2012 HALL OF FAME PROFILE: 1962 Redmen Football Team
MONTREAL - The 1962 McGill Redmen football team, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their magical Yates Cup league championship this fall, is among five new additions announced recently for induction to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame.
Despite pre-season wins over St. FX and RMC, the Redmen opened the regular season with back-to-back losses, but roared back to win their last five contests to finish with a 7-2 record overall, outscoring opponents 145-112. They tied Queen's for first place with 4-2 regular season record but ended up second on a coin-toss tie-breaker and were forced to travel to Kingston for a sudden-death playoff game with the Yates Cup championship on the line.
The Redmen captured the Senior Intercollegiate Football League title game before a CBC-TV audience with a 15-13 come-from-behind, last-minute playoff victory over Queen's in Kingston on Nov. 17, 1962.
McGill trailed by five points with two minutes remaining and had the ball on their own 7-yard line. Quarterback Tom Skypeck then completed five straight passes for 103 yards, hitting Willie Lambert for the game-winning 25-yard TD toss with 59 seconds left on the clock as McGill rallied to defeat their arch-rivals.
The team was guided by first-year head coach Bill Bewley and assistants Tom Moran (backfield), Ron Murphy (line) and Dave Copp. They featured a team record 11 honorees on The Canadian Press all-star team, including Skypeck, the team captain who received the Omega trophy as league MVP. The alternate captains were Don Taylor (tight end) and Willie Lambert, the latter whom merited all-star status at both running back and defensive back.
Other all-conference selections were Eric Walter, who led the league in scoring with eight TDs in six games, plus Andy Connor (OT), Dick Feidler (DT), Allan McKenzie (DE), Russ Zelko (DE), Steve Longstaff (LB) and Tony Blair (LB).
Rounding out the 35-man roster was Leon Abbott, Fraser Allen, John Bowler, Ewart Budgell, Stewart Davis, John DiFederico, Ian Grant, Peter Halmay, Bruce Ingram, Bruce Johansson, Wade Kenny, Ray Lawson, Sal Lovecchio, Brian Marshall, Saul Miller, Ian Monteith, Dave Morton, Brian Pilgrim, Gordon Potter, Richard (Whitey) Reimer, Larry Sheehan, Graeme Strathdee, George Telesh, Allan Wallace and Gavin Wyllie.
The support staff included Dick Nicholson (manager), Dave Smith (asst. manager), Jim Adams (trainer), Al Duguid (asst. trainer) and Fred Dupré (equipment manager). The team physicians were Dr. Everett Crutchlow, Dr. Hugh Brodie and Dr. Ted Percy.
1962 SENIOR INTERCOLLEGIATE FOOTBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS
| TEAM | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | PTS |
| Queen’s | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 137 | 87 | 8 |
| McGill | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 108 | 94 | 8 |
| Western | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 95 | 86 | 4 |
| Toronto | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 140 | 4 |
1962 SEASON SCHEDULE & RESULTS:
| Sept. 24 | *Won | 29-7 at RMC | (preseason) |
| Sept. 29 | *Won | 13-6 vs. St.FX | (preseason; Chruchill Bowl) |
| Oct. 6 | Lost | 11-22 at Western | |
| Oct. 13 | Lost | 13-19 vs. Toronto | |
| Oct. 20 | Won | 38-24 vs. Queen’s | (14,000 fans at Molson Stadium) |
| Oct. 27 | Won | 14-10 at Queen’s | |
| Nov. 3 | Won | 23-11 at Toronto | |
| Nov. 10 | Won | 9-8 vs. Western | |
| Nov. 17 | Won | 15-13 at Queen’s | (playoff; Yates Cup championship; CBC-TV) |
Other 2012 inductees to the McGill pantheon include swimmer Carol Chiang (BSc '99) of The Pas, Man., soccer goalkeeper Aldo Braccio (BA '85, MA '87) of Montreal, the 1962 Redmen football team and the late Frank McGill (BCom '15), a swimmer, hockey and football star from Montreal.
A profile of each new inductee will be featured online every Wednesday at www.mcgill.ca/athletics
The induction luncheon, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, kicks off the University's Homecoming Week celebrations. Tickets for the event are $65 and can be reserved by contacting the McGill Alumni Association at 514-398-8288.
Submissions for future inductions can be made by obtaining a nomination brochure from Kathryn Weaver at kathryn.weaver [at] mcgill.ca. A list of previous inductees can be found online at (www.mcgill.ca/athletics/varsitysports/athletes/hof/inductees/).
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)