Larry HIghbaugh is best remembered for his blazing speed on kick returns, but there are some other facts about him that you might not know.  First, Highbaugh started his career with BC and not Edmonton.  Highbaugh payed all of 1971 and most of 1972 with the Lions.  Second, HIghbaugh played running back in his rookie season with the Lions in 1971, rushing for 327 yards on 48 carries.  Third, Highbaugh is second (as of 2009) on the all-time pass interception list.  OK, now back to the speed.  Highbaugh revolutionized the kick return game, taking it from an important part of the game to one of the most exciting plays in the game.  Every time Highbaugh touched the ball, whether on offense, defense, or on special teams, he was a threat to take the ball to the house for six points.  For someone who never played regularly on offense, Highbaugh recorded an amazing 24 career tuchdowns. Other than that initial stint at runing back in his rookie season, HIghbaugh was mainly a defensive back, a backup receiver and of course a kick returner.  Offensively, his best season was that rookie year when he caught 27 passes for 488 yards. With Edmonton, Highbaugh was used mainly as a deep threat on offense now and then, with his most productive years with the Esks being 1977 with 20 catches for 276 yards.  The numbers fairly leap off the page when you look at HIghbaugh's kickoff return numbers.  For his first seven years, he had kickoff return averages over 30 yards a return, and three of those years were over 40 yards per return.   Consider some of these seasons.  1973, 22 returns for 873 yards and a  39.7 yard average.  1974, 14 returns for 606 anda 43.3 yard average.  1976, 21 returns for 843 yards and 40.1 yard average.  Note also the length of his returns.  102 yards in 1973, 90 yards in 1974, 109 yars in 1995 and 118 yards in 1976.  Once the rule was changed to allow blocking on punts, HIghbaugh also saw action on punt returns where his best season was 1975 with 42 returns for 705 yards  and a 16.8 yard average.  He also had a 116 yard punt return that year for a touchdown.  Time catches up to everyone, however, and as the 1970s wound down, Highbaugh was replaced on kick returns by new speedsters like Joe Holimon and Gary Hayes.  That might have been the end of the line for a more one dimensional player, but Highbaugh had his best years defensively as he moved away from kick returns.  HIghbaugh did have 6 interceptions early in his career in both 1972 and 1973, but the late 70s was when he really started to rack up the interceptions.  He set a newe career high with 7 in 1978, then recored 10 in 1979 to lead the West in Interceptions.  Starting the new decade, Highbaugh had 9 in 1980, just one shy of the West lead. There were 7 more interceptions in 1981 and HIghbaugh finished his career with 4 in 1982 and 5 in his final season in 1983.  In total, Highbaugh had 66 career interceptions and ran 4 of them back for touchdowns. Highbaugh won four West All-Star honours (1973, 1974, 1975 and 1977) as well as three CFL All-Stars (1973, 1973 and 1977) at defensive back.  Larry HIghbaugh was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.