Granville Liggins

Last updated
Granville Liggins
No. 51
Granville Liggins.jpg
Born: (1946-06-02) June 2, 1946 (age 77)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Career information
StatusRetired
CFL status American
Position(s) G/DT
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight225 lb (102 kg)
College Oklahoma
NFL draft 1968 / Round: 10 / Pick: 256
Drafted by Detroit Lions
Career history
As player
1968–1972 Calgary Stampeders
1973–1978 Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star 1971, 1976
CFL East All-Star 1975, 1976
CFL West All-Star 1971, 1972

Granville "Granny" Liggins (born June 2, 1946) is a former American football and a Canadian Football League (CFL) player.

Contents

College

At the University of Oklahoma, Liggins was not only a football player, but also a wrestler. In 1967, he was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, a Consensus All-American with the Sooners football team, where he played noseguard, 7th in Heisman Trophy voting, UPI Lineman of the Year, and an All-Big Eight Conference All-Star. He was a member of the Sooners' squad when it upset the #2 ranked Tennessee Volunteers 26-24 in the 1968 Orange Bowl. A highlight feature of the game was nose-guard Liggins squaring off against Tennessee's All-American center Bob Johnson. By the 2nd half of the game, Tennessee was forced to double-team Liggins in an attempt to shut-off his quarterback pass rush.

In his autobiography, Fighting Back, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Robert "Rocky" Bleier lauded Liggins as perhaps the fastest defensive lineman Bleier had ever faced during his college career.

CFL

After his college football career, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1968. However, he instead decided to go to Canada. During his football career, Granville Liggins played for the Calgary Stampeders (1968–1972) and the Toronto Argonauts (1973–1978) in the Canadian Football League. In Calgary, from 1969 to 1972, Liggins played right defensive tackle alongside left tackle John Helton, with Wayne Harris at middle linebacker, forming a very impressing middle part of a defense. He was a member of a Stampeder team that was best in the CFL in points allowed and beat the Toronto Argonauts to win the 59th Grey Cup game of 1971. Liggins made the CFL's All-Canadian Team in 1971 and 1976 and received All-Western Football Conference Honours in 1972.

During his time with the Toronto Argonauts in the mid-1970s, he was part of the team's famed "Dirty Dozen" defence, at the time the best in the CFL. Following a trade to the Ottawa Rough Riders, Liggins retired in 1978. Perhaps the biggest barrier to a professional career with the NFL was that, at 6' tall and 235 lbs, he was small for his position by NFL standards. Yet his quickness and speed made him a perfect fit at that size for the Canadian Football League. He was embraced by CFL fans in both Calgary, Alberta (he often commented that the western Canadian province reminded him of his native Oklahoma) and Toronto—and never looked back. A perennial fan favourite, Liggins was a good-natured bundle of enthusiasm, energy, skill and football smarts; as he had done in university, he made the defensive line his home and distinguished himself with a freewheeling style, quickness and cat-like agility.

Post-football

As an American football player who decided to stay in Canada after his playing career was over (later becoming a Canadian citizen), [1] Liggins was featured on a 2004 Toronto Parks and Recreation "Contributions of African Canadians" poster created for Black History Month. Entitled "Beyond the Game", the poster featured Liggins and four other famous Toronto Argonaut players: Michael "Pinball" Clemons, Ulysses Curtis, Chuck Ealey and R. Bruce Smith.

Liggins is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. He currently resides in Oakville, Ontario. [1]

Related Research Articles

The 1976 CFL season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season.

The 1975 CFL season is considered to be the 22nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 18th Canadian Football League season.

The 1971 CFL season is considered to be the 18th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it was officially the 14th Canadian Football League season.

Daniel Hubert Federkeil is a former professional Canadian football player, having played offensive tackle for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played CIS football with the Calgary Dinos, and was drafted fifth overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2006 CFL Draft, but signed with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League shortly thereafter. He would later assist the Colts in winning Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Harding</span> American gridiron football player (born 1962)

Rodney Harding is a former professional defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Van Zeyl</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1983)

Chris Van Zeyl is a professional Canadian football offensive tackle for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion with the Toronto Argonauts and was named a CFL All-Star three times and CFL East Division All-Star six times. He played CIS Football for the McMaster Marauders as a defensive lineman. Van Zeyl has also been a member of the Montreal Alouettes.

The 1971 Calgary Stampeders season was the 14th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 27th overall. The team finished in first place in the Western Conference with a 9–6–1 record and won the franchise's second Grey Cup title with a 14–11 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in the 59th Grey Cup game.

The 2010 CFL season is the 57th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it is the 53rd Canadian Football League season. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton hosted the 98th Grey Cup on November 28 when the Montreal Alouettes became the first team to repeat as Grey Cup Champions in 13 years, defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 21–18. The league announced on its Twitter page on January 29, 2010 that the season would start on July 1, 2010. As of 2021 this is the most recent CFL regular season to start in July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Turner</span> Canadian football defensive lineman

Junior Turner is a former Canadian football defensive lineman. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent the first nine years of his career with the Calgary Stampeders where he won Grey Cup championships in 2014 and 2018. He played CIS football with the Bishop's Gaiters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Bulcke</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1987)

Brian Bulcke is a retired professional Canadian football defensive lineman. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 2010 CFL Draft and, after having his rights traded, signed with the Calgary Stampeders on September 11, 2011 after finishing his college eligibility and trying out for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. He signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on February 15, 2013.

Cory Stone is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is the defensive coordinator for Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, a position he has held since 2022. He has worked as an assistant coach with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Stone coached the Argonauts to a victory in the 100th Grey Cup in 2012. He played college football at the University of Tennessee from 1992 to 1994 and professionally in the Arena Football League from 1996 to 2005. Stone has coached in the Arena Football League for the Bakersfield Blitz, Rio Grande Valley Dorados, and Milwaukee Iron. He has coached college football at Clark Atlanta University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Lemon</span> American gridiron football player (born 1988)

Shawn Lemon is a professional gridiron football defensive lineman who is currently a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Akron and attended Westlake High School in Waldorf, Maryland. He has also been a member of eight CFL teams three arena football teams and two NFL teams.

Quinn Smith is a Canadian professional gridiron football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. Prior to being drafted into the Canadian Football League, he played Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) football for the Concordia Stingers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Dillard (gridiron football)</span> American football player (1938–2022)

James Austin Dillard was an American football halfback who played for the Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Rough Riders and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater and also had stints with the Baltimore Colts and Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League (NFL).

William Ben Van Burkleo is a former defensive back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Toronto Argonauts, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Rough Riders, Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He played college football at the University of Tulsa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Richards</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1995)

Shane Richards is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Smith (Canadian football)</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1997)

Robert Smith is a professional Canadian football defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Zamora</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1996)

Jonathan Zamora is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund</span> Canadian football player (born 1996)

Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund is a professional Canadian football defensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folarin Orimolade</span> American gridiron football player (born 1995)

Adefolarin Adebayo Orimolade is an American professional Canadian football defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

References

  1. 1 2 "Granville Liggins: Life after football". yourhome.ca. Torstar. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.