STAMPS MOURN LOSS OF LEGEND
‘Sugarfoot’ a star on field and screen
As soon as news broke that Ezzrett “Sugarfoot” Anderson had died on Wednesday, the tributes began to roll in for the Calgary Stampeders great.
A CFL legend of his stature commands respect, and everyone from Stampeders alumni to the CFL commissioner offered their memories and condolences.
They remembered a great receiver. A member of the CFL family and a man who was a part of the Stampeders family for more than 75 years.
Former Stamps receiver Nik Lewis, though, hopes that people take a little time to learn more about the man.
“There’s just so much people don’t know about him and so much people should know,” Lewis said.
“He’s someone you should Google and find out about and read up about. He did live an amazing life, and he’s from that era where as a man of colour and a black man, to overcome all that, and to do movies and stage play and play professional football … it just goes to show not just how incredible an athlete he was, but how charismatic he was and how great a person he was.”
It doesn’t take much time to learn the basics of Anderson’s incredible life, even if you didn’t have the benefit of sitting with the 97-year-old and hearing his stories like Lewis did.
Anderson was a man who came into his football prime in the 1930s and 1940s, at a time when there were no black players in the NFL and many states in the southern United States prohibited — by law — black and white players from playing on the same field.
He nonetheless played semipro football in Los Angeles, becoming friends with fellow African-American sporting trailblazers like Jackie Robinson. On its own, playing through the racial prejudices he was forced to confront, he is very worthy of a place in sports history.
At the same time, though, he was becoming a star of stage and screen, landing roles in feature films like The Story of Seabiscuit alongside Shirley Temple.
In 1949, Anderson would get recruited by the Calgary Stampeders and begin an iconic sixyear career in which he’d register 142 receptions for 2,020 yards and 10 touchdowns.
From that point onward, Anderson was a familiar face around Stampeders games and practices, remaining active as a ticket account representative and ambassador well into his 90s.
He was added to the Stampeders Wall of Fame in 1990 and to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
That meant that generations later, guys like Lewis had the chance to hear his stories and become inspired by his amazing journey.
“I get the chills just talking about it,” Lewis said. “The one thing is that you find joy in the fact that you were able to know him. For the people who didn’t know him, I feel sorry for the people who didn’t get to shake his hand or get to sit down and have a conversation with him because those people missed our on something so tremendous and so much knowledge.”
It wasn’t just Anderson’s career that made him such a valuable resource and inspiration to guys like Lewis, though. Anderson made being a part of the Calgary community a huge part of his and his family’s life.
He paved a path for future pros plying their trade in the CFL and was never shy about sharing his experience.
“You could just see the passion he had for us out there practising hard and playing on gameday,” Lewis said. “You’d come into the locker-room and see him standing there with a fist pump coming in.
“He was such a genuine person and he enjoyed the life he lived. He enjoyed being able to just be out there in the atmosphere and when the defence was out there doing their thing the offence would sit with him and we enjoyed just sitting with him and laughing and hearing his stories.”
“Sugarfoot is an iconic figure in Stampeders history,” said Stampeders president and general manager John Hufnagel.
“He was a link to the early days of the franchise and he was a frequent and welcome presence at McMahon Stadium and Stampeders functions for many years. He will be sorely missed and we offer our condolences to his family and his many, many friends.”
There’s just so much people don’t know about him and so much people should know.