By Brian Snelgrove
For Tiger-Cat fans, it was the kick of the decade.
Hamilton and Saskatchewan were locked in a 10-10 tie with time running down in the 1972 Grey Cup. The Tiger-Cats were on their own 15-yard line with less than two minutes to play. On the sidelines, Ian Sunter, a 19-year-old rookie kicker, waited patiently as first-year quarterback Chuck Ealey engineered a 68-yard drive to get the Tabbies in scoring position for a game-winning field goal attempt.
It was the final play of the game. The ball was spotted on the Saskatchewan 34-yard line and seconds later Sunter kicked his way into Tiger-Cat and Grey Cup history.
“When we got to the Roughrider’s side of the field with about a minute left, (Coach) Jerry Williams came over to me and asked, ‘Where do you think we have to get to? Where are you comfortable from,’” Sunter explains. “I told him, if we can get down around the 40, I feel pretty good. A few plays later as I got ready to run onto the field, Williams simply said ‘Go out and win it for us.’ Garney Henley, my holder just said, ‘Keep your head down and follow through.’”
“I felt very confident,” says Sunter of his historic kick. “It was a very comfortable atmosphere playing in front of the Hamilton fans.”
Little wonder that Sunter felt no pressure as he had connected on five field goals in the second game of the Eastern Final against Ottawa a week earlier.
For his efforts, the Tiger-Cat kicker, who also had a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, was named the game’s Most Valuable Canadian.
Sunter, born in Dundee, Scotland was a converted soccer player who joined the Tiger- Cats directly from high school when he was just 19.
“At 14 I didn’t know anything about football,” says Sunter who immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1966.
“The high school football coach at Burlington Central saw me playing soccer and asked if I would like to try out so I did. I also played junior football for the Burlington Braves. Bernie Custis was the coach. He presented you with opportunities and worked hard for his players. In return, we worked hard for him. I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for Bernie. He got me into the Tiger-Cats training camp and I was in the right place at the right time.”
Sunter played for Hamilton for three more years (1972-75) and led the East in scoring in 1974.
After leaving the Tiger-Cats in 1975, Sunter played for the Detroit Lions in the NFL before getting hurt after three games. He returned to Canada and spent three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts (1977-79) before finishing his career with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1980.
Obviously, the ’72 Tiger-Cat club evokes his fondest football memories. “We had quite a cast of characters,” he says. “There were no outcasts, everybody really fit in. There was a strong bond between us. There were a lot of teams with more talent than our team in’72 but we had a strong desire to do well for each other. Jerry was a great coach and we had a great blend of youth and veterans.”
Sunter has lived in Burlington for more than 40 years and runs two athletic equipment stores at Mainway and Appleby Arenas. Since his retirement, he has been heavily involved in local amateur sports in Burlington and used to coach both soccer and hockey.
He is a big fan of Jimmy Buffet and despite his Scottish roots confesses that he didn’t inherit the golf gene. “I try the odd time,” he says, “but I’m not very good at golf.”
Sunter attends the occasional Tiger-Cat or Argo game and keeps in touch with many of his former teammates including Tony Gabriel and John Williams.
As for his time with the Tiger-Cats; “It was really exciting to be playing in Hamilton at that time,” he says. “The fans made it very special. The tradition was still there and we knew what it took to win.” All they ever asked for was to be entertained and we sure did that. Especially in 1972.”
