Hamilton Tiger-Cats
One half of one game.
That was all it took for Henry Burris, once the face of the entire franchise, to lose his starting job in Calgary.
“Name a quarterback who hasn’t had a tough game in the regular season? Everyone has one every year,” Burris said reflecting on that fall night at Rogers Centre. 
The night Burris is referring to is Oct. 14, 2011, a Week 16 outing vs. the Toronto Argonauts.
The man more affectionately known as ‘Hank’ completed six of his 11 passes for 65 yards and a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He was eventually replaced by then backup pivot Drew Tate in the second quarter.
“I went through my own little struggle there in Toronto in the first half, and all of a sudden, [my starting job] just gets stripped away from me. It was definitely a slap in the face because of all I had done, and all I was still capable of doing for that team and all that we had accomplished up to that point. We were still in first place, battling at an important time in the season.”
Despite leading Calgary to the playoffs in each of his seven seasons with the club, Burris had no idea this was the beginning of the end for him in Calgary.
Let’s not forget that Burris propelled the Stamps to a Grey Cup championship in 2008, earning MVP honours in the process. He was also named the Most Outstanding Player in 2010.
“I knew at some point Drew was going to become the guy there because they had renewed his contract in the off-season and were basically crowning him as the heir to the future of the franchise,” Burris said.
“To be able to build the organization to where it was and where it has been and give it the cushion it has now, as far as the success that its had, it was hard to be shown the door that way – so abruptly.”
There was no way Burris was going to stay in Calgary and carry the clipboard as a backup to Tate. So, after Calgary’s 2011 season came to a close, Burris discussed different teams he would be interested in playing for with head coach and general manager John Hufnagel.
“I knew everybody was saying I was going to Toronto: I already had a locker in Toronto, they saw me at practice in Toronto and I was still practicing for Calgary,” Burris said of the rumours circulating at the time.
“I always had my eye on Hamilton, but with a guy like Kevin Glenn there I didn’t know what the situation was. I was keeping silent about it and I told John to put out feelers and see who was actually interested.”
“When Bob O’Billovich and John started talking, I was definitely interested in coming to a place like Hamilton with the great young talent that they have.”
O’Billovich and Hufnagel agreed on a trade shortly after the calendar flipped to 2012.
Glenn and non-import offensive lineman Mark Dewit were sent west to Calgary, in exchange for Burris.
Hank was back as the leader of a franchise in the Hammer and was elated when he found out he would be joined by a familiar face.
Not long after Burris became a Tiger-Cat, George Cortez was named head coach.
“When I got that call back from Coach Cortez and he told me, ‘I’m on my way to Hamilton.’ I was like a kid in the candy store,” Burris said.
“But, even more importantly, having that trust and confidence in him to allow me to go out there and play and do my job, not worry about anything else and worry about getting the hook.”
Cortez joked at Ticats training camp that there weren’t any cars when he first started coaching Burris. Safe to say, the two know each other well, which should help usher in a new era of Tiger-Cats football in smooth fashion.
Recently, Burris had a birthday, turning 37, and Cortez has been impressed with his evolution through the years from the young man he first worked with in 1998.
“When I first was around him, I asked him to bring a case of beer back from the States for a friend of mine, who loved American beer,” Cortez explained.
“He got to town and I said ‘Henry where is the beer?’ He said, ‘Coach it’s in my explorer, it’s in the cooler in the back of my explorer.’ I went out there and there was a six-pack siting there. So, I came back in and I said, ‘Where’s the rest of it?’ He said, ‘Coach you said get a case.’ I said, ‘Yeah a case, but you got a six-pack’.
“And now he thinks he’s a wine expert,” Cortez said with a laugh. “So there’s been a big evolution there.“
Burris said he never drank beer before when Cortez asked him to bring a case.
“I was 22 years old at the time,” he said. “I thought a case was a six-pack. At least now I know what a case is.”
All good-natured ribbing aside, Cortez and Burris seem to already be back in sync with one another, which bodes well for the Hamilton franchise as they embark on a season full of lofty expectations.
Some pundits have pointed to Burris’ age as a possible reason for his play tailing off at the end of the 2011 season. Yet, he’s not even the oldest quarterback in the league or the East Division.
“I’m out here at training camp running around with defensive backs, so if I’m able to keep up with them that’s pretty good for an old guy,” Burris said with a big grin.
“Honestly, age is only a number. I’m looking forward to getting out here with these young guys they’ve got me rejuvenated with a lot of energy.”
“With all the speed and capabilities we have on this team, I want to make sure I’m holding up my end. As the ‘old guy’ I love the challenge of coming out here with these young guys and showing I might be 37 in age, but I can still whoop there butts.”
Burris believes his game has become well rounded or full-bodied, if you will, with time.
“Young Hank never won a Grey Cup, the mistakes that I made when I was young, I don’t make those anymore,” he said.
Hamilton is banking on Hank to only get better with age.
Notes: Heading into the 2012 season, Burris sits in seventh place on the All-Time CFL passing yards list with 41, 234 yards, just 2,623 yards behind Matt Dunigan for fifth place
