Saskatchewan Roughriders
In 1953 Tripucka moved to Canada to play with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The 'Riders had just hired Frank Filchock as coach, and Tripucka joined him as the starting quarterback. He played there through 1958, when he was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders, but he was back in Saskatchewan before the end of the 1959 season as coach. The Roughriders were having a dismal season.
Non-Canadians playing Canadian professional football were known as imports. In 1959 each Canadian Football League team was limited to 12 imports. Coach Tripucka was ineligible to play because the Roughriders already had these 12 roster spots filled. However, in the fourteenth game of the season, all three Roughrider quarterbacks were sidelined by injuries. For the last two games, management decided to play Tripucka anyway.
Because of the ineligible player, these two games were forfeit in advance. The Roughriders lost the first of them on the scoreboard as well, 20-19 versus the Edmonton Eskimos. In the last game of the season, versus Bud Grant's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Tripucka had 17 completions in 29 passes and Ferdy Burket ran for five touchdowns. At the end of the game the Roughriders led 37 to 30. The final, official score was Saskatchewan 37, Winnipeg 30 for a Winnipeg victory.
Tripucka played seven seasons in Canada.
Read more about this topic: Frank Tripucka