Tommy Grant

Tommy Grant was a fleet footed Canadian out of the Windsor Junior football program who joined Hamilton in 1956.  Grant Played 14 seasons in the CFL, 13 of them with Hamilton, and finishing his career with Winnipeg in 1969.

Grant was mainly a receiver during his career, but Hamilton did line him up in the backfield sometimes as a running back.  In 1956 he had 37 carries, 28 in 1958 and 31 in 1962. Grant was initially a backup receiver, with just 10 catches in his rookie season in 1956, but added 133 yards rushing and another 333 yards on kickoff returns to earn the top rookie award in the East. Grant had 16 catches in 1957 before becoming a regular in 1958 with 30 catches for 756 yards and an outstanding 25.2 yard average.  A high average gain per catch was a trademark of Grant throughout his career as he averaged over 20 yards a catch 8 times.  Grant's career high for catches was 44, reached in both 1961 and again in 1964.  By today's standards, those are not high totals, but it was a 14 game schedule back then and teams ran the ball much more frequently in that era.  Grant ranked near the top of the East in receiving for much of his career at a time when 50 catches a year could lead the division.

Grant won an East All-Star in 1963 and a Canadian All-Star in 1964. The two All-Star selections reflect the change that was taking place in the CFL at that time.  Grant's 1963 selection was for halfback / running back, despite the fact he didn't carry the ball once in 1963!  The game was transitioning to a more pass orientated attack, and Gran'ts "Flanker" position was not recognized in the All-Star voting which at the time selected two Ends and four halfbacks.  In 1964, the Flanker position was recognized as an official All-Star position with the reduction to three running backs, and Grant was the first person to win All-Canadian honours at Flanker.

Besides his receiving skills, Grant was also a noted kick returner for both punts and kickoffs. Grant was second in the East in kickorf return yards in 1960 and led the East with 615 yards in 1962, including one returned 105 yards for a touchdown.  In 1964, Grant was named the Outstanding Canadian in the CFL. Grant played in 9 Grey Cup games, winning four rings as a winner in 1957, 1963, 1965 and 1967. Grant was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and placed on Hamilton's wall of honour in 210.. Tommy Grant passed away on October 18, 2011.

Wikipedia Article on Tommy Grant

Tommy Grant on fanbase.com

Tommy Grant Knew Little About Losing - October 18, 2011

Tommy Grant, 76, won Four Grey Cups

TGommy Grant in the Canadian Footall Hall of Fame

 

GP, Passing, Rushing and Receiving
Year Team GP PA PC % Yds TD Int Sacked Yds TC Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Long PTS
1956 HAM
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 133 3.6 1 10 236 23.6 1 51 12
1957 HAM
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0.7 0 16 332 20.8 1 70 6
1958 HAM
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 127 5.9 0 30 756 25.2 7 72 42
1959 HAM
1 1 100 13 0 0 0 0 15 70 4.6 0 29 453 15.6 3 45 18
1960 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 61 7.6 0 44 758 17.2 8 78 48
1961 HAM 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 4 0 7 78 11.2 0 16 6
1962 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 139 4.5 1 28 292 10.4 2 42 24
1963 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 2.5 0 40 834 20.9 7 57 42
1964 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 9 0 44 1029 23.4 7 66 42
1965 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 558 24.8 5 91 30
1966 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 683 19.5 8 47 48
1967 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 249 24.9 0 49 0
1968 HAM 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 203 25.4 1 50 6
1969 WPG 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 81 16.2 0 28 0

 

Kickoff, Punt and Missed Field Goal Returns
Year Team Yds Avg TD Long PR Yds Avg TD Long MFGRet Yds Avg TD Long
1956 HAM 333 19.6 0 60 0 5
0 5 0 0
0 0
1957 HAM 205 29.4 0 66 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0
1958 HAM 69 17.3 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0
1959 HAM 0 0 0 0 2 3 1.5 0 3 0 0
0 0
1960 HAM 566 24.6 0 36 1 3 3 0 3 0 0
0 0
1961 HAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0
1962 HAM 615 30.8 1 105 27 179 6.6 0 20 1 18 18 0 18
1963 HAM 209 26.1 0 63 36 271 7.5 0 32 2 13 6.5 0 8
1964 HAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0
1965 HAM 0 0 0 0 31 139 4.5 0 23 0 0
0 0
1966 HAM 0 0 0 0 37 183 4.9 0 33 0 0
0 0
1967 HAM 0 0 0 0 40 225 5.6 0 15 0 0
0 0
1968 HAM 0 0 0 0 35 187 5.3 0 24 0 0
0 0
1969 WPG 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 3 0 0
0 0

 

 

Fumbles
Year Team F FL
1956 HAM

1957 HAM

1958 HAM

1959 HAM

1960 HAM

1961 HAM

1962 HAM

1963 HAM

1964 HAM 0
1965 HAM 0
1966 HAM 1
1967 HAM 1 1
1968 HAM 0 0
1969 WPG 0 0

 

Interceptions
Year Team Int Yds Avg TDInt Long
1956 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1957 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1958 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1959 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1960 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1961 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1962 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1963 HAM 2 46 23 0 46
1964 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1965 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1966 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1967 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1968 HAM 0 0 0 0 0
1969 WPG 0 0 0 0 0

 

1962 Post Tommy Grant

Tommy Grant