Robert L. Simpson (April 20, 1930 – November 28, 2007) was a professional
Canadian football player for the
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...
, 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 great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
in 1976. He was an
IRFU all-star at four different positions throughout his career and was a two-time
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) 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 be ...
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 United ...
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
* Ja ...
. He also represented
Canada in basketball at the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in
Helsinki.
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
touchdowns.
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.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
.
He was named to the
Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1967 and the
Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame Museum in 1982.
Simpson represented
Wellington Ward on
Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council (french: Conseil municipal d'Ottawa) 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 war ...
from 1960 to 1963.
Olympic Basketball
He was part of the Canadian basketball team that competed in the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
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
Olympic basketball players of 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