Tony Proudfoot

John A. "Tony" Proudfoot (10 September 1949 – 30 December 2010) was an All-Star defensive back in the Canadian Football League, teacher, coach, broadcaster and journalist.

He attended John Rennie High School, graduating in 1966.

Proudfoot went on to study at the University of New Brunswick and played as a linebacker for the university's football team.

In 1970, he was nominated for the Hec Crighton Trophy, awarded annually to Canada's outstanding intercollegiate football player.

In 1971, Proudfoot graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education.

Proudfoot was a Montreal Alouettes draft pick in 1971, and played for them for nine seasons (1971–79, 107 games), including five Grey Cup championship games.

Proudfoot initially played as a linebacker, and was cut in that role.

However, he was re-signed in 1973 and converted to a defensive back.

He played on the Alouette's 1974 Grey Cup winning team.

After missing much of the 1976 season because of injury, he moved to defensive half-back.

With time, Proudfoot and his fellow players became so experienced that they made the calls on the field; they signalled their plans to defensive coordinator Dick Roach in case he had to show that they were following his plans.

He and the team partied extensively in the bars and restaurants of Crescent Street.

In July 1977, his coach, Marv Levy, described Proudfoot as a "very smart football player ... [who] gets [the] very best out of himself" and who "isn't selfishly competing with his own teammates".

Proudfoot later reflected that his success in professional football was due to being able to work, learn, ask good questions and process information, as "I didn't have great ability".

During the "Ice Bowl" at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, the field was icy and very slippery.

Before the game players from the Alouettes and their opponents, the Edmonton Eskimos, tried various solutions to avoid falling, including broomball shoes, and various kinds of cleats, but none were very effective.

In the stadium, just prior to the pre-game warm-up, Proudfoot saw a Bell Canada electrician with a staple gun, and tried firing staples into the tip of the cleats on his shoes.

Over the course of the game, more and more of the Alouettes players followed suit.

Proudfoot later recalled "With that little bit of a grip, it gave you extra confidence. We really knew we had something when Gerry Dattilio caught a short pass from Sonny Wade and ran right past Larry Highbaugh for a big gain. Gerry will tell you that he was not ... well, he was not very fast. And Highbaugh was known as one of the fastest guys in the league. That's when we knew we had something. It was a big factor in that 41–6 win. Proudfoot was a CFL All-Star in 1977 and 1979. He also played three seasons (1980 to 1982, 41 games) with the B.C. Lions. He retired from the CFL at the end of the 1982 season.

During his playing career, Proudfoot began teaching physical education at Dawson College in Montreal in 1977, and continued to work there for 30 years.

In the years that followed, he also lectured in exercise science at Concordia University and physical education at McGill.

Following his playing career, he received some coaching offers in the CFL, but decided to combine his teaching career, which provided financial stability, with coaching in Montreal.

Proudfoot coached youth community teams and school teams in Pointe-Claire, Lower Canada College as well as the Junior Alouettes and the Junior Concordes.

during the summers, he worked as waterfront director at Camp Nominingue in the Laurentians from 1987 to 1995.

When the Alouettes returned to the CFL in 1996, Proudfoot became the team's radio analyst on CJAD.

For four years, he served as assistant coach for the Concordia Stingers, including 1998 when the Stingers reached the Vanier Cup.

Proudfoot also pursued further education, and received a master's degree in sports science at McGill University.

He served as assistant coach to Alouettes head coach Rod Rust in 2001, but continued to work as a broadcast analyst, never betraying the confidences of the team and its players during his broadcasts.

In 2002, Proudfoot began planning a book to examine about which traits and qualities result in greatness in a CFL player.

Following several years of interviews, research and writing Proudfoot's book entitled "First and Goal: The CFL and the Pursuit of Excellence" was published in 2006.

The book includes insights from 44 coaches and players, including Dave Dickenson, Wally Buono and Geroy Simon.

Jack Todd described the book as a "compelling analysis of all the factors that make the game entertaining and complex."

Proudfoot saw some of the injured from his office window during the 2006 Dawson College shooting, and descended with his first aid kit.

While the shooting continued and until a stretcher arrived about 15 minutes later, he tended to a student who had been shot in the head.

In 2007, Proudfoot was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neurone disease for which there is no known cure.

He wrote regular updates on his deterioration in the Montreal Gazette.

The courage, grace, and determination during his illness was widely admired.

He founded the Tony Proudfoot Fund for ALS Research at the ALS Society of Quebec, which raised over $500,000 for research into the disease.

Proudfoot was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and later moved to Pointe-Claire, Quebec.

He was a Grey Cup champion twice as a player, and twice as special consultant to Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman in 2009 and 2010.