TWO STAMPS ALUMNI GET HALL OF FAME NOD
Marvin Coleman, Vince Goldsmith among Class of 2024 to be inducted in October
When Marvin Coleman arrived in Calgary, the CFL squad here gave him jersey No. 17.
Not the usual number for a defensive back in those days.
“I was like, `Oh, man,'” said the 52-year-old Coleman, recalling the 1994 start of his seven stellar seasons with the Stampeders. “My first impression was they're not really looking for me to make the team, because that's a quarterback number.”
Of course, it wasn't his arm that made Coleman one of the best to play defensive back and make him a threat as a dangerous kick returner in the threedown game.
It was his legs, feet and heart that are putting him in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, with his name announced Friday as part of this year's inductee list.
Coleman joins another former Stampeders star in getting the hall call, as linebacker Vince Goldsmith is also among the Class of 2024.
The others slated to be inducted in October are receivers Chad Owens, S.J. Green and Weston Dressler, builders Ray Jauch and Ed Laverty and Football Reporters of Canada personalities Farhan Lalji and Steve Daniel.
“Growing up, I always played football,” said Coleman, who got the call that he's about to become a hall-of-famer from former Stamps head coach Wally Buono. “I always was a small guy playing against bigger guys and bigger competition. But one thing about it, I always had that grit and always played hard.”
Coleman's career spanned 10 seasons (1994-2003) and 166 combined games with the Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as he earned nine divisional all-star nods, three CFL all-star selections, two most outstanding player nominations and a rookie-of-the-year candidacy for the Stampeders.
As a defensive back, he tallied 28 interceptions — six of which resulted in touchdowns — and 538 tackles. As a dynamic returner, he still sits fourth all-time with 5,211 punt return yards, in addition to his 11,545 kick return yards and seven touchdowns.
The product of the NCAA'S Central State Marauders in Ohio made four Grey Cup appearances, capturing the trophy in 1998 and 2001 with the Stampeders, for whom he played 122 games.
“The good thing that I had going for me when I got into Calgary was Marvin Pope,” said Coleman of the Stamps linebacker and former teammate. “I played with Marvin Pope in college. I played against him in high school basketball. And then going to college and then seeing Marvin Pope and him kind of taking me up under his wing because I'm from Florida, and then me going to Calgary and seeing Marvin Pope again and he took me up under his wing again, that made the transition easy to be up there in Canada.
Goldsmith, who got the hall call from Saskatchewan Roughriders former teammate John Hufnagel, was with the Stampeders from 1985-87.
The linebacker entered the CFL in 1981 and notched 17 sacks to earn the most outstanding rookie award and be saluted as a CFL all-star — his first of three division nods during a 10-season career (1981-90).
He played in 163 contests to total 130.5 sacks, ranking eighth all-time in the league. In 1983, the former NCAA Oregon Ducks star collected a career high 20 sacks.
He went on to register 10 or more sacks on eight occasions.
Goldsmith was known for his time with the Roughriders, where he opened and closed his CFL career and won his only Grey Cup in 1989, and was traded to the Toronto Argonauts before hitching his wagon to the Stampeders after the Argonauts traded him to the Edmonton Eskimos, after which they released him three days later.
“So I went home for a month until the season started shaking out,” Goldsmith said. “People weren't playing well, or people were getting hurt. And then I was able to get a contract there at Calgary. And I think Steve Buratto was the coach of Calgary at the time. And I went into Calgary, and the day I went there, he got fired. They fired him, and Bud Riley became the head coach. And at that time, they were just cleaning house and bringing people in.
“And I went in, and I did pretty well. In Calgary, I was able to get back on my feet and re-establish my career.”