Annis Stukus
Annis Stukus is the oldes and best known of the three Stukus brothers. Annis was born in Toronto and played most of his career for various Toronto teams, but strangely enough is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder for his work in building the franchises in both Edmonton and BC.
After playing junior football with the Toronto Argos junior club, Annis Stukus moved up to th ebig club in 1935 and played for the Argos for seven seasons from 1935 to 1941. Stukus played established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the IRFU / Big Four, and led the league in scoring in 1938. Stukus was also named the All-Star Quarterback in the East in 1938. With th eoutbreak of Word War II, the Argos and the Big Four ceased play for three seasons from 1942 to 1944, but Stukus kept on playing. The ORFU (Ontario Rugby Football League) continued play during the war and Stukus played for the Toronto Indians in 1942 and Toronto Balmy Beach in 1943 where he was the All-Star QB of the ORFU. In 1944, Stukus was in the Navy and played for the Toronto Navy Bulldogs team which played in an armed services league in Ontario. Following the war, Stukus played two more seasons for the Toronto Indians in 1945 and 1946 in the ORFU. Stukus retired after 1946 In 1949, Stukus joined the Edmonton Eskimos as their Head Coach and GM as the franchise revived itself after last playing in 1949. Stukus coach the Eskimos for three seasons (1949-51), and came out of retirement to play in 1950 and 1951 to do the place kicking for the Eskimos. In 1954, Stukus became the first head coach and GM for the new Vancouver (now BC) Lions franichise, a position he held for two seasons. It was mainly for his role in reviving and building the Edmonton and BC franchises that Annis Stukus was selected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1974. The CFL coach of the year trophy is named after Stukus.
Annis Stukus passed away on May 20, 2006.
Annis Stukus in the BC Sports Hall of Fame
Annis Stukus in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Annis Stukus at sportsmediacanaa.ca
Stukus vs. Krol For Scoring Lead - October 26, 1943
Stukus Captures Scoring Crown - November 12, 1943
Navy's Annis Stukus Climbs Within Four Points of Krol - October 24, 1944
Stukus Scores 15 Points In Navy Win - November 13, 1944
Annis Stukus Carries Off Eastern Grid Scoring Title - November, 1945
Annis Stukus Likely to Land Edmonton Post - February 14, 1949
Annis Stukus Gets Vote of Confidence - September 29, 1949
Edmonton Coach Annis Stukus Close To Grid Scoring Lead - September, 1950
Stukus Praised for Work - January 27, 1954
| Year | Team | GP | TotTD | Good | ConvG | TotS | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | TOR | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 1936 | TOR | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 1937 | TOR | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 17 | |
| 1938 | TOR | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 32 | |
| 1939 | TOR | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1940 | TOR | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | |
| 1941 | TOR | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16 | |
| 1942 | TI | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 34 | |
| 1943 | TBB | 3 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 64 | |
| 1944 | TNB | 3 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 44 | |
| 1945 | TI | 0 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 42 | |
| 1946 | TI | 10 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 37 |
| 1950 | EDM | 14 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 38 |
| 1951 | EDM | 14 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 7 | 58 |
Note some sources such as the HOF list Stukus as playing for Edmonton in 1949, but he did not play and acted only as coach and GM.
