Chris Skinner

Skinner was drafted out of Bishop's University in the first round of the 1984 CFL College Draft by the Edmonton Eskimos.  Skinner didn't get a lot of action on offense in the first two years with Edmonton (1984-85), but started to get a lot more touches in 1986.  In the mid 1980s, Edmonton was experimenting with using a non-import running back who actually go to carry the ball, as opposed to the largely blocking fullbacks in most of the year since then.  Using a non-import running back helped free up an import for another position, and Skinner's performance didn't disapoint.  Skinner had his career highs in 1986 with 128 carries for 605 yards and also caught 52 passes for another 637 yards.  Skinner played two more seasons in Edmonton, and had another 52 catch season in 1987.  After the 1988 season, Skinner was traded to Ottawa for a first round draft pick, who turned out to be another great Canadian running back, Sean Millington.  Skinner didn't get much use in Ottawa in his only season there with only 40 carries, but he did have 30 catches for 305 yards.  Ottawa traded Skinner to BC in March of 1990 along with offensive linemen Richard McCrory and Rocco Romano for offensive lineman Rob Smith.  Skinner rebounded in BC in 1990 with more action and came with 2 yards of matching his career high in rushing with 603 yards on 102 carries. Skiner also had 48 catches for 525 yards.  Skinner had only 45 carries in 1991, but broke the 50 catch mark for the third time in his career with 51 catches for 525 yards.  Skinner retired in 1992. but returned to play 8 games for BC in 1993.  A balanced performer, Skinner ended with 2912 yards rushing and 2953 tards receiving.