Richard Frederick Aldridge (January 19, 1941 – June 26, 2004) was a player in 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 ...

. Aldridge played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for 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 ...

and

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 ...

from 1965 to 1974. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2004.

College and CFL draft

A star football and basketball player at

Runnymede Collegiate Institute Runnymede Collegiate Institute (colloquially known as Runnymede CI, RCI, or Runnymede) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school first opened in 1927 and is operated by the Toronto District School Board. Runnymede has a pop ...

in Toronto, Dick Aldridge attended the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

from 1960 to 1965, where he captained the basketball and football teams and was a three-time OUAA all-star half back. Originally drafted by the

B.C. Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

in the 1964 CFL draft, Aldridge was traded first to the

, and then, in the summer of 1965, to the

Toronto

Dick Aldridge played nine seasons for the

from

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, playing in virtually every game from his rookie season onwards, for a total of 117 regular season and 6 playoff games. Although a running back at university, it was as a linebacker and kick returner that he established himself in the Argonauts' line-up under head coach

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story " Light of Other Da ...

. Subsequent coaches

Leo Cahill Leo Cahill (July 30, 1928 – February 15, 2018) was an American head coach and general manager in the Canadian Football League (CFL), much of it spent with the Toronto Argonauts. Early life Cahill was born on July 30, 1928, in Utica, Illinois ...

and

John Rauch John Rauch (August 20, 1927 – June 10, 2008), also known by his nickname "Johnny Rauch", was an American football player and coach. He was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the team's loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II in earl ...

continued to use Aldridge as a linebacker, and the Argonauts' defensive unit of which he was a member in these years became renowned for its effectiveness and ferocity. His team-mate Peter Martin later described him as "a great athlete who was always very fit", who "trained a lot", devoted time to watching opponents on film, and "was a true student of the game". He recovered a career total of 11 fumbles (scoring one touchdown in 1968 after a 99-yard return) and made a career total of 18 interceptions (scoring one touchdown as a rookie in 1965) in Argonauts double-blue, including a team-leading 7 interceptions in 1970. The 1969 Argonauts' squad, disgruntled about being required to play four pre-season exhibition games without pay, held a meeting at Dick Aldridge's home, where they took advice from

Alan Eagleson Robert Alan Eagleson (born April 24, 1933) is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, hockey agent and promoter. Clients that he represented included superstars Bobby Orr and Darryl Sittler. He was the first executive director of the NHL Players Assoc ...

and decided to stage a walk-out. League rules at the time prohibited owner John W, H. Bassett from paying players to play in exhibition games, and the "strike" was resolved when he agreed to pay them $60 per week for the two weeks they spent in training camp. Dick Aldridge played in the 14–11 loss to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

in the 1971 Grey Cup game in Vancouver, made notorious in Canadian sporting history by

Leon McQuay Leon McQuay (March 19, 1950 – November 29, 1995) was an American professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). College career McQuay played college football with the ...

's slip and fumble seven yards from the Stampeders' endzone with fewer than two minutes left in the game.

Hamilton

Dick Aldridge retired from the Argonauts prior to the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

season, after John Rauch changed the start-time for team practices from four o'clock to noon, which would have made it impossible for Aldridge to continue in his day job as a high school teacher. However, he was then contacted by

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, whose practices were scheduled later in the day. He joined the Tiger-Cats for the 1974 season, playing in 10 games and making one interception, and helping the team to finish ahead of the Argonauts in the standings.

York University

After retiring from the CFL at the end of the 1974 season, Dick Aldridge was appointed head football coach at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. He coached the

Yeomen Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed ...

from 1975 to 1977, after which he coached the junior-level Etobicoke Junior Argonauts for a couple of seasons.

High school teacher and coach

In 1966, while playing for the Argonauts, Dick Aldridge began working as a teacher at his former high school,

. He moved to

Westview Centennial Secondary School Westview Centennial Secondary School is a semestered public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, under the sanction of the Toronto District School Board. It is located in the University Heights neighbourhood of North York. History Westview ...

in 1968, and in 1975, his CFL playing career having ended, he moved to a new teaching position at

Banting Memorial High School Banting Memorial High School is a public secondary institution serving grades 9–12, located in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Simcoe County District School Board and has a student population of 1530. The current Principal is Rob ...

Alliston, Ontario Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County, Ontario, Simcoe County in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth, Ontario, New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of All ...

. He and his family settled in

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

, where they later purchased and ran the local

Stedmans Stedmans V&S (or V&S for short) is a Canadian variety discount department store chain. Stedmans operates its stores mainly in smaller towns and cities in Canada. The chain's stores today are comparable in size and merchandise offered to simila ...

franchise. In addition to his teaching duties at Banting, Aldridge coached the senior boys' football and basketball teams.

Honours

Dick Aldridge was inducted into the Waterloo Warriors Hall in 1985. He was elected to the OUAA Legends Hall-of-Fame. He became an active member of the University of Waterloo Alumni Association, serving on its executive board.

Personal

Dick Aldridge married Elisabeth (Betty) Van Haastrecht in 1966 and had two children, Jodi and Rick. He died of pancreatic cancer on 26 June 2004 at his home in Tottenham. His cremated remains were interred at Mt. Tegart Cemetery in Tottenham. Following his death, Aldridge's family established and organized an annual charity golf tournament, the Dick Aldridge Charity Golf Classic, to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research. By its tenth anniversary in 2014, this event had raised over $750,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldridge, Dick 1941 births 2004 deaths Basketball players from Toronto Canadian men's basketball players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Toronto Argonauts players Waterloo Warriors football players Waterloo Warriors men's basketball players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen