Rick Sowieta
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Rick Sowieta (10 March 1954 – 26 August 2017) was a
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
linebacker who played ten 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 ...
, mainly for 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 ...
, for whom he played eight years. He was a CFL Eastern All Star in 1980, 1983, and 1985.


Early life

Born in Heusden, Belgium, Sowieta's parents and family emigrated to Canada in 1957, and he grew up in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, where he attended
Glebe Collegiate Glebe Collegiate Institute (GCI) is a high school in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), Glebe Collegiate Institute has approximately 1,700 students and is the dis ...
for high school. While at the school, he played linebacker for the football team, who were City Jr. Junior Football Champs in 1969. He later played in the
Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national 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 professional footbal ...
for the local
Ottawa Sooners The Ottawa Sooners are a Canadian football team based in Ottawa. The team plays in the Ontario Football Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League. The team has achieved success during its play in the CJFL, winning a total of four Nationa ...
and, in 1971, they were the Eastern Canadian Finalists.


University

Sowieta attended the
University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...
in Virginia, where he earned a BA in Economics and graduated in 1977. While attending, he played linebacker for the
Richmond Spiders The Richmond Spiders represent the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. The Spider ...
, a Division 1 football team in the NCAA, which won Southern Conference Championship for the NCAA in 1975.


Careers


Professional football career

Sowieta began his professional football career in 1977 when he was a first-round draft pick for 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 ...
CFL team, for whom he played two seasons, from 1977 to 1979. In 1979, he was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders CFL team, for whom he played from 1979 to 1986. During his time with the Rough Riders he won three Eastern All-Star Selections (1980, 1983, 1985), was nominated as Ottawa's Choice for Outstanding Canadian Citizen in 1980, and played in the
69th Grey Cup The 69th Grey Cup was played on November 22, 1981, at the Olympic Stadium (Montreal), Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec in front of 52,487 fans. The 1981 Grey Cup game is considered to be one of the ten best Grey Cup games of all time. CFL footb ...
game in 1981. During his ten-year career he played 157 games, ten of which were playoff games and one of which was a Grey Cup game.


Football coaching career

Following the end of his career in the CFL, he coached on and off with various national, Junior League, University, and High School football teams. In both 1989 and 1990 he coached the Semi-Professional Ottawa Bootleggers to championship finals. In 1991, he coached the Ottawa Sooners to the
Canadian Bowl The Canadian Bowl is the championship of the Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete an ...
finals. In 2001, he coached the St. Mark's, an Ottawa high school, to the city championship finals. In 2002, the University of
Ottawa Gee-Gees The Ottawa Gee-Gees () are the athletic teams that represent the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. The Gee-Gees won the national football championship, the Vanier Cup, in 1975 and 2000, while also appearing in the game in the 1970, 1980 ...
football team was coached by Sowieta and they were finalists in the 2002
Yates Cup The Yates Cup () is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassi ...
. In both 2008 and 2009, the St. Pat's high school football teams were coached to victory at the Tier 2 city championships.


Football management positions

Sowieta served as the President of both the Ottawa Rough Riders Alumni Association and of the Ottawa Sooners Football Club. He also served as 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, ...
selection committee, of the
International Federation of American Football The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of American football associations. The IFAF oversees the organisation and promotion of all international competitions across both contact and non conta ...
, and as the High Performance Director Junior National Team (U20) in 2009. Sowieta was the General Manager of Canada's Team World (U20) for 2010.


Careers outside of football

In addition to playing for Rough Riders in the 80's, Sowieta worked for Bacardi Rum as the sales manager for Eastern Ontario from 1980-89. From 1989-2003 he was the co-owner of various Mexican-themed restaurants, namely Las Palmas, Rick's Cantina, and the Salsa Shack. From 2003-2005 Sowieta was an instructor at the Nowy Sacz University Business School in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, primarily teaching English as a second language. Sowieta died of cancer in 2017 at the age of 63.


References


External links


Toronto Argonauts Fumble Returns Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowieta, Rick 1954 births 2017 deaths People from Destelbergen Sportspeople from East Flanders Canadian football people from Ottawa Canadian football linebackers Canadian players of Canadian football Toronto Argonauts players Ottawa Rough Riders players Richmond Spiders football players Canadian people of Polish descent Belgian people of Polish descent Belgian emigrants to Canada Belgian players of American football