by Brian Snelgrove
He was one of the premiere defensive backs and placekickers in the CFL for a dozen seasons.
Don Sutherin crossed the border and joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after kicking the winning field goal for Ohio State in the 1958 Rose Bowl. “It was straight down the middle from 34 yards out,” he says with a grin.
So began a CFL career that would eventually land Sutherin in the CFL Hall of Fame.
Following a one year hiatus to the NFL where he played for both the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, the former Buckeye returned to the Ticats for the 1960 season.
Sutherin would go on to an outstanding seven year run with the Tiger-Cats (1960-66) and finish his CFL playing career in with Toronto in 1970. Four times while wearing the black and gold he was named an all-eastern defensive back and twice was selected all-Canadian.
”Defensively we were one tough bunch of guys,” says Sutherin of those dominant Tiger-Cat teams of the 60’s. “We might lose the battle but we would win the war. We had tremendous players on both sides of the ball. Great players like Henley, Faloney, Barrow, Ralph Goldston, Zeno Karcz, Bob Krouse, Bethea, Zuger, the list goes on and on.”
“Those teams reflected the City of Hamilton,” adds Sutherin. “They were tough, blue collar teams.”
The Ticat great defended against the best players of his generation and cites Hal Patterson as the toughest to cover. “He was an outstanding player,” says Sutherin. “He was deceptively quick and had great hands.”
Twice Sutherin led the Eastern Conference in interceptions (1961 and ’62) and sits fourth all-time on the Tiger-Cat career list with 35. He is one of only three Hamilton players to ever have four interceptions in a game (along with Al Brenner and Less Browne), a feat he accomplished in a game against Edmonton in 1961.
Sutherin led the division in scoring three times and played in five straight Grey Cups from 1961-65. “The 1961 team that lost to Winnipeg may have been the best of all of those,” says Sutherin. Throughout his career he played in eight Grey Cups and won a pair with Hamilton (1963 and ’65) and two with Ottawa (1968 and ’69).
Following his playing days, Sutherin remained active in the CFL as both an assistant and head coach.
He retired after serving as the defensive co-ordinator for the Ticats in 2002. Sutherin returned to his Ohio roots and moved to Hartville, Ohio, (near Canton) where he “plays golf five days a week, rests the other two” and “watches all kinds of football at different levels.”
The ex-kicker, ex-defensive back, is still a familiar face at Ivor Wynne Stadium and returns to Hamilton every year for the Bernie Faloney golf tournament and a game.
Don Sutherin was inducted in to the CFL Hall of Fame in 1992. His name was added to the Ticats Wall of Honour at Ivor Wynne Stadium in 2008.
