Henry Burris

Class of 2020

Henry Burris played 18 seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with four different teams, appearing in 277 regular season and 17 playoff games. He played with the Calgary Stampeders from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2011, the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2000, 2003 and 2004, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2012 and 2013, and finished his career with the Ottawa RedBlacks from 2014 to 2016. Burris spent two years with the Chicago Bears in the National Football League in 2001 and 2002.

Burris was recognized as a CFL All-Star in 2010 and 2015, was selected as an Eastern All-Star in 2015, and a Western All-Star in 2005, 2008 and 2010. He was also picked as a Canadian Football League Players Association (CFLPA) All-Star in 2006, 2013 and 2015. Burris was honoured with the Tom Pate Memorial Award in 2015 presented annually by the CFLPA to the player with the unique combination of outstanding sportsmanship and dedication to the league and the community.

He was part of Calgary’s Grey Cup-winning teams in 1998 and 2008, and won the RedBlacks’ first Grey Cup in 2016 in his final game. Burris played on Grey Cup finalist teams with Calgary in 1999 and Hamilton in 2013. He was chosen as Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in 2008 and 2016.

Burris started 229 games and completed a record of 118-108-3 in the CFL. He retired with 63,639 passing yards, which ranked third in CFL history, threw 373 touchdown passes with 227 interceptions and a passer efficiency rating of 93.6. He had 18 games in which he threw for 400 yards and 93 games with more than 300 yards. He completed 4,649 of 7,452 passing attempts for a pass completion percentage of 62.4 per cent.

Burris retired as the seventh all-time playoff passing leader with 3,566 passing yards and a completion percentage of 60.2, and as the sixth all-time Grey Cup passing leader with 1,281 yards and a completion percentage of 67.7. He led the CFL in passing yards in three seasons – 2012 with 5,367 yards, 2013 with 4,927 yards and 2015 with 5,693 yards.

Burris received the Most Outstanding Player Award in 2010 with Calgary and 2015 with Ottawa. He won the Jeff Nicklin Trophy as the Western Division nominee for Most Outstanding Player in 2008 and 2010, and the Terry Evanshen Trophy as the Eastern Division nominee in 2015. Burris was runner-up to Hall of Fame inductee quarterback Anthony Calvillo from the Montreal Alouettes in 2008.

Playing Career

Calgary Stampeders
1997-1999,2005-2011
Saskatchewan Roughriders
2000,2003-2004
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2012-2013
Ottawa REDBLACKS
2014-2016

Awards/Honours

  • CFLPA All-Star
    2006,2013,2015
  • CFL Western All-Star
    2005,2008,2010
  • CFL Eastern All-Star
    2012 ,2015
  • CFL All-Star
    2010,2015
  • Tom Pate Award
    2015
  • CFL Most Outstanding Player
    2010,2015
  • Grey Cup Game MVP
    2008,2016
  • Grey Cup Game Participation
    1998,1999,2008,2013,2016
  • Grey Cup Winning Teams
    1998,2008,2016