Ron Lancaster - Playing Career

Playing Career

Lancaster was a talented quarterback by the time he graduated from Clairton High School, but due to his small 5' 5" (165 cm) stature, he was ignored by most college scouts. He attended tiny Wittenberg University and again showed talent, but no NFL scouts showed any interest; however, a scout for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League liked his on-field leadership, and Lancaster was signed by Ottawa.

During his rookie season with Ottawa in 1960, while he shared the quarterbacking duties with another future Hall of Famer, Russ Jackson, Ottawa won the Grey Cup. He spent two more years with Ottawa, but after a losing season in 1962 (6–7–1), Lancaster was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. (He would have a losing record only one other time in his career, in his last season as a player.)

It was with Saskatchewan that "The Little General" found his stride. In 16 seasons with Saskatchewan (1963–1978), he led the team into the playoffs 14 consecutive times, and made it to the CFL's Western Football Conference final 12 times. During that period, Saskatchewan represented the West in the Grey Cup five times (1966, 1967, 1969, 1972, and 1976); however the Roughriders won the big game only once, in 1966, when they defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 29–14.

Over Lancaster's 16 seasons with the Roughriders, they won 170 games with him at quarterback, and had only one losing record, 4–11–1 in 1978, which was Lancaster's final season as a quarterback.

He was the first quarterback in CFL history to reach 50,000 career passing yards, was a finalist for the Schenley Award as most outstanding player in 1966, 1970 and 1976, (winning in 1970 and 1976), was an All-Canadian in 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976 and a Western all-star in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975 and 1976.

He was so dominant as a quarterback, that on the day that he died, which was 30 years after he retired from playing, he was still ranked in the top 3 in career stats in a number of categories:

• second in touchdown passes (333, surpassed only by Damon Allen)
• third in pass completions (3,384)
• third in pass attempts (6,233)
• third in yards passing (50,535)

In November 2006, the Canadian sports network TSN listed Lancaster in 7th place on their Top 50 players of the CFL's modern era.