Robert L. Simpson (April 20, 1930 – November 28, 2007) was a 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 for 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 ...

, and was elected to 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, ...

in 1976. He was an

IRFU IRFU or Irfu may refer to: * Irish Rugby Football Union, The Irish rugby football union (IRFU), is the national rugby association of Ireland *Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, a four-team league that merged with the Westerm Interprovincial Rugb ...

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

at four different positions throughout his career and was a two-time

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 ...

champion, winning with Ottawa in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. He also represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in basketball at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. 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. Over his career with the Rough Riders, Simpson caught 274 passes for 6,034 yards and 65

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. 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. He was the first Rough Riders player to record 1000 receiving yards in a season, doing so in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. He was named to the

Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame () is a hall of fame dedicated to recognizing athletes and sportspeople associated with Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It has been located in several locations during its history, including the Heritage Building section of ...

in 1967 and the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame Museum in 1982. Simpson represented

Wellington Ward Wellington Ward was one of the original five wards of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada created in 1855 from West Ward in Bytown, Upper Canada. It existed until 1994 when it was amalgamated with Dalhousie Ward to become Somerset Ward. The origi ...

Ottawa City Council Ottawa City Council () is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents wards throughout the city. Council member ...

from 1960 to 1963.

Olympic basketball

He was part of the Canadian basketball team that competed in the

which was eliminated after the group stage in the 1952 tournament. He played five matches.profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Bob 1930 births 2007 deaths Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football wide receivers Canadian men's basketball players Deaths from cancer in Ontario Deaths from prostate cancer in Canada Olympic basketball players for Canada Ontario Rugby Football Union players Ottawa city councillors Ottawa Rough Riders players Politicians from Windsor, Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario Basketball players from Windsor, Ontario Canadian sportsperson-politicians Basketball players from Ottawa Canadian football people from Windsor, Ontario 20th-century Canadian sportsmen