Tony ProudFoot honoured
Proudfoot Park has a nice ring to it.
A new park in Pointe-Claire will bear the name of Tony Proudfoot, the former CFL football player who won a pair of Grey Cups with the Montreal Alouettes in 1974 and 1977.
Pointe-Claire confirmed the worst kept secret in town on Tuesday when city council announced it had approved naming a park after Proudfoot, a longtime local resident who died in 2010 at age 61 after battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig ’s disease.
The city received more than 60 proposals after opening the park-naming contest to the public. Proposals were evaluated on the “significance of their link to Pointe-Claire and their originality.”
Pointe-Clare Mayor John Belvedere said Proudfoot was the overwhelming choice of citizens.
“Naming the park after Tony Proudfoot is the perfect way to immortalize the life and career of this extraordinary man, as well as his life and involvement in Pointe-Claire, which showed remarkable determination, dedication, and generosity,” said the mayor.
“I don’t think we could have picked a better name or better person who represents what PointeClaire is all about.”
The new park, located near the intersection of Gendron and Des Frênes Avenues ( behind the FPInnovations building on St-Jean Blvd.) is planned for 2019 in the city’s Greenwich residential development.
It will include playgrounds, rest areas, a hiking trail and natural space.
Proudfoot’s wife Vicki was touched by the civic honour bestowed upon her late husband.
“It’s really exciting for us,” she said. “I think it’s pretty fitting for Tony because he lived in PointeClaire all his life and he was such an ‘outdoorsy’ guy. He played on all the community teams and played in all the parks, and so did our kids.”
Vicki said her husband would have been thrilled to be honoured in a West Island suburb he called home.
“First, I think he would he’d be very touched and honoured and all that. But he would also be laughing and say, ‘What? A park named after me?’
“He’d be surprised for sure.” She thanks Norm Horner, a retired Lindsay Place High School teacher, and radio broadcaster Rick Moffat for helping make Proudfoot Park a reality
It marks the second honour for Proudfoot in the last few weeks. The Pointe-Claire Oldtimers Hockey Tournament named a division after Proudfoot, and Vicki was invited to drop the ceremonial first puck.
Proudfoot was born in Winnipeg but moved to Pointe-Claire as a child. He attended Cedar Park Elementary (now Clearpoint) and later John Rennie High School, where he played football. He graduated from JRHS in 1966.
He went on to play football at the University of New Brunswick. In 1970, the hard-hitting linebacker was nominated for the Hec Crighton Trophy, awarded annually to Canada’s outstanding intercollegiate football player.
He enjoyed a stellar professional career with the powerhouse Alouettes of the 1970s. He played linebacker and defensive back for the Als from 1971-79 and was a twotime CFL East All-Star. He finished his CFL career with the B.C. Lions (1980-82) before returning to Montreal.
Tony and Vicki Proudfoot met through mutual friends in 1973 in Montreal. They later raised their own family in a home on Claremont Ave. in Pointe-Claire. They had three children: a son Michael, and two daughters, Lindsay and Lauren.
Proudfoot also taught physical education at Dawson for 30 years and was a longtime radio analyst for Alouettes football broadcasts.
After being diagnosed with ALS in 2007, he created the Tony Proudfoot Fund to support medical research and help those afflicted with the horrible disease.
Vicki Proudfoot doesn’t want her husband’s legacy defined by how he died, but rather how well he lived for 61 years.
““I like to think of him, and so do the kids (of when he was healthy). We don’t like to see pictures of him when he’s not well. I like to remember him as a great athlete and a great dad and husband, fun and that kind of thing.”
Vicki said she can’t wait to someday bring her five granddaughters, all of whom where born after her husband died, to visit Proudfoot Park.
“Imagine telling them the park was named after their grandfather? He never got the opportunity to meet any of them, so that’ll be really special, too.
“We make sure we talk about Tony a lot around the grandkids.”