Rogers Lehew (July 30, 1928 – March 16, 2021) was an

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and

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executive. He served as the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of 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 ...

from 1965 to 1974. He went on to become vice president and assistant general manager of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. Lehew graduated from the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

, where he played for the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the Universit ...

. After a stint in the air force, he returned to his alma mater and coached its football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

teams. He started working for the Stampeders in 1960 and was appointed general manager at the end of 1964. During Lehew's nine-season tenure, the franchise won the 1971 Grey Cup. He subsequently moved to the Lions in 1974, before retiring as an executive four years later and returning to Calgary.

Early life

Lehew was born in

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in and the county seat of Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 50 miles southeast of Dallas, Texas, Dallas. Its population was 25,109 at the 2020 census. Corsicana is considered an important ...

, on July 30, 1928. He studied at the

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1950. During his time there, he played on the

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 ...

and

teams, and lettered four and three times, respectively. He was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 1946 until 1949. He became one of only two players to qualify for the varsity football team as a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

, and contributed to the team's 9–1 record during his first season. In his final year, he was appointed

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and honored as its best lineman. He led the team to one of their most notable upsets that same year, with their victory over Villanova. Lehew first stint in coaching came with a high school football team in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, overseeing their

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, but has occurred more commonly at th ...

in 1950. He concurrently undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

and earned a

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educational administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

in 1951. He joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

that same year and played on its football team at

Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, until 1952. Upon completing his military service, Lehew returned to Tulsa and worked as an assistant football coach at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

in 1953, as well as its head baseball coach. He served in those capacities for two seasons.

Career

Lehew was invited to the

training camp in 1959 as a guest coach. He joined 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) franchise on a permanent basis the following season, working as coordinator of minor football development and as an assistant to the general manager. He was subsequently promoted to

in November 1964, succeeding

Jim Finks James Edward Finks (August 31, 1927 – May 8, 1994) was an American professional football player, coach, and executive. Early life and playing career Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended high school in Salem, Illinois, and attended ...

. Lehew was responsible for signing players like

Wayne Harris Carroll Wayne Harris (May 4, 1938 – June 4, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1961 through 1972. His son, Wayne Harris, Jr., coaches ...

Herm Harrison Herman Austin "Ham Hands" Harrison (September 29, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was a tight end with the Calgary Stampeders from 1964 to 1972. College career Herm Harrison played college football at Arizona State University. Professional career Ha ...

, John Helton,

Jerry Keeling Jerry Keeling (August 2, 1939 – January 20, 2018) was a quarterback and defensive back in the Canadian Football League (CFL), playing fifteen seasons from 1961 to 1975 for the Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Rough Riders, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. ...

Earl Lunsford Earl Lunsford (October 19, 1933 – September 3, 2008), known as the "Earthquake", was a fullback for the Calgary Stampeders and is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. College football Lunsford played during college at with Oklahom ...

Don Luzzi Don Luzzi (August 20, 1935 – October 30, 2005) was a politician and professional football player who played in the Canadian Football League. CFL career After playing college football at Villanova University, Don Luzzi played 12 seasons for th ...

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

, and

Harvey Wylie Harvey Douglas Wylie (April 6, 1933 – September 17, 2019) was a defensive back who played nine seasons in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders, Calgary Stampeders (ending his career with them in 1964). For five consecutive se ...

(all of whom were elected to 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, ...

), and for turning the Stampeders into a competitive team. During his tenure, the Stampeders made three appearances in Grey Cup games and won the championship 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 ...

, the franchise's second Grey Cup. He was influential in starting the team tradition of featuring a horse at the

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during games at

McMahon Stadium McMahon Stadium ( ) is a Canadian football stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. The stadium is located between the downtown core and the University of Calgar ...

. This was the precursor to Quick Six the Touchdown Horse. He also created the Presidents’ Ring in 1967, to honour the player who "best demonstrates excellence on and off the field as voted by the players". He oversaw the inclusion of the white horse to Stampeders helmets. Lehew left the Stampeders in 1974. He proceeded to serve as the vice president and assistant general manager of the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

from that year until 1978. He was inducted into the Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. He was subsequently honoured by the Stampeders on their

Wall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

in 2004.

Head coaching record

College baseball

Personal life

Lehew was married to Joann until her death. Together, they had three children: Garry, Lora, and Larry. After Lehew stopped working as a football executive in 1978, he returned to Calgary. He was subsequently employed at an oil patch until his retirement in 1997, and also engaged in other business interests. He died on March 16, 2021, in Calgary at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehew, Rogers 1928 births 2021 deaths Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Tulsa Golden Hurricane baseball players Tulsa Golden Hurricane baseball coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches Calgary Stampeders coaches Calgary Stampeders general managers Detroit Lions executives