Carter’s catch will go down as an all-timer, but is it the best?

Duron Carter deserves a backhanded compliment.

Effusive praise is warranted following Carter’s one-handed touchdown catch — a twisting, backhand grab, no less — for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Saturday’s 38-27 victory over the Toronto Argonauts.

It was one of the finest receptions I have witnessed in nearly a (gulp) half-century of following the CFL.

Was it the best catch in Roughriders history? That question has been raised with some frequency since Saturday.

Many observers have opined that Carter’s highlight-reel effort should be No. 1 on the team’s alltime list.

As for this scribbler, I simply could not decide whether I was indecisive.

The other candidate for top spot, in this highly subjective assessment, was the best catch Joey Walters ever made — which is saying something, considering his tendency toward the spectacular. On July 18, 1982, Walters made a diving, one-handed touchdown catch in a 26-24 loss to the B.C. Lions at Taylor Field.

Recollection of that play still makes my jaw drop, and my chins drop, all these years later.

But that Carter catch was (pick a superlative) amazing.

Carter or Walters? Whose catch is better? Hmmm …

Perhaps a boxing analogy can be used to resolve this dilemma. Suppose a challenger (Carter) battles the champion (Walters) to a draw. The champion would retain the belt.

By applying that admittedly arbitrary standard, the conclusion here is Walters is still No.

1 — Carter is 1A — simply because I have not witnessed anything superior to the play from 1982. However, Carter matched it.

The drawback when making a comparison is that, to the best of my knowledge, there isn’t any extant footage of Walters’ circus catch. The play was documented by a Saskatoon StarPhoenix photographer, who brilliantly captured Walters in mid-air, reaching for the football.

If today’s technology was available in 1982, the Walters catch — which he made without wearing gloves, by the way — would have instantly gone viral. It was that good. That great.

Let him describe it.

“I can remember falling or slipping after I made my cut and trying to get back up to locate the ball,” Walters said in a 2006 interview. “On my way up, I located the ball going past me. I could only leap at it from a crouch position, having not returned to an upright position as of yet, to have a chance at making the catch.

“So that’s what I did. Using the same hand that I was trying to use to regain my footing, I leaped — extending my arm — and made the catch.

“The short version: It was all luck.”

Here’s a lucky coincidence: One of Carter’s teammates is linebacker/defensive back Crezdon Butler — like Walters, a Clemson Tigers grad who went on to wear No. 17 for Saskatchewan.

Another common denominator is the humanity demonstrated by Walters and Carter.

While playing for the Riders from 1977 to 1982, Walters was a fan favourite because of his exciting style of play and his amazing way with people.

Fast forward to 2017. Carter, whose talent is unsurpassed among current CFL receivers, made his finest play as a Roughrider extra-special by giving the football to 12-year-old cancer survivor Paige Hansen.

So give Carter catch-of-theyear laurels — and commendation for the handoff of the year as well.