Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
I was interviewing Danny Barrett one time for a pregame interview before a Roughriders-Tiger-Cats broadcast a few years ago.
“We’ll be right back after this with the greatest Roughrider of ’em all, Ron Lancaster, now the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats,” I said into the microphone.
Barrett, the Riders’ coach at the time, got a crooked smile on his face and said, “You just love saying that don’t you?”
I said yes I do.
And I’ve referred to Ron Lancaster as such in every reference to him since. However he’s better known around here as “The Little General”, for the way he directed Rider troops on-field as quarterback of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1963-1978. He only became the CFL’s all-time leading passer during that time and led the Green and White to their first Grey Cup championship in 1966. The franchise had waited 56 years to lift the trophy and the Pennsylvania product is still cherished in the Wheat Province for bringing it home.
Now, sadly he’s gone. Just before the annual weekend celebrating the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the star-studded class of 2008, the league will be mourning the loss of one of its all-time greats.
Lancaster passed away overnight Wednesday at his Hamilton-area home at age 69. He had been battling lung cancer.
“It’s a shock,” said long-time Lancaster family friend Tom Shepherd, who is in Hamilton as part of the 2008 CFHOF Induction Class. “It’s not a shock because he had cancer and I knew he was suffering but I was just about to call him today. A lot of his friends are here this weekend like Peter Martin and Angelo Mosca, so of course it puts a damper on things. Ronnie is a living legend, and you can see that with the thousands of people who signed cards for him. It shows you the respect he has in the CFL.”
At Thursday’s Roughrider practice, the mood was sullen. At 8-3, Saskatchewan’s workouts are usually upbeat and high-tempo with plenty of hoots and hollering. But not today. As the players knocked helmets in the 25-degree heat, they were in the shadow of the grandstand that bares Lancaster’s name and #23 on the Plaza of Honour. They were unusually quiet.
“I only met him a few times but I have great respect for him,” said the longest-serving Rider, 14-year lineman Gene Makowsky. “He spoke at the Dogs Breakfast (U of S Huskies) fundraising banquet just a few years ago and I was ready to get up and run through a wall for him. What a motivator. And growing up in this province, of course I know he was everything to this football team.”
Lancaster certainly is. So much so that the Roughriders’ phone number is 569-2323, paying homage to Lancaster’s jersey number which has long been retired. There’s a 60-foot tall banner with Lancaster’s image on Mosaic Stadium’s west side, greeting Rider fans as they enter the facility for Rider games.
“You look at that big picture when you go to the game this Saturday night (against the BC Lions),” remarked Shepherd. “There he is — larger than life. And that’s what he is to the Roughriders. It’s a sad day for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. We’ve lost one of the greats of the CFL from the early 60s until now. He was a big part of it.”
There are a lot of tears being shed across Saskatchewan today and you know there’ll be a sea more, come Saturday when the Riders honour Lancaster at their home game against the Lions. The most visible outpouring of emotion yet was from Rider defensive line coach Ron Estay today, himself a hall of famer.
Estay has a print in his office depicting Lancaster dropping back to pass at Clarke Stadium, with Estay hurdling a Rider blocker trying to get at the Rider quarterback. The print is signed by both players, and I asked Estay if he’ll look at that image a little longer today.
“Yes…..” said Estay, then his voice trailed and he looked down at the turf. A tear welled up in his eye and starting making its way down his face. Everyone knows how he feels.
Ron Lancaster never did anything to tarnish his reputation as the greatest Roughrider of them all, and that’s why the Rider Nation is weeping today. One day we’ll be past it and Ron’s iconic status will be further solidified. But we’re not there yet.
“Sometimes when people like Ron Lancaster that are bigger than life pass on, it’s doubly hard because you think they’ll live forever,” said Rider GM Eric Tillman. “As the days wear on this will become more of a celebration, but it’s tough right now, especially for his family.”
“But I’ll never forget one thing he told me when I was with the CBC. I’d had a few curveballs thrown my way and I was trying to deal with them and he said, ‘Eric life is like football. Sometimes you’re going to throw some interceptions but you’ve got to get right back in there and try again. That’s what life’s about.’ I’ll never forget those words.”
Farewell Ron Lancaster. You will never be forgotten.
Rod Pedersen is the Voice of the Roughriders on 620 CKRM radio.
