An avid Argos supporter and season ticket holder, Don Landry has covered almost every type of news from sports to music to talk radio in his 25 years of broadcasting and has conducted over 10,000 interviews with the likes of Prime Ministers, Premiers, sports legends, showbiz stars, power brokers and many more. Follow Don on Twitter @argoslandry or visit his website at donlandry.com.
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DON LANDRY
Argonauts.ca Columnist
TORONTO — There’s a certain amount of “Pinball” in Andre Durie‘s story. It’s there in the thrill of a 7 year old football player meeting his hero for the first time. And it’s there, again, in the eyes of a 30 year old veteran’s coach.
It’s been, and remains, in Durie’s mind as he continues to forge an ever growing importance in the scheme of things for the Toronto Argonauts.
A star running back most of his life, including an injury – interrupted university career at York (he still holds the OUA single-game rushing record of 349 yards), Durie has developed into a threat as an inside receiver and occasional kick returner, too. He’s tied with Hamilton’s Avon Cobourne for 6th place in the CFL in combined yards, with 734. He’s the Argos’ top receiver in two categories with 33 receptions and 356 yards. Combining yards in many different disciplines is quite Pinball Clemons-like.
“My love and my passion grew right there. I just wanted to play football. And that feeling he gave me…I wanted to play the sport I love and do the same, give back to another kid, hopefully, in the same way.”
– Andre Durie on his first meeting with Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons.
Some of it may be happenstance. But there’s more at play here than just coincidence as Andre Durie’s career arc mimics, in some ways, that of his boyhood idol. At the age of 7, Durie met Michael Clemons. He remembers it being a very important moment in his burgeoning football life.
“While I was part of the Mississauga Football League, we used to play our championship games at the Skydome. We got a chance to meet the Argonauts and Pinball Clemons was the first professional athlete I ever met. He took my hat and signed it. Then he took it to the rest of the team to get them to sign it. My love and my passion grew right there. I just wanted to play football. And that feeling he gave me…I wanted to play the sport I love and do the same, give back to another kid, hopefully, in the same way.”
That’s how Durie, the adult, sees the Pinball effect. With a ‘pay it forward’ mentality. As a kid, he remembers wanting to emulate the All-Time Argo’s energy.
“He was small, he was fast, he was relentless when he ran. Those were the kinds of things I wanted to do when I ran the ball.”
Durie’s not fussy about being compared to number 31: “He was an amazing player and I don’t think you can live up to the standards that he set.” But the comparisons can, nonetheless, be made when it comes to his skill set and development. Argos’ Head Coach & GM Jim Barker sees the similarities.
“No question. I said that when he came into the league.”
Barker’s not just talking about ability and style. When he talks about Durie’s importance to the team, it’s his off-field qualities that stand out in the personal highlight reel.
“He’s one of the first ones here every morning and you won’t find a better person anywhere in any walk of life. He’s a pleasure to be around, he
makes players around him better, he’s got a great, outgoing personality; very similar to Pinball.”
On the field, Durie is a lifelong tailback, transitioning to the art of playing as a pass receiver. In that development, Barker also sees similarities to Clemons’ own situation as a player.
“Last year we took the time and devoted it to teaching him to be a slotback, not knowing if he’d be able to make that change. The slot allows us to do certain things with Andre, just like it did with Pinball. When Don (Matthews) came in as head coach, he made Pinball a slot because he wanted him on the field at the same time as (running back) Robert Drummond. Now, we have Cory Boyd and we want Andre Durie on the field (at the same time).”
Argonauts.ca columnist Don Landry talks about building on the bye week, the Argos defence, Cleo Lemon and more as he breaks down Week 10 against the B.C. Lions. Click here to watch video.
That’s not to say Durie’s days as a running back are done. While he’s rushed just 11 times so far this season for a total of 82 yards, Barker is determined to add to that total. An average of 7.5 yards per carry suggests that would be a positive move.
“We need to incorporate him more as a runner. He’s a very, very good running back. As the season wears on I think you’re going to see that,” said Barker.
It’s a development I’m sure Andre Durie would embrace. However, if he never again got the chance to lug a ball out of the backfield, he’d remain quite happy to run pass routes over the middle.
“Yeah, it’s football, man. I love playing this game. It’s an opportunity to play and produce and be part of this team and get on the field. I look at it as an opportunity to help us succeed as a team,” Durie enthused.
All the while, Durie takes with him the echoes of The Pinball, still emulating him wherever he can.
“I try and take things from his game that made him successful and made him have a long career. Little things, like being able to adjust your skill set, being versatile and not taking hits square on, being able to shift right before a hit’s impact…all those things make you successful and produce yards, and they also help your shelf life, I guess you could say.”
THE EXTRA POINT
Durie’s rookie season came in 2007 (with Pinball Clemons as head coach – How’s that for continuing the narrative?), a year the Argos won the East Division regular season title after starting with a 2 and 6 record. What about lightning striking for a second time?
“It’s definitely possible and we do have the right guys to do it. We just have to keep the intensity up and limit the mistakes and we’ll be good. I think this week has gone great, so far, and we’ve gotta keep it up for the next couple of days and take it in to Friday (against the B.C. Lions). Big games coming up.”