Mark Masters
CFL.ca
So much of what Wally Buono has done in his career cannot be summed up in numbers.
Buono is now, if judged by wins alone, the greatest coach in Canadian Football League history. The latest victory by the BC Lions marked win number 232 for Buono, the team’s coach and general manager, and allowed him to pass Don Matthews on the all-time list.
Matthews totalled 231 wins during 22 seasons with six teams.
Buono, born in Italy but raised in Montreal since the age of three, is in his 20th season as a head coach in the CFL having spent 13 of those years in Calgary and the rest with BC.
“Going back to his playing days you could see he was very tuned in, very prepared, very ready on game days,” said Marv Levy, who coached Buono when he played with the Montreal Alouettes. “He came into the game and into practice with not a cockiness but … you could see he was confident that he knew what he was going to do.”
After playing college ball at Idaho State Buono returned to Canada and played 10 seasons with the Montreal Alouettes as a linebacker and punter, appearing in 152 games.
Levy, who coached the Alouettes from 1973 to 1977, says even then you could tell Buono was destined to be a coach.
“You could see qualities in him … and I said to myself, ‘That guy looks to me like he could be a good coach.’”
Shortly after his retirement, Buono became an assistant coach with Montreal. By 1987 he found himself in Calgary where he worked under Larry Kuharich until 1990 when Stamps’ President Norman Kwong hired him as head coach.
Kwong, currently the lieutenant-governor of Alberta, says one thing stood out from Buono’s job interview.
“I remember him coming in for his interview for the coach position and I just remember how humble he was.”
Buono’s modesty is a trait he’s maintained throughout his long career in the CFL. This season he has refused most requests to talk about his pursuit of the wins record. But, a humble attitude is not the only reason Buono got the job in Calgary.
Kwong, who played for the Stampeders from 1948 to 1950, and then the Eskimos from 1951 until his retirement in 1960, admits Buono’s experience as a player in the league was a key factor in the hiring process.
“Wally was the choice because being a former player he understood how to relate, and to me he really typified a player’s coach.
“What makes him a good coach is his humanity. He knows what players feel and how to appeal to their best senses. He brings out the best in people.”
The more you talk to people around the CFL the clearer it becomes that it is Buono the man who impresses them even more than Buono the coach.
Kwong says he still keeps in touch with Buono, but when they speak the topic is rarely three-down football.
“In the times we have spoken since the Calgary days most of the conversations have been about family,” says Kwong. “Wally is a family man.”
Wally and his wife have four children, Amy, Dana, Christie and Michael.
“First and foremost I must thank my wife and children who have supported me and inspired me along the way,” said Buono following the game. “And of course, all of the players, coaches, owners and friends who have been a part of each and every win.”
“He’s a good guy, honest and fair,” says Adam Rita, the Toronto Argonauts general manager. “He can always see the big picture. He’s very, very, very close to his family and that’s tough in our business. He’s always there for his children and he has a great wife. They’ve always been close knit.”
Rita first met Buono in college. Buono’s team at Idaho State included a number of Hawaiian players and Rita, a native of Hawaii, spent a lot of time around the team while he attended Boise State University.
“I know he’s disciplined in his own self and he expects that from his team. He’s a hard taskmaster who expects people to be accountable … he expects a lot out of you,” said Rita. “His team will always be prepared and will play well on defence and special teams. There’s nothing fancy with him it’s all about consistency. You can’t underestimate him.”
Underestimating Buono on the football field is one thing, but the 59-year-old has also overcome challenges off the field.
Suffering from an angina in 2004, Buono had triple-bypass surgery after the season when it was discovered that 90 per cent of the main artery carrying blood to the heart was blocked. Buono recovered from the health scare and is now using his experience to help others.
Buono has been a spokesperson for Making the Connection TM, a program dedicated to the ongoing education of Canadians about the dangers of high cholesterol and its link to heart disease.
And Buono keeps going with no sign he will step away from the game any time soon.
“It takes a tremendous love of the game to stick with it,” says Levy. “In my own career I coached 47 years … he’s coached very long too, long hours many days, but you never worked a day in your life and that was my feeling and I got a feeling that’s Wally’s.”
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