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ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts Football Club is saddened to learn that former WR Al Pfeifer has passed away following a lengthy illness. He was 84 years old.
The Argos signed Pfeifer in 1951 and he finished his first full CFL season with 43 catches for 799 yards. He earned East Division All-Star honours in 1955 when he led the league in scoring. He missed the 1952 season to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
Pfeifer returned to the Double Blue in 1953 and stayed with the club through the 1956 season. He played five seasons as an Argonaut and dressed in 51 regular season and four playoff games. During that stretch, Pfeifer was one of the Argos’ best receivers as his career numbers included 299 catches for 4,726 yards. He left the Club holding several team individual receiving records including Most 100-Yard Games in a Career with 17. Pfeifer played one more CFL season in 1957 with the Ottawa Rough Riders before retirement. 16 years after his final game, Pfeifer was named to the All-Argonaut Modern Era Team (1945-1973) as a right end.
Pfeifer also had an illustrious collegiate career at Fordham University. After receiving a football scholarship from Vince Lombardi, he went on to total a school record 95 receptions for 1,346 yards and 16 touchdowns, and was inducted into the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame. He was drafted into the NFL by the New York Giants in 1951 but elected to come to Canada and join the Argonauts.
Commented former Argonauts teammate, Nick Volpe, “Al was an outstanding receiver, a terrific football player and a great competitor. He was one of the outstanding American players who came up to Canada in the early 1950s and we were very lucky to have him. He will be missed.”
The entire Toronto Argonauts organization would like to extend its deepest sympathies to Al’s wife, Barbara, and his family. Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial for Al on April 14 in Braemar, California.