Vince Goldsmith (born July 20, 1959) is an American former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and

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 ...

who played for ten years 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). He spent the majority of his career with 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 ...

with whom he won a

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 ...

championship in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. Goldsmith was named a CFL All-Star in 1983 and was named a CFL West All-Star three times. He also 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 t ...

in . He had also been a member of 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 ...

and 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 ...

. 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 ...

for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

. In High School, at Mount Tahoma HS, Goldsmith set the all-time Washington State shot put record of 69'11" on April 29, 1977.

College career

Goldsmith played college football with the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

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(from 1977 to 1980) as a defensive tackle. At 230 lbs but only 5 feet 11 inches Goldsmith earned First Team All-Conference honors twice while becoming the school’s only defensive lineman ever to receive the

Morris Trophy Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast C ...

as top lineman. A 1980 Second Team

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All-American, he recorded 13 tackles in his collegiate debut. His most productive year was as a sophomore, when he tallied 87 tackles (62 unassisted) and 14 tackles for losses. He finished his collegiate career with 281 tackles, including 34 sacks, or tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame in 2002.

Professional career

Thought too small for 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 ...

, Goldsmith came to

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and played for 10 years. He made an instant impression in 1981 with the

, recording 17 sacks, being named an All-Star and winning the

. He was also a CFL All-Star in 1983. He played with the Roughriders from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1988 to 1990; in his second stint with the Roughriders, he appeared in the team's Grey Cup win in 1989. He played 101 games with the team and came in second in team history for sacks with 89. He played 17 games for the

in 1984 and played three years (1985 to 1987) with the

. His career total of 130.5 sacks is the eighth-best in CFL history. Goldsmith was announced 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, ...

2024 class on May 3, 2024.

References

1959 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas Players of Canadian football from Kansas Calgary Stampeders players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts players Oregon Ducks football players Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian football linebackers Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners {{Canadianfootball-defensive-lineman-stub