Sam Cvijanovich is a former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the

Cal Lutheran Kingsmen California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...

during the

1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship The 1971 NAIA Division II football season was the 16th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the second season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in ...

. He has been named “the hardest hitter I’ve ever coached” by head coach

Bob Shoup Robert F. Shoup (born February 24, 1932) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was the head coach at California Lutheran University from 1962 to 1989, compiling a career coaching record of 185–87–6. Shoup led Cal Lutheran ...

. Nicknamed "Jawbone", Cvijanovich was six foot and 205 lbs. He was later named NAIA District III Player of the Year in both his junior and senior years at Cal Lutheran. He was later drafted to the Canadian Football League after his collegiate career and was selected as the CFL Rookie of the Year in 1974 as a middle linebacker 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 competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. He set a record for interceptions by a linebacker as a rookie and played three seasons for Toronto before being traded to

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 ...

. He ended his 1977 season and retired due to foot injuries.

Early life

Sam Cvijanovich is a graduate of Santa Clara High School in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. While at Santa Clara he played football, basketball, and baseball under his father

Lou Cvijanovich Lou Cvijanovich (September 7, 1926 – November 24, 2018) was an American basketball coach for Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, California from 1958 to 1999. His 829 wins are the most by a high school basketball coach in California history. Bi ...

, who coached varsity teams in all three sports.

College career

Cvijanovich played college football at California Lutheran College (1970–1972), where he was a second team all star in 1970. He was inducted into the Cal Lutheran Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

Professional career

Cvijanovich played three years with the

in the CFL (1974–1976), playing 43 games and wearing number 33. In 1974, he won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually awarded to the player judged to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner from the East Division, and the ...

on the strength of his 7 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. He later played for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

, and seven games for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

, in 1977.

Personal life

In 1980, Sam Cvijanovich purchased a biker bar in Oxnard with his brother

Steve Cvijanovich ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

and reopened it as a sports bar called Sam's Saloon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cvijanovich, Sam Cal Lutheran Kingsmen football players Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Toronto Argonauts players Canadian football linebackers Ottawa Rough Riders players BC Lions players 1950 births Living people Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Players of American football from Arizona