Toronto – The Canadian Football League announced during tonight’s CFL ON TSN Friday Night Football broadcast that iconic RB Dick Shatto has been named the Most Outstanding Argonaut of the Sixties. Shatto will represent the Boatmen in an online fan ballot (on CFL.ca) to determine the Most Outstanding Player of the decade.
Peter Martin, President of the Argonauts Alumni Association, enthused, “I had the pleasure of playing with Dick in his final season as an Argonaut. At that time, he was the franchise; an outstanding football player who could run, throw and catch – and do it all very well. By the end of his career he was worn, but no matter how he felt, he would always come to play. Dick was a great player and a wonderful individual who deserves to be honoured in this way.“
The late Dick Shatto (Argo from 1954-65) was a legend whose records and achievements transcend his era. The Argos didn’t always field a powerhouse squad during the early 1960s, but fans could be assured that getting a glimpse of Shatto was always worth the admission price at historical Varsity Stadium.
He is one of just four players in team history to have his number (#22) retired, and 44 years after his final game as an Argo he still holds five team records. Shatto was the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player (Jeff Russell Memorial award) in 1957 and 1964, named an East Division All-Star eight times (tied for most in team history) and was twice named a CFL All-Star in 1963 and 1964. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. Shatto also held management positions in the club and was the Argonauts’ General Manager from 1976-78.
Argonauts regular season records still held by Dick Shatto:
Career Touchdowns: 91
Career Rushing Touchdowns: 39
Career Rushing Yards: 6,958
Career Carries: 1,322
Career 100-yard Rushing Games: 16
Earlier this season, Canadians were asked to help honour legendary CFL players by voting for the Most Outstanding Player of the Sixties. The Lions, Eskimos and Rough Riders nominees were announced during Thursday night’s CFL ON TSN pre-game show. The remainder of the nominees will be announced on TSN broadcasts on Saturday.
Voting on CFL.ca for the Sixties M.O.P. will reopen on Sunday, July 19 when fans will then have the opportunity to pick one legend from the East and one from the West in a divisional vote, with the two winners to be announced during the week of August 10.
Finally, fans will be able to vote for the Most Outstanding Player of the Sixties from August 15 to September 8, with the winner to be announced on September 11, at the Retro Game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Shatto joins an impressive list of nominees already announced by the CFL:
EAST
Toronto Argonauts – Dick Shatto
Ottawa Rough Riders – Russ Jackson
WEST
B.C. Lions – Willie Fleming
Edmonton Eskimos – Tommy Joe Coffey
Calgary Stampeders – Wayne Harris
Yet to be announced are nominees from Montreal, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan.