ELITE STAMPS TRIO GETS THE CALL TO HALL OF FAME

Lewis, Johnson and Mitchell each carved indelible impressions while in Calgary

They're three iconic figures in the history of the Calgary Stampeders.

One, Nik Lewis, is a receiver who set CFL records and forged as close a connection with the Calgary fan base as anyone in recent decades.

The second, Will Johnson, was soft-spoken off the field but terrifying on it. A defensive end who rewrote Stampeders record books and played a key part in the organization breaking a decades-long Grey Cup drought in 1992.

The third, Doug Mitchell, was a former CFL commissioner and is currently a member of the Stampeders executive committee, although those titles fall well short of explaining his impact on Canadian football and sport in general.

On Tuesday, it was announced that all three are members of the 2021 class of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

When they're formally inducted, they will bring the total number of Stampeders in the Hall of Fame to 51.

Here's a rundown of why Lewis, Johnson and Mitchell are such worthy Hall of Famers:

NIK LEWIS

That Lewis would one day find himself in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame has never really been in doubt. He's the CFL'S all-time leader in receptions, with 1,051, and one of the league's defining players of the past two decades.

He played 11 seasons with the Stampeders between 2004 and 2014 before signing with the Montreal Alouettes and playing three more seasons. He finished his career with 13,778 receiving yards and 71 touchdowns while holding the Stamps record for playing 165 consecutive games with at least one catch. He also surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first nine seasons and was a CFL all-star three times with the Stampeders and a West Division all-star on five occasions.

The numbers are mind-boggling, but they only scratch at the surface of what made Lewis so beloved in Calgary. The Nik Lewis Nation tailgate is a constant on game days and he holds a connection with Stampeders fans unlike arguably any other player.

“Honestly, I've always lived with the mindset that everyone can do things I can't do, and just because I do it on TV that doesn't make me special,” Lewis said. “My connection is just closing the gap between the fan and the player.

“I don't have fans, I have friends. People come out and they cheer and it's a great thing to be a part of.”

WILL JOHNSON

The Hall of Fame committee made Will Johnson wait — and probably longer than they should have.

Ultimately, though, Johnson got the call from former teammate Duane Ford on April 1. He thought it was an April Fool's

Day joke.

Johnson shouldn't have worried. He was a dominant force on the Stampeders defensive line for eight years from 1989-96, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks and become the franchise's

all-time sack leader with 99 — Charleston Hughes eventually tied that record.

Johnson's list of accomplishments is oh so long. He was part of the iconic Stampeders team that won the Grey Cup in 1992, was the team's top defensive player in '91 and '94, was selected as a West Division all-star six times and a CFL all-star five times.

“I just didn't know how they were voting or picking guys,” Johnson said of the long wait to getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. “After 10 years you sort of start saying `OK, it is what it is. I have a lot of stats I can go back and reflect on. I'm on the (Stampeders) Wall of Fame, so you go to (Mcmahon) Stadium and a lot of people see my name next to Doug Flutie.'

“I still felt vindicated, but this finally happening makes me even joyous.”

After his career, Johnson remained in Calgary and raised his family in the city.

DOUG MITCHELL

If you look at this and think `Wait, Doug Mitchell isn't already in the Builders Wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame?' we fully understand.

The Calgary native is a titan of the Canadian game.

At the professional level, here's a quick rundown of (some of ) Mitchell's accomplishments: He was the CFL'S commissioner from 1984 to '88. He played with the B.C. Lions starting in 1960. Today, he's a member of the Stampeders' executive committee.

His contributions at the university level are maybe even more profound.

Mitchell, a lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, created the BLG Awards in 1993. To this day, the awards honour the top male and female athletes in university sport. He's an alumnus of the University of British Columbia, where he played for one year, and the Mitchell Bowl, one of U Sports' annual football semifinals, is named in his honour.

“I think about how fortunate our young Canadians are to participate at university, get a degree and play a sport,” Mitchell said. “I can say obviously I came from a very modest home, but sports has had a major impact and I'll have a debt forever back to sport.”