Advertisement

Bob O’Billovich retires, leaving a remarkable legacy from his 50 years around the CFL

Half a century's a long time to spend anywhere, but it's particularly remarkable to spend that long around one league in the often-changing world of football. Bob O'Billovich managed that, though, officially announcing his retirement Monday 50 years after he started in the CFL as a player. He worked as a player, scout, coach and executive over the years, and left a prominent impact wherever he went.

O'Billovich most recently served as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' general manager, but was dumped from that position in December to pave the way for Kent Austin to take the roles of both head coach and general manager. The Tiger-Cats offered O'Billovich a consultant role, but as he told Drew Edwards Monday, it felt like time for him to move on:

"The last two weeks seemed like every day's been like Saturday," O'Billovich told Edwards. "I don't think it's sunk in yet. I came to a big decision, my family and I discussed it while we were away, and I just think it's time for me to spend some more quality time with my family right now."

O'Billovich has certainly devoted plenty of time to the CFL over the years. He started as a player with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1963, playing both defensive back and quarterback, then transitioned into a coaching role with the team (first as a guest coach, then as an assistant coach). He also played a prominent role in CIS basketball in Ottawa, coaching both the Carleton Ravens and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the early 1970s. It was the CFL where O'Billovich really made his mark, though. His run with Ottawa helped boost his profile, and he was hired as the Toronto Argonauts' head coach in 1982.

The Argonauts didn't have to wait long to enjoy the fruits of that decision, as O'Billovich took them to the Grey Cup game that first season and then won it the next year. His 1980s Argonauts had plenty of memorable moments and made it back to the big game in 1987, falling 38-36 to Edmonton that year. He was named CFL coach of the year in both 1982 and 1987. After his Toronto tenure ended in 1989, O'Billovich went off to B.C. in 1990 and served as head coach there through 1992 before heading back to the Argonauts as general manager; his stint there (1993-1995) also saw him take over as head coach for the last half of the 1993 season, the whole 1994 season and the last half of the 1995 season. The next decade saw him serve as the B.C. Lions' director of player personnel from 2003-2007 before being hired as Hamilton's general manager, a post he held through the end of the 2012 season. That's a pretty remarkable run, and an impressive collection of high-profile jobs.

O'Billovich's long history of success is remarkable, as are the contributions he made to Canadian football. Many wouldn't have expected that a NCAA basketball player from the University of Montana would go on to spend most of five decades as a key figure in the CFL, but that's certainly proved to be the case. O'Billovich will likely be selected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder before too long, and that will be a well-deserved honour for him. Who knows if we can close the book on his CFL contributions entirely, though? As he told Edwards, "We'll see what happens. I don't know what's going to happen down the road."