Jerry Keeling (August 2, 1939 – January 20, 2018) was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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), playing fifteen seasons from 1961 to 1975 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. For his great play, he became a member of 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, ...

in 1989.

Calgary Stampeders

The

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

-born

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma, Garfield County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the openin ...

-reared Keeling was a member of the Stampeders from 1961 to 1972, playing defensive back and quarterback positions. It was only in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

that Keeling became the starting quarterback. Keeling was the winning quarterback in the

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 ...

Western Conference finals in a best of 3 series against 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 ...

, the final game in brutally cold weather (see video clip below) won by Calgary by a score of 15–14, one of the coldest football games ever. But the team lost the

58th Grey Cup The 58th Grey Cup was played on November 28, 1970, before 32,669 fans at CNE Stadium in Toronto. The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Calgary Stampeders 23–10. The 1970 Grey Cup marks the only time in CFL history that two third-place teams have m ...

game played on a very muddy field 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 ...

. However, after beating Saskatchewan again in the Western Conference finals 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 ...

, he beat 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 ...

during the rainy

59th Grey Cup The 59th Grey Cup was played on November 28, 1971, before 34,404 fans at Vancouver's Empire Stadium. The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Toronto Argonauts on a slick, rain-covered field, 14–11. Box Score First Quarter Calgary - TD - Herm H ...

game, his first championship victory.

Ottawa Rough Riders

Keeling became an Ottawa Rough Rider from 1973 to 1975. In

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 ...

, he was their starting quarterback and led his team to the

61st Grey Cup The 61st Grey Cup game was played at Toronto's CNE Stadium on November 25, 1973. The Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 22–18, before a crowd of 36,653. Game summary Edmonton scored quickly in the first quarter when running back ...

. However, he was replaced by

Rick Cassata James Rick Cassata (born November 17, 1947) is an American former gridiron football quarterback who played seven seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for five different teams. He led the Ottawa Rough Riders to victory in the 61st Grey C ...

in the title game because of an injury. Ottawa won that game, Keeling's second and last Grey Cup win.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

He ended his career in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

as the starting quarterback of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which finished 5–10–1 yet made the playoffs, though defeated on the first round by the Alouettes.

Coaching

Keeling was an assistant coach for the Stampeders from 1982 to 1983.

Death

Keeling died on Saturday, January 20, 2018. At the time of his death he was living in Oklahoma with his wife Vella.Deaths published Jan. 22, 2018
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keeling, Jerry 1939 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Paris, Texas Sportspeople from Texas Players of Canadian football from Texas Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive backs Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football quarterbacks Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Ottawa Rough Riders players Players of American football from Oklahoma Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Sportspeople from Enid, Oklahoma Enid High School alumni