TORONTO — The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is set to induct its 2024 class.
A trio of sure-handed receivers (with some returning skills as well), in Chad Owens, Weston Dressler and S.J. Green will be inducted on Friday, Sept. 13 at Tim Hortons Field. Joining them are cornerback Marvin Coleman and defensive end Vince Goldsmith in the Player Category.
Coaching legend Ray Jauch will be added in the Builder Category and Ed Laverty will be inducted posthumously.
Coleman and Goldsmith spoke with reporters on Thursday, ahead of Friday’s announcement. Here are some of their standout comments, as they reflected on their respective careers.
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Marvin Coleman
Coleman played 10 seasons (1994-2003) and 166 games with Calgary and Winnipeg, earning nine Divisional All-Star nods and three CFL All-Star selections. As a defensive back, he had 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 13 touchdowns (six defensive returns and seven kick returns).
The product of Central State University made four Grey Cup appearances, capturing the iconic trophy in 1998 with the Stampeders.
Vincent Goldsmith
Goldsmith entered the CFL in 1981 and had an impressive 17 sacks to earn Most Outstanding Rookie and a nod as a CFL All-Star. Over a 10-season career (1981-1990), he played in 163 games to total 130.5 sacks, ranking eighth all-time; in 1983, the former Oregon Duck collected a career-high 20 sacks. Across a consistent career, he went on to register 10-or-more sacks on eight occasions.
Goldsmith played for Saskatchewan, Toronto and Calgary, earning a trio of Divisional All-Star selections. He emerged victorious in his lone Grey Cup appearance in 1989 as his Roughriders defeated Hamilton.
“I was at work driving and I saw a 604 number come across my phone. I sent a text back, like, ‘Send a message. Then when I got the message, it was Wally Buono. When I called him back, he informed me that I was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“I’m very appreciative of it. I worked real hard. I was wondering when this day — or if this day — was going to come and to finally get that call, it’s been surreal. It really hasn’t hit me yet. I’m just waiting for it to hit me, come September.”
— Coleman on how he learned he was being inducted into the Hall of Fame and his reaction to it.
“It kind of came out of the blue. I had over the years discussed it with other people. But I had gotten caught up in the day-to-day, not really focusing on it. But when John Hufnagel gave me a call and told me it had happened, I was kind of in a haze for a while.
“One of the things was that I kept reflecting back to my parents, because I was raised in a home that really prized, football. Every Sunday, we would watch the the NFL and that’s kind of where I got hooked on it. So my mother and father were probably the thing that came uppermost in my mind when I had heard that I had been selected because I think they would have been proud.”
— Goldsmith on how he learned he was being inducted and where his first thoughts went.
“I was projected to get drafted in the third round (of the NFL Draft) coming out of college. I had my knee banged up, I got a scope on my knee my senior year. So after the season was over, I got a call from all Roy Shivers, who was director of player personnel for the Stampeders. He asked me, ‘How would you like to play professional football in Canada?’ I’m like, ‘In Canada??’ I was like, ‘Well, it’s professional football, and I love football.’ I think I missed the first preseason game. I was up there maybe two days before we played against the BC Lions and I got a chance to get in the game and my first punt return, I almost scored a touchdown but the turf monster got me. The rest was history.”
— Coleman on how he found the CFL and started playing for the Stampeders.
“I was at the University of Oregon and (had gone undrafted in the NFL). I also ran track, I did the shot-put. I was working with the track team. I had gotten a call from the coach that told me that (the Roughriders) were interested in me. And so at that time, I really didn’t have a whole lot of options but I knew I wanted to continue to play football and if I wanted to play the CFL seemed to be the path to take. I think they had a contract and it was open for three players and I was one of the three and the first one who took it was going to get it. And that’s how it happened. I just took the contract and came to Canada and did the best I could.”
— Goldsmith on how he became a Roughrider
“The good thing that I had going for me when I got to Calgary was (CFHOF member) Marvin Pope. I played with Marvin Pope in college. I played against him in high school basketball. Then going to college and seeing Marvin Pope and him kind of taking me up under his wing because I’m from Florida, then we go on to Calgary and seeing Marvin Pope again, he took me up under his wing. That made the transition easy to be up there in Canada. He always pushed me to be the player that I am and was.”
— Coleman on Marvin Pope helping him transition to Canadian football.
“It was great to get that out of the way and get that box checked before I retired. I don’t know what it’s like everywhere else. I was in Toronto and we went to the playoffs and we were expected to go back to the Grey Cup and win. Being in Regina, in ’89, the year before we played well, we had a good team. We just had to put it together. Even in ’89 we struggled. We were up and there was one game we lost after the time ran out against British Columbia, which had never happened to me before.
“But we won our last three games in a row, which we absolutely had to. We beat Edmonton after they really destroyed us. I think they beat us by 50 points. Then we went into Commonwealth in the playoffs and beat them and got the right to go to the Grey Cup. That was an exciting time because we struggled with with (Edmonton) forever. But at the end of the year, we put it all together and we won it. That was probably the crowning jewel of my career.”
— Goldsmith on being a part of the 1989 Grey Cup-winning Roughriders team
“To tell you the truth, I think a lot of guys on our team felt like we already had the game won before we played against them. Calgary coming in that year was the hottest team coming into that year because I think they had to win like the last three or four games to make the playoffs. That season, we was like 15-3 in Winnipeg, we had one of the top offences, defences. So I think a lot of our guys — and me myself — I just knew we had that game won before we played, even though you have to play the game. But I think we were a little more a little overconfident and didn’t give Calgary enough credit. And they made a couple more plays than us and and again, they won a Grey Cup.”
— Coleman on playing for the Bombers against his former team, the Stamps, in the 2001 Grey Cup