Richard Suderman (October 18, 1940 – October 16, 1972) was a

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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

College football

Dick Suderman played college football at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Calgary

Suderman played

for 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 ...

from 1964 to 1972. He participated in 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 ...

games, losing the first to the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1968, the second to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, but defeating 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 ...

the following year in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

by a score of 14–11. Suderman was named the first ever Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian in that 59th Grey Cup, and awarded a trophy which was renamed the Dick Suderman Trophy in his honour, after his death the following year, just six weeks before the 1972 Grey Cup Championship. The trophy is awarded annually to each Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.

Edmonton

Suderman was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos during the course of the 1972 CFL season. The day after his first game as an Eskimo against the

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

, Suderman collapsed while having breakfast in a downtown restaurant with teammates, following their return from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, and died without regaining consciousness a few hours later of a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

, only two days shy of his 32nd birthday.Canadian gridder dies of brain hemorrhage
/ref> Despite the close proximity to the game, the doctors' opinion was that the hemorrhage was not related to football play, but caused by a congenital malformation of blood vessels. The Most Valuable Canadian award in the Grey Cup was renamed in his honour.

References

1940 births 1972 deaths Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Ontario Edmonton Elks players Canadian football people from Windsor, Ontario Western Mustangs football players {{Canadianfootball-defensive-lineman-stub