Tony Gabriel
| No. 77 | |
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Induction, November 10, 2010
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| Date of birth | December 11, 1948 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Burlington, Ontario |
| Career information | |
| CFL status | National |
| Position(s) | TE |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| College | Syracuse |
| High school | Burlington Central |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1971–1974 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1975–1981 | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| CFL All-Star | 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 |
| CFL East All-Star | 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
| Awards |
CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award - 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978 CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award - 1978 |
| Retired #s | Ottawa Rough Riders #77 |
| Records | Ottawa Rough Rider record, most career receiving yards (7,484) Ottawa Rough Rider record, most career receptions (444) |
| Career stats | |
Tony Gabriel (born December 11, 1948) is a former professional Canadian football pass receiver who played in the Canadian Football League from 1971 to 1981. He played for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough Riders. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in August 1985. In 2014, he was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
Gabriel was born in Burlington, Ontario on December 11, 1948, and attended Burlington Central High School from 1962 to 1967. While at BCHS, Tony played both football and basketball. He was a member of the Junior Basketball Championship team from 1965. He was honoured in 1967, with the M.M. Robinson Gold Medal for top student athlete at BCHS.
Two memories that stick out in his mind from being a Trojan were, firstly, not making the football team in his grade ten year; and in his grade 13 year, scoring 48 points in a senior basketball game to completely outscore the entire Nelson team.
Gabriel was active throughout high school playing junior football for the Burlington Braves under the direction of famed coach Bernie Custis. From there he attended Syracuse University from 1968–1971 where he played split-end for coach Ben Schwartzwalder. Following his time in college, he went on to have a legendary professional football career in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1971–1974, and with the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1975–1981.
Gabriel's first CFL year with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1971, was rather mediocre, with only 20 catches for 265 yards and one touchdown. With rookie quarterback Chuck Ealey in 1972 Gabriel caught 49 passes for 733 yards and 3 scores during the season and helped the team win the Grey Cup over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. After the 1974 season he joined the Ottawa Rough Riders. With Ottawa he had five seasons of over 1000 yards receiving, including four consecutive seasons from 1975 to 1978, with the other in 1981. In 1976 and 1977 Gabriel led the CFL in receiving yards with 1320 and 1362 respectively. There would not be another Canadian receiver with this accomplishment until the Stampeders' Dave Sapunjis in 1993.
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