Sports producer from Edmonton heads to Hall
Edmonton born and raised TV producer named to Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Edmonton will have an awardwinner to celebrate during Grey Cup week after all.
No, there hasn’t been a recount on the ballots resulting in quarterback Mike Reilly repeating as Most Outstanding Player. Indeed, Thursday’s awards ceremony at the Winspear will not include a single Edmonton Eskimo.
But there will be an individual winner here: an Edmonton born, raised and developed TSN executive producer.
Paul Graham, who was presented with the Hugh Campbell Leadership Award at last year’s CFL Awards show in Ottawa, will be inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
The recent decision by the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) to reveal the identity of the media Hall of Famer in the week leading up to Sunday’s induction at the FRC’s annual Grey Cup breakfast is perfect in this instance, because of all the people the City of Champions sports scene has produced, Graham may be the most anonymous to the average sports fan.
“I have had a lifelong passion for football in Canada and have been lucky enough to see it from several different angles, as a fan, a young player and then from behind the scenes in television production,” he said.
“As a fan, it really began for me as a kid when I started to follow the Eskimos. I grew up a mile away from old Clarke Stadium where I was a member of the Knothole Gang at 25 cents a game,” said the man who was born in the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
“I was glued to the radio when ‘The Voice,’ Bryan Hall, would call a game. I had favourite players like Tom Wilkinson, Roy Bell and George McGowan on offence and Dick Dupuis, Dave Gasser and John LaGrone on defence.
“Later I became a ball boy with the Edmonton Wildcats junior team that practised right next door to my beloved Esks, on a field where Commonwealth Stadium now sits.
“I would ride my bike to practice for $2 a week and thought I was overpaid. I even got my first road trip with that team when they went down to play the Calgary Colts at old Mewata Stadium and a road trip to Regina which meant I got to walk the sidelines of historic Taylor Field.
“Who knew that 45 years later I would be part of the Roughriders’ first Grey Cup win at home.”
Graham played high school football for St. Joseph’s where a 17-year-old Hank Ilesic was a teammate. Ilesic would go on the following season to join the Eskimos and was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Graham even admits in his
I grew up a mile away from old Clarke Stadium where I was a member of the Knothole Gang at 25 cents a game.
teenage years that he would sneak into Eskimos games.
“We’d pool our money and the oldest-looking guy would buy a mickey of rum and slip it to George, our favourite ticket-taker, and he’d let us into the game to watch the Hugh Campbellcoached five-in-a-row dynasty team for free,” said Graham.
A student at NAIT, Graham was hired immediately upon graduation to work Oilers telecasts in the team’s first year in the NHL.
His first CFL job was as the spotter for CBC. He later covered games for ITV in the production truck. He stayed with ITV working on Oilers and Eskimos games, as well as the SCTV and In Concert productions.
Graham worked on all Oilers playoff games including their four home Stanley Cup victories.
In 1978, he left for Toronto to assist in the startup of the Canadian Football Network, a move that cemented his relationship with the league and opened the door to many other relationships.
Moving to Hockey Night in Canada as senior producer in 1998, he produced four Stanley Cup finals and four NHL All- Star Games. He produced Wayne Gretzky’s last game and Mark Messier’s banner-raising in Madison Square Garden.
His credits include the Calgary 1988, Nagano 1998 and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics; the 1999 and 2003 Pan-Am Games; and dating back to 1992, the IIHF World Junior tournament he considers “my baby.”
But football has been his passion and football gave him his first big break when he was hired to produce 40 games a year for the Canadian Football Network.
Graham was more recently promoted to vice president and executive producer overseeing all live events on the network from football to curling, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Ottawa NHL games, MLS soccer, figure skating, Hockey Canada and so many more.
“I really have been lucky with my career. I’ve worked so many amazing events and had so much great travel. And now I get these honours and I receive this one in my hometown.”