Dave Fennell (born February 4, 1953) is a Canadian former defensive lineman for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

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). After graduating from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

in 1973, he played for Edmonton from 1974 to 1983, and helped lead the team to five straight

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 ...

championships from 1978 to 1982 as a key member of the " Alberta Crude" defence. Fennell was named CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1978, CFL Most Outstanding Canadian in 1979, and Defensive Star of the 1978 and 1982 Grey Cup games. He was a CFL and Western All-Star at defensive tackle from 1977 to 1981, and was runner-up for the Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1980. His nickname was "Doctor Death". Fennell is a member of 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 the

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum w ...

. In November 2006, he was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (No. 24) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Fennell earned a law degree from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

in 1979. After retiring from football, he founded Golden Star Resources, which is a mining company that was focused on gold deposits in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

while he was working there. He was an executive vice-chairman and a director of Miramar Mining Corporation. He is the father of John Fennell, a member of the Canadian

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

team at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia."Luger John Fennell tells the world he's gay"
. ''

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Regina, Saskatchewan, owned by Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieutenan ...

'', May 28, 2014.

References

External links

Canadian Football Hall of Fame biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fennell, Dave 1952 births Living people Businesspeople from Edmonton Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners Edmonton Elks players Lawyers in Alberta North Dakota Fighting Hawks football players Players of Canadian football from Alberta Canadian football people from Edmonton University of Alberta alumni Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductees