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Don Getty's time as a superb Canadian CFL quarterback is worth remembering, too
The funeral for former Alberta premier Don Getty Saturday saw plenty of comments about his time in politics (he led the province from 1985 to 1992) and about his role as a family man, but the comments about his time as a football player shouldn't be overlooked either. Getty, born in Westmount, Quebec, was one of the most successful Canadian-born quarterbacks ever to play professional football, throwing for 8,952 yards and 58 touchdowns with the Edmonton Eskimos from 1955 to 1965. He played in the CFL after its official 1958 formation, and in its predecessor Western Interprovincial Football Union before that, and won Grey Cups with the Eskimos in 1955 and 1956. He had his name added to the Eskimos' Wall of Honour in 1992. Getty went into politics soon after retiring from football, running for provincial office in 1967 and becoming just one of six Conservative MLAs to win, and he said his football experience played a key role in his political success:
A more reserved personality than his predecessor, Getty learned his leadership skills on the football field in Edmonton, and during more than a decade in Lougheed's cabinet.
...For Getty, being quarterback wasn't only about calling the play or throwing the ball, he once told Edmonton writer Mark Lisac. It was about making other people confident in your leadership -- a belief he took to the premier's office.
"The guys you're playing with are 10 years older than you," Getty said. "Because they're playing football, they're kind of mean, though; linemen and fullbacks who would just as soon bash somebody as listen to them. The real art for a quarterback, assuming you can throw and think, is that you've got to lead them and make them believe in you."
A perfect example of that might come from the 1956 Grey Cup, where the 23-year-old Getty, in just his second year of professional football, was surprisingly named the team's starting quarterback over veteran American star Jackie Parker (who was moved into the backfield). Getty efficiently distributed the ball, and he snuck in for two rushing touchdowns himself, but the Parker move really beefed up Edmonton's ground game; Parker rushed for 129 yards and a record-tying three touchdowns, while Johnny Bright picked up a Grey Cup-record 169 rushing yards (which stood until Kory Sheets broke it in 2013), and the Eskimos finished with an incredible 456 team rushing yards (thanks to help from Getty as well as fellow Eskimo-turned-politician Normie Kwong and Rollie Miles), also a Grey Cup record.
This was the first Grey Cup game where touchdowns were worth six points instead of five points, and Edmonton made their seven touchdowns count. Hilariously, the Eskimos' 50-27 win really should have been 51-27: fans flooded the field at Toronto's Varsity Stadium and stole the ball after Parker's final-play touchdown before Edmonton could kick a convert. It was a big stage for Getty, and the 23-year-old quarterback did just fine under the spotlight. That was particularly true in comparison to his counterpart, legendary Montreal quarterback Sam "The Rifle" Etcheverry; Etcheverry had one of his worst CFL outings, throwing for 293 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another, but tossing a Grey Cup-record four interceptions and completing just 15 of 38 passes. Etcheverry finished his CFL career with over 30,000 passing yards, almost four times as many as Getty, but on that day, Getty and the Eskimos' offence turned in the better showing, beating the Alouettes to clinch a Grey Cup for the third time in a row.
While Getty left football behind for politics, his arm still came to his advantage. His son Derek told a story about how it might have even been too good at the funeral Saturday:
It was at the Klondike Days fairground, Derek Getty recounted to 600 assembled mourners at the All Saints Anglican Cathedral.
At one booth, Getty was invited to throw a football.
Throw the football through a tire and win a stuffed teddy bear.
So he did.
"He gave me a bear, and my brothers bears," said Derek. "And as kids were walking by he gives them bears, too."
"And at 45 in a row the guy looked at him and said, 'Alright sir, move along,'" he said to laughter.
We don't see many Canadian quarterbacks these days thanks to the CFL's rules that don't count their non-import status, and they weren't exactly common in Getty's day, either. However, he showed that he had the talent and the leadership ability to play the position brilliantly, both during a great college career at Western (where he played both football and basketball, and led the Mustangs to three basketball and two football championships) and later in the pros with the Eskimos. His political accomplishments may be more widely-remembered, but he was a terrific Canadian quarterback too. That shouldn't be forgotten.
