James R. Stillwagon (February 11, 1949 – February 4, 2018) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who played five years 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) and was a two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

during his college career. Stillwagon was a three-year starter with the

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Buckeyes. He was a consensus All-American selection as a junior and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, and won the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

and was the first-ever winner of the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

. He also won the 1970 UPI Lineman of the Year. Stillwagon was one of the so-called Super Sophomores of 1968, guiding the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and a consensus national championship. Stillwagon and the other Super Sophomores finished their college careers with a record of 27–2. Stillwagon was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the fifth round (124th pick) of the

1971 NFL draft The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick ...

, but turned north to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

for a pro career. In five years in the

(1971–1975) with 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 ...

, Stillwagon was a three time all star. He was runner up for the

CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually awarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian football League. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada along with the head coaches in the CFL. ...

in 1972. Stillwagon was honoured at the September 11, 2009 home game of the

as the newest addition to the team's list of All-Time Argos.

References

1949 births 2018 deaths American football defensive tackles Canadian football defensive linemen Ohio State Buckeyes football players Toronto Argonauts players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Mount Vernon, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Players of Canadian football from Ohio {{collegefootball-player-stub