Douglas Harding Mitchell, (February 19, 1939 – July 20, 2022), was a

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, executive, and commissioner. A graduate of

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

and the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

(UBC), Mitchell played three games for 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 ...

in 1960. He earned a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from UBC in 1962. Mitchell later became the commissioner of the CFL, serving from 1984 to 1988. He was inducted into 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 ...

, was named Sportsman of the Year in 2007 by the Calgary Booster Club and in 2010 was listed by the Globe and Mail as one of the Power 50 of Canadian sports. His professional and community-based achievements were recognized with an appointment to the Order of Canada in 2004 and in 2007 he was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence. He worked at the national law firm of Borden Ladner Gervais, and sat on the CFL Board of Governors. He was married to Lois Mitchell, who was

lieutenant governor of Alberta The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the representative in Alberta of the monarch. The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the mona ...

2015–2020. Doug Mitchell was also the father of Scott Mitchell, president of the

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 ...

since 2007. The Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on the campus of UBC and the

Mitchell Bowl The Mitchell Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the more westerly location of the two semifinal venues. The winner of this g ...

semifinal of

U Sports football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athleti ...

are named in his honour. Mitchell and his wife also founded the U Sports Athletes of the Year Awards, given annually to the top male and female athletes in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

. In 2019, he was awarded the

Order of Sport The Order of Sport is a national level award established in 2019 by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. It is awarded alongside induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and regarded as Canada's highest sporting honour. Overview Canada’s Sp ...

, marking his induction into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

. He was inducted into 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, ...

as a builder in 2021. Mitchell died on July 20, 2022.

References

External links

CFLapedia biography

Order of Canada citation

Calgary Stampeders biography

Bloomberg Businessweek biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Doug 1939 births 2022 deaths BC Lions players Canadian Football League commissioners Colorado College Tigers football players Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Officers of the Order of Canada Players of Canadian football from Alberta Canadian football people from Calgary UBC Thunderbirds football players Canadian King's Counsel Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees