Jamie Taras (born January 31, 1966, in Acton, Ontario) is a former professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League British Columbia Lions, and current director of community relations with the BC Lions. Taras spent his entire 16-year career with the Lions as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, and played on two

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) 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 be ...

championship teams with the club. Taras played Canadian college football at the University of Western Ontario. In 2003, Taras was voted a member of the B.C. Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club's 50th anniversary celebration. Taras' number 60 jersey is one of eleven numbers retired by the B.C. Lions.

High school and college career

From 1979 to 1983, Taras played high school football at Bishop MacDonell High School in Guelph, Ontario. From 1983 to 1986, he played Canadian college football at the University of Western Ontario. Taras was an offensive guard for the Mustangs.

Professional career

Following his graduation from the University of Western Ontario, Taras was 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 (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in the third round of the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

CFL Draft as a guard. Taras initially played fullback for the Lions for four years, but achieved the greatest success of his playing career as an offensive guard, and later, center. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, Taras was a part of the Lions' 11-6-1 season that culminated in a

matchup with the Baltimore Stallions. The Lions ultimately prevailed, 26–23. The following season,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, Taras, playing guard, was named a

CFL All-Star The Canadian Football League played an all-star game regularly during the 1950s and 1970s and twice in the 1980s. 1950s The first game in 1955 actually precedes the establishment of the Canadian Football Council and the CFL, and was known as the ...

for the first time. Taras would be named a

a second time, in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, for his play at center. Taras twice won the DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy as the CFL Western Division's Most Outstanding Lineman, in

and

. In

, Taras was also awarded the

Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy The Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy is a Canadian Football League award, given to the most outstanding Canadian player in the West Division. Each team nominates a player for this award, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of this trophy ...

as the Most Outstanding Canadian in the CFL Western Division, and the Tom Pate Memorial Award, for his outstanding sportsmanship and service to the community. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Taras was a member of the Lion's fourth

championship team. The Lions defeated the Montreal Alouettes 28–26, with Taras snapping the ball to then-Lions quarterback, Damon Allen. Taras retired from the Lions in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, and was voted a member of the B.C. Lions All-Time Dream Team, at the guard position, as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration. Taras #60 was also retired by the Lions, but curiously, his jersey number was worn during the

2006 CFL season The 2006 CFL season is considered to be the 53rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 49th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 2006 It was announced on April 9, 2006 that the CFL had suspended the operat ...

by then Lions

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

, Jason Jimenez.

Post-football life

Following his retirement in

, Taras became the Vice-President of the Canadian Football League Players' Association. Now the Director of Community Relations with the BC Lions. Taras currently resides in South Surrey, British Columbia with his wife Jennifer and their two children, Sydney and William. Taras is very active in the Greater Vancouver area in community and charitable activities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taras, Jamie 1966 births Living people BC Lions players Canadian football offensive linemen People from the Regional Municipality of Halton Players of Canadian football from Ontario Western Mustangs football players