February 11, 2011
Fracas to be inducted into Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Legendary Windsor Lancer Football coach Gino Fracas has become one of the first individuals to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the Canadian university game.
He was announced on Friday as part of the Hall’s 2011 induction class, along with former CIS quarterback Chris Flynn, former CFL players Ken Lehmann, Danny McManus, Joe Montford and Terry Vaughn, as well as CFL coaching legend Don Matthews.
The week-long induction festivities will be hosted by the Calgary Stampeders, Sept. 14-18, 2011.
Fracas, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 79, will be inducted posthumously as a builder. Following his playing career at the University of Western Ontario and with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, he was a CIS head coach for over two decades at the University of Alberta and at the University of Windsor, where he founded the Lancers football program.
After decades of inducting only professional players and builders, the Hall is going back to honouring individuals from the amateur ranks. Based on recommendations from its amateur sub-committee, one amateur player and one builder could be inducted annually.
“The Hall of Fame represents the football community of Canada, and we are returning to our original mandate,” said Mark DeNobile, executive director of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum. “Our message to the fans of football is that we have listened to our stakeholders and going forward will do our best to fulfill that mandate.”
“It is an honour for CIS to be part of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame recognition,” said CIS chief executive officer, Marg McGregor. “It offers outstanding visibility to the deserving inductees, and it is great to see the Hall recognize the important role of university football in Canada.”
Fracas earned the nod into the Hall for his coaching accomplishments, although he also had a spectacular playing career. At Western Ontario, he was a three-time all-star and two-time Yates Cup champion between 1951 and 1954. As a CFL player in Edmonton, he captured back-to-back Grey Cups in 1955 and 1956.
After retiring from the CFL, he took over the head coaching position at the University of Alberta in 1963. Fracas led the Golden Bears to three league championships over the next four years including a berth in the inaugural Canadian College Bowl final (now the Vanier Cup) in 1965, where his Bears dropped a 14-7 decision to the Toronto Varsity Blues. He then returned to his hometown of Windsor, Ont., and in 1968 became the first head coach in Lancers history, a position he held until 1986. A two-time OUAA West coach of the year (1976, 1977), he guided the Lancers to the Central Canada Intercollegiate championship in 1969 and a share of the Yates Cup title in 1975.
Every year since 1988, CIS has presented the Gino Fracas Award to an outstanding volunteer coach, in honour of the former player, coach, administrator and University of Windsor professor.
“We are thrilled that Gino’s legacy will carry on through his induction into the Hall of Fame,” said Windsor director of athletics, Gord Grace. “He was an icon at the University of Windsor and his contributions to the sport of football were truly outstanding.”
“On behalf of the Fracas family, we are extremely pleased to see Gino inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said son Mark Fracas. “I think his colleagues and friends would agree with me when I say that our father was an exceptional coach and innovator. His induction to the Hall was always a dream of his and now that dream has come true”.
