Steve Kearns (born November 23, 1956) 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 ...

slotback Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position in gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two pl ...

who played six 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

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

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. He was a territorial exemption of the Lions in the

1980 CFL draft The 1980 CFL Draft composed of seven rounds where 80 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 18 players were selected as territorial exemptions, with all nine t ...

. He played

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 ...

at Liberty Baptist College.

Early life

Kearns was born in

São Luís, Maranhão São Luís (; "Saint Louis") is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Upaon-açu Island or Ilha de São Luís, in the Baía de São Marcos (''Saint Mark's Bay''), an extension of the Atlantic ...

, Brazil and played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

as a youth. His family moved back to Canada so Steve and his brother Dan could attend Wexford High school. They first played Canadian football in Grade 11.

College career

Kearns played college football for the Liberty Baptist Flames of Liberty Baptist College from 1976 to 1979. He enrolled at Liberty as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

but switched to

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He earned Churchmen’s second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1978. Kearns set school career records in receiving yards with 1,210 and touchdown receptions with 10. He was inducted into Liberty's athletics hall of fame in 2016.

Professional career

Kearns was selected by the

as a territorial exemption in the

. He was the first Liberty player ever selected in a professional football draft. He played in 25 games for the Lions from 1980 to 1982. He was traded to the

and played in 30 games for the team from 1982 to 1985. Kearns retired after the 1985 season.

Personal life

Kearns has worked as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

for professional athletes with

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

after his playing career. He has been a chaplain for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats,

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 ...

and

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. His wife, Georgie, whom he met at Liberty Baptist College, has also worked with Athletes in Action. Kearns' twin brother

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

also played in the CFL.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Steve Living people 1956 births Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football slotbacks Liberty Flames football players BC Lions players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Canadian expatriates in Brazil Canadian chaplains Sportspeople from São Luís, Maranhão Sportspeople from Scarborough, Ontario Canadian football people from Toronto Canadian twins Brazilian players of Canadian football Brazilian players of American football Players of American football from Ontario American football wide receivers American football tight ends