer of the Montreal Alouettes from 1986 to 1987. Kimball was elected as a builder in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on May 11, 1991. In 2011, Kimball was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.