Bob_Simpson_(Canadian_football)
Bob Simpson (Canadian football)
Canadian football player (1930–2007)
Robert L. Simpson (April 20, 1930 – November 28, 2007) was a professional Canadian football player for the Ottawa Rough Riders, and was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1976. He was an IRFU all-star at four different positions throughout his career and was a two-time Grey Cup champion, winning with Ottawa in 1951 and 1960. He also represented Canada in basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.[1]
He was the Rough Riders nominee for the Schenley Most Outstanding Player in 1956, Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian Award three times, and was Most Outstanding Canadian runner-up in 1956.[2] Over his career with the Rough Riders, Simpson caught 274 passes for 6,034 yards and 65 touchdowns.[2] On defense, he recorded 18 interceptions for 192 return yards and three touchdowns while on punt returns, he had 53 returns for 376 yards (7.1 yard average) and one touchdown.[3] He was the first Rough Riders player to record 1000 receiving yards in a season, doing so in 1956.[4]
He was named to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1967[5] and the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame Museum in 1982.[6]
Simpson represented Wellington Ward on Ottawa City Council from 1960 to 1963.[6]