Herb Zurkowsky
Montreal Gazette
HAMILTON – Stevie Baggs isn’t certain when he hit rock bottom. It could have been when he started driving a truck to help pay the bills. Or when his home, in Daytona, Florida, was foreclosed because he couldn’t meet the mortgage payments. Or when he got down on his knees and contemplated cutting off his dreadlocks – a look that has become as much a signature of this man as his infectious smile.
How does someone pick out one incident when there have been so many trials and tribulations in such a short period of time?
“You try to see what’s going wrong? Why am I not getting to the level I know I should be at?” Baggs said this week during an interview beneath the stands at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Only in the last two seasons have Baggs’s fortunes changed. He was named a Canadian Football League West Division all-star in 2009, after tying for the league lead with 12 quarterback sacks and collecting 55 tackles while playing for Saskatchewan. He parlayed that into a contract with the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals last February, only to be released in early September.
Typically, one day after the Cards were humbled by Atlanta 41-7, they called Baggs, hoping to re-sign him. Problem was the six-foot-two, 240-pound defensive end had already signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The deal with the Ticats is for two years and an option, and reportedly worth $400,000. He signed with the Ticats after the Roughriders failed to match the deal.
Baggs was named the league’s defensive player of the week following Hamilton’s win over Toronto last Friday. He had seven tackles and two sacks. In four games since returning to the CFL, Baggs has 14 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
So talented is Baggs, teammates gave him the Shakespeare moniker years earlier, so accustomed were they to seeing him make plays.
“I like to say better is better, and I think we’ve taken a step in that direction,” Ticats general manager Bob O’Billovich said after signing Baggs last month. “Once we get organized, we’ll have one of the quickest front fours in the league – if not the quickest.”
If Baggs finally has peace of mind, not to mention some financial security, it wasn’t without numerous hardships. He has endured an up-and-down ride as a pro, through stints in the NFL, NFL Europe, the Arena League and CFL, where he’s already on his fourth team.
Through a series of strange circumstances, the door always seemed to slam shut on Baggs. That, in turn, led to periods of detours and self-doubt.
“You believe in yourself, but when you’ve been cut six or seven times, and when you know you have what it takes to be successful at any level of ball and you’re not deemed an opportunity to show that, sometimes that can discourage you,” he said.
The odyssey has taken Baggs to, in this order, Detroit, Frankfurt, Jacksonville, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Orlando, Saskatchewan, Arizona and now, finally, Hamilton. When he joined the Blue Bombers as a rookie and was on the practice roster, he shared a hotel room with Shawn Mayne, now a member of the Montreal Alouettes. Baggs received $500 a week and, by the end of the season, had grossed $20,000.
Their room was equipped with two televisions, phones and refrigerators. Baggs was forced to work as a personal trainer. He taught on a substitute basis and drove a truck for a courier service. He credits the owner of that company, Demaral Beasley, with helping him overcome the tough financial times. Beasley, Baggs said, gave him money to train, even paying his cellphone bills. Baggs calls him a brother, father-figure and mentor.
Baggs still isn’t certain how it came to this. In high school, he broke the Florida state single-season record for sacks, with 26, yet no prestigious NCAA Division I schools called, offering scholarships. (Ironically, he recently was told his school, Lake Brantley, is retiring his jersey. He’ll become only the fifth player so honoured.)
With no options, he went to Bethune-Cookman University, a predominantly black college in Daytona Beach, Florida. He recorded 40 career sacks – 15 as a senior – winning the Mel Blount defensive player of the year award.
Still, now NFL team chose to draft him, and he had unsuccessful tryouts with the Lions and Jaguars. A combination of faith and family helped Baggs persevere, and, with time, he became more mature.
“Humility comes before honour,” he said, words that have come to define his career and life. “You, going through things, it brings you down. When you’re down, it’s almost like … the quiet before the storm. To be honoured, you need humility somewhere. If you’re not humble, you’re not going to listen to anyone and you don’t have restraint. Humility for me … was being cut, the trials and tribulations.
“People look at the tangible things as blessings. I look at the things you can’t buy, like my family. Our character and ethics, that’s what lives on. It doesn’t mean we’re flawless, but it helps us be more faithful.”
A large part of Baggs’s life now revolves around the charitable foundation, Creating Empowerment Through Autonomy, he co-founded and established with his mother, Lola Robinson, in 2004. The foundation has been a staple of support for many communities throughout Florida and Georgia. Its mission is to prepare young people for higher education and to teach young people to be self sufficient.
It also has allowed the flamboyant star to become a motivational speaker. And to think Baggs came this close to giving up on football, putting his international business degree to use.
“I always knew (things would work out) in the back of my mind,” he said. “When I figured things out and changed my intentions, my opportunities on the field changed. My ability’s always been there, but my opportunities to show that ability were never there until I became more mature.
“That’s life. It’s the trials and tribulations and, obviously, the tragedy. The valley moments in your life set you up for mountaintop experiences. And it helps you become a better steward when you get there.”
Courtesy: www.montrealgazette.com
