Raymond Nicholas "Ray" Syrnyk, (1934 – December 9, 1956) was a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

player, and was one of 62 people who died on

Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810-9 was a Canadair North Star on a scheduled flight from Vancouver to Calgary (continuing to Regina, Winnipeg, and Toronto). The plane crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, on 9 ...

. Syrnyk played professionally for 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 i ...

as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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 numb ...

at the time of his death. Syrnyk's No. 56

jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

is one of eight that has been

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Roughriders.

Amateur football and college career

Syrnyk played amateur Canadian football in the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...

, and was a member of the 1953 Canadian Junior Football Championship Saskatoon Hilltops. He was enrolled as a student at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

in Saskatoon at the time of his death.

Professional career

Following junior league football, Syrnyk signed with the

in 1956. He was on his way back to Regina on Flight 810 after watching teammates

Mel Becket Melvin Howard "Mel" Becket, (1929 – December 9, 1956) was an American college football and professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956. Becket played his ...

and Gordon Sturtridge play in the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, British Columbia, on December 8, 1956.

Death

Syrnyk, along with Roughriders teammates, Becket, Sturtridge, and Mario DeMarco, were passengers on Flight 810 with another pro football player, Calvin Jones, of 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 their h ...

. All five players were at the 1956 All-Star Game in Vancouver, and were headed back to their respective teams' home cities. The five players were accompanied by 54 other passengers and 3 crew members who all lost their lives in Western Canada's worst aviation disaster on December 9, 1956. The crash is the subject of the 2012 documentary ''The Crash'', part of TSN's ''Engraved on a Nation'' series of eight documentaries celebrating the 100th

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syrnyk, Ray 1934 births 1956 deaths Accidental deaths in British Columbia Canadian football offensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Saskatoon University of Saskatchewan alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Canada Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1956