Ted J. Dushinski (November 10, 1943 – October 24, 2005) was a former

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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 in 19 ...

of 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 ...

Early days

Ted Dushinski was born in

Ituna Ituna () is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2006, it had a population of 622. It is north-east of the capital Regina. The town contains several businesses serving the local residents and rural community, including financial services, gr ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in 1943. Dushinski loved hockey when younger, playing junior hockey with the

Saskatoon Quakers The Saskatoon Quakers were a Canadian ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The team played in various senior and minor professional hockey leagues from the 1930s to the 1970s. The Quakers represented Canada and won gold at the 1934 ...

as a young boy. He continued playing senior hockey during the off-season even after joining a pro football team, only stopping when football coach

Eagle Keys Eagle Keys (December 4, 1923 – December 20, 2012) was an American born professional Canadian football player who played and coached in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently List of Canadian Football League head coaches by wins, ...

requested it in case of injury. Dushinski played junior football with the Saskatoon Hilltops before joining the

in 1965.

CFL

Dushinski played eleven seasons with the team, helping them to victory in their first ever

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...

win in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

over 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 ...

by a score of 29-14. He also played in the 55th Grey Cup of 1967 and the 57th Grey Cup of 1969, losses to the

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 ...

and Ottawa, respectively. Dushinski was elected to the All Star Team in 1972. Leaving the Saskatchewan team after eleven seasons, he joined 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 ...

from 1976 to 1979

Post-football

He decided to retire after the 1977 season for business and family reasons, stating in a 1978 interview with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he wanted to "sever my relationships with football with good feelings ..the game has treated me well and I decided to walk away from it gracefully." He was married to singer/songwriter

Susan Jacks Susan Jacks ( Pesklevits; 19 August 1948 – 25 April 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. Career Susan Pesklevits was born on 19 August 1948 to a family of eight children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her family moved to ...

. Ted and Susan have one son named Thad. In 1983, they moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and were living in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

before Ted's death.

Honors

Dushinski was enshrined into the Saskatchewan Roughrider Hall of Fame in 1993.

Death

He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 2005, at the age of 61.

Videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dushinski, Ted 1943 births 2005 deaths BC Lions players Canadian football defensive backs Deaths from lung cancer in Canada Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Roughriders players People from Antioch, Tennessee Sportspeople from Davidson County, Tennessee