TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts Football Club in conjunction with the Argonauts Alumni Association will honour four individuals for their outstanding contributions to the organization during the team’s game vs. Montreal on Friday night. Lew Hayman, Peter Martin, and Bob O’Billovich will be recognized as All-Time Argo builders, while Quarterback Ricky Ray was elected to the All-Time Argos list. A permanent display area at BMO Field to celebrate these individuals will be announced at a later date.
Lew Hayman
Hayman joined the organization in 1932 as the interim head coach. The “interim” title was dropped the next year, and the Argos went on to win the Grey Cup. Hayman would lead the club to two more championships in 1937 and 1938. He’d leave the organization following the 1940 season. After leading Toronto RCAF to the 1942 title and co-founding the Montreal Alouettes, Hayman returned to the Argos in 1956. He would hold several titles, including president, managing director, vice-chairman, and director, until he left the club following the team’s Grey Cup win in 1983.
Hayman is second to only Bob O’Billovich in seasons spent coaching the Argos (9), has the most playoff wins (6), and is tied with the legendary Ted Morris with 3 Grey Cup wins as a head coach. He spent a total of 37 seasons with the Argos. Hayman was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1975.
Peter Martin
Martin joined the organization as a player in 1965 and retired after the 1972 season. While he was an outstanding linebacker, number 77’s contributions to the Argonauts were not limited to the gridiron. In 1977 he would begin a lengthy career as the colour commentator on Argo radio broadcasts. His insight and passion made him a fan favourite, and he held the position, aside for a handful of years, until the conclusion of the 2010 season.
Martin was also the president of the Argos Alumni Association for many years, finally stepping down following the 100th Grey Cup season in 2012. He spent almost 4 decades as an Argo and in 2000 he was named to the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 2016 the Canadian Football League Alumni Association named Martin and Michael Clemons as their co-Man of the Year.
Bob O’Billovich
O’Billovich arrived in 1982 to take over a team that had not been to the Grey Cup in 30 years. “O’Bie’s” Argonauts made the Grey Cup in his first year, then won it a season later by beating the BC Lions in Vancouver. He’d also lead the team to the championship game in 1987. After spending three seasons with the Lions, Bob returned to coach the Argos in 1993 and added the GM title a year later.
He is the all-time Argos leader in seasons coached (11), games coached (171), games won (89), most regular-season division titles (5), most playoff appearances (8), and he is tied with Lew Hayman and Teddy Morris for most Grey Cup appearances.
Ricky Ray
Ray was traded to the Argos from Edmonton in late 2011 and would go on to play 79 regular season games with the Boatmen between 2012-2018, making an indelible mark on the 151-year-old organization. In his first season in Double Blue, Ray led the team to a Grey Cup championship on home soil in the 100th playing of the iconic game, the team’s first Grey Cup triumph since 2004. His penultimate season in 2017 also culminated in a Grey Cup victory, including a record 100-yard touchdown pass in the snow in Ottawa. During his time in Toronto, Ray was named an East All-Star in 2013, 2014 (CFL All-Star both years as well) and 2017. In each of those three years, he was named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player.
The native of Happy Camp, California is the Argos all-time leader in touchdown passes (114), passing yards (20,205), pass attempts (2,476), pass completions (1,757), and pass completion percentage (71.0). Ray also holds Argos records for most 300-yard games in a season (13), most pass completions in a season (474), in a game (40), and consecutive completions (21).
Overall, Ray finished his CFL career fourth in passing yards (60,736), fifth in touchdowns (324), is the only quarterback in league history to win four Grey Cups as a starter (‘03, ‘05, ’12, and ‘17) and the only player ever to lead two franchises in all major passing categories.
For more information on the All-Time Argos list and other Toronto Argonauts information please visit http://argoalumni.com/all-time-argonauts/ and https://www.argonauts.ca/.
To purchase tickets to see these legendary Argonauts being honoured Friday night vs. Montreal, please visit https://www.argonauts.ca/tickets/.