Leon Hatziioannou (; March 28, 1965) is a Canadian 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 ...

defensive 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 (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

who played eight seasons 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) with 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was selected by the Rough Riders in the third round of the 1988 CFL draft after playing

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 gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

Early life

Leon Hatziioannou was born on March 28, 1965, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He attended North Toronto High School. Hatziioannou played

for the

Simon Fraser Clan The SFU Red Leafs or Simon Fraser Red Leafs teams (formerly the Simon Fraser Clan) represent Simon Fraser University (SFU), which is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The Red Leafs are members of NCAA Division II and are the only Ca ...

, with his final year being in 1987.

Professional career

Hatziioannou was selected by the

in the third round, with the 22nd overall pick, of the 1988 CFL draft. He dressed in five games for the Rough Riders during the 1988 season. On Saturday October 15, 1988, Hatziioannou received a call from

head coach Mike Riley, who had been trying to contact him all day, that he had been traded to Winnipeg. Hatziioannou was the "future considerations" in an earlier Ottawa–Winnipeg trade for

Roy Dewalt Roy Dewalt (born September 4, 1956) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback who, in a career lasting nine years, played for the BC Lions between 1980 and 1987, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders in 1988. He led t ...

. Hatziioannou then played for the Blue Bombers in an October 16 Sunday afternoon game after having already played for the Rough Riders in Ottawa's October 14 Friday night game two days earlier. ''

The Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by The Klein Group circa 2024.Following its acquisition of Sun Media, opinion plus an emphasis on local news stories, and extensive sports coverage. T ...

'' speculated that he may have been the first CFL player to play for two teams in the same weekend. Hatziioannou won the

76th Grey Cup The 76th Grey Cup was the 1988 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22–21. This was the first Gre ...

with the Blue Bombers in 1988 and the

78th Grey Cup The 78th Grey Cup was the 1990 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Blue Bombers defeated the Eskimos, 50–11. Game s ...

in 1990. Overall, he dressed in 85 games for Winnipeg from 1988 to 1993. He was released on June 30, 1994, before the start of the 1994 season. Hatziioannou was signed to the practice roster of the

on July 11, 1994. He was later promoted to the active roster and dressed in 14 games for the Argonauts that year. He dressed in nine games in 1995 and spent part of the season on the injured list. Hatziioannou became a free agent on February 15, 1996, and was not re-signed by Toronto. He finished his CFL career with totals of 113 games dressed, 125 tackles, eight sacks, and four fumble recoveries.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatziioannou, Leon Living people 1965 births Canadian football people from Toronto Canadian football defensive linemen Simon Fraser Red Leafs football players Ottawa Rough Riders players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Ontario