Russell Stanley Jackson (born July 28, 1936) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

player. Jackson spent his entire 12-year professional football career with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He is a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

, and

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

, and has been described as the best Canadian-born quarterback to play in the CFL. In 2006, Jackson was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#8) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN, the highest-ranked Canadian-born player on the list.

Early life and university career

Jackson went to Westdale Secondary School in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. After a stellar college career as both a

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and football player, he graduated from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in 1958 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. He was the McMaster nominee for a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

, but did not pursue an interview for the scholarship, deciding to play professionally.

Professional career

Jackson was drafted in the first round, sixth overall, by the

in the 1958 CFL draft as a halfback. In his rookie year, he also played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and eventually became the starter and led the Rough Riders to three

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

victories ( 48th, 56th, and 57th Grey Cups). Jackson was the dominant CFL quarterback of the 1960s. Referred to as the " Y. A. Tittle of the North", he was honoured many times during his CFL career. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and 1969 seasons. He was also a four-time winner of the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award (

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, 1963, 1966, 1969). He was a six-time Eastern Conference All-Star quarterback (1962, 1963, 1966–1969) and the CFL All-Star quarterback in the 1966,

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, and 1969 seasons. Russ Jackson was inducted into the

in 1973. Many consider him one of the best Canadian-born players to play in the CFL, while most consider him to be the best Canadian to play the

position. In November 2006, Jackson was voted one of the CFL's top 50 players (No. 8) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN., the only Canadian-born player in the Top 10. Jackson ended his career with 24,593 passing yards, with 1,356 completions on 2,530 attempts (53.6%), 124 interceptions, 185 touchdowns, and an efficiency rating of 91.2. He was also a mobile quarterback, gaining 5,045 yards on the ground on 738 rushes, with 54 touchdowns. Among the few Canadian-born quarterbacks to play in the CFL, Jackson is the only one to pass for over 10,000 yards. He holds the record for throwing the most passing touchdowns in a Grey Cup game with four (set in the 1969 game) and highest career

passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leagu ...

in Grey Cup games with 118.4. ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

'' sports editor Eddie MacCabe wrote a biography for Jackson's career in Ottawa, titled ''Profile of a Pro: The Russ Jackson Story'' and first published in 1969.

Career statistics

Post-football playing career

Teaching

After retiring from football, Jackson returned to teaching, having been a mathematics teacher from 1959 to 1961 and head of the Department of Mathematics at Rideau High School in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

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from 1961 to 1966. He was the principal of Canterbury High School in Ottawa from 1973 to 1975. He later became a vice-principal and principal at secondary schools in Ottawa and

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

. He also became principal at Brampton Centennial Secondary School, John Fraser and T.L. Kennedy secondary schools.

Broadcasting

Jackson served as colour commentator for the CFL on CBC broadcasts from 1971 to 1973 and again from 1977 to 1980. From 1996 to 2001, Jackson was the colour commentator CHML-AM's coverage of the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

Coaching

Jackson briefly left teaching in 1975, spending two years as head coach of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. Jackson compiled a 12–18–2 regular season record in two seasons as the Argos' head coach, not reaching the playoffs in either season. Jackson was replaced by Leo Cahill, in his second tenure as the Argos' head coach, prior to the 1977 CFL season.

Honours

Jackson is an Officer of the

and was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in law by

in 1989. He was added to

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

in 2012. In 1986, the Russ Jackson Award was created in his honour to recognize the university football player who best exhibits athletic ability, academic achievement, and devoted citizenship. Russ Jackson was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

References

*CFL Facts, Figures and Records 1987 and 2007. *Ronald A. Ferroni, The 2001 Unofficial Canadian Football Encyclopedia, Hamilton 2001.

External links

"Russ Jackson"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Russ 1936 births Living people Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League announcers Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners Canadian football people from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian football quarterbacks Canadian monarchists Hamilton Tiger-Cats announcers Heads of schools in Canada McMaster Marauders football players Northern Star Award winners Officers of the Order of Canada Ottawa Rough Riders players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Toronto Argonauts coaches