Greg Battle (born April 14, 1964) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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who played 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 ...

(CFL). He graduated from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He had a tryout with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

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but turned north to Canada in 1987. He won two CFL Outstanding Defensive player awards in his career, 1990 and 1991, and helped the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

to two

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 ...

victories in

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and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. He finished his career third in the CFL for career defensive tackles with 766. He was named one of the All-Time Blue Bomber Greats. As a senior, Battle accumulated 147 tackles and took home Honorable Mention All-America honors from the

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. He was chosen the Eastern Division outstanding defensive player three times (1989, 1990 and 1991) and the CFL's top defensive player in 1990 and 1991. He was named the Grey Cup's defensive MVP in 1990, when he recorded four tackles and two interceptions, returning one for a 56-yard touchdown in a 50–11 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos. During the game one sports caster jokingly asked if he could nominate Battle for most outstanding offensive player due to his interceptions. During his time in the CFL he was known for his Pass coverage skills, and outstanding speed. Battle also briefly played for the

Las Vegas Posse The Las Vegas Posse were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team, that played at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, in the league's 1994 CFL season, 1994 season as part of the Canadian Football League in the United States ...

in 1994 and the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

in the same season, the

Memphis Mad Dogs The Memphis Mad Dogs were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 CFL season, 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Mad Dogs were part of a failed attempt to CFL USA, expand the CFL into the United States. They played at Liberty ...

in 1995 and the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

in 1996 before returning to the Blue Bombers for his two final seasons. In 2007, Battle 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, ...

References

1964 births Living people Arizona State Sun Devils football players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners Las Vegas Posse players Memphis Mad Dogs players Ottawa Rough Riders players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Players of American football from Long Beach, California Players of Canadian football from Long Beach, California {{Canadianfootball-linebacker-stub