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Syke's career was probably just a bit too short to gain him Hall-of-Fame status, but he did produce four 1000+ yard rushing seasons and 5870 yards career rushing. Those stats are better than some running backs who have made it to the HOF. Sykes was a draft pick of the Washington Redskins of the NFL in 1977 and spent one season with them. Sykes signed with Calgary for the 1978 season and pushed HOF running back Willie Burden out of a job. Sykes ran for 1026 yards and caught 50 passes for 614 more yards in his rookie season on the way to both Western and All-Canadian All-Star honours. In 1979, Sykes missed four games due to injuries which reducing his rushing total to 703 yards, but he then reeled off three straight 1000+ seasons for the Stampeders in 1980-82. Sykes won All Canadian honours again in 1980 and was a Western All-Star in 1982 while leading the CFL in rushing in both 1980 and 1981. Despite this success, Sykes was released by Calgary in September of 1983. Winnipeg signed Sykes for one game in NOvember of that year before releasing him. Sykes spent some time on the Bomber practice roster in 1984 and 1985, but did not see any action. He finally got another chance to play in 1986 with Winnipeg and in just 7 games, ran for 447 yards.
Games Played and Rushing
| Year |
Team |
GP |
TC |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long |
| 1978 |
CAL |
15 |
204 |
1026 |
5 |
13 |
31 |
| 1979 |
CAL |
12 |
151 |
703 |
4.7 |
5 |
38 |
| 1980 |
CAL |
16 |
222 |
1263 |
5.7 |
10 |
75 |
| 1981 |
CAL |
15 |
240 |
1107 |
4.6 |
6 |
68 |
| 1982 |
CAL |
15 |
193 |
1046 |
5.4 |
11 |
84 |
| 1983 |
WPG |
1 |
12 |
62 |
5.2 |
0 |
15 |
| 1983 |
CAL |
4 |
37 |
222 |
6 |
0 |
24 |
| 1986 |
WPG |
7 |
97 |
447 |
4.6 |
3 |
57 |
Receiving
| Year |
Team |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long |
| 1978 |
CAL |
50 |
614 |
12.3 |
1 |
62 |
| 1979 |
CAL |
31 |
269 |
8.7 |
1 |
25 |
| 1980 |
CAL |
57 |
582 |
10.2 |
1 |
72 |
| 1981 |
CAL |
51 |
495 |
9.7 |
0 |
65 |
| 1982 |
CAL |
27 |
222 |
8.2 |
0 |
19 |
| 1983 |
WPG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1983 |
CAL |
9 |
42 |
4.7 |
0 |
18 |
| 1986 |
WPG |
10 |
62 |
6.2 |
2 |
14 |
Kickoff Returns
| Year |
Team |
KOR |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long |
| 1978 |
CAL |
20 |
496 |
24.8 |
0 |
36 |
| 1979 |
CAL |
5 |
96 |
19.2 |
0 |
22 |
| 1980 |
CAL |
30 |
715 |
23.8 |
0 |
61 |
| 1981 |
CAL |
25 |
534 |
23.8 |
0 |
45 |
| 1982 |
CAL |
6 |
122 |
20.3 |
0 |
25 |
| 1983 |
WPG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1983 |
CAL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1986 |
WPG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Punt Returns
| Year |
Team |
PR |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long |
| 1978 |
CAL |
21 |
241 |
11.5 |
1 |
67 |
| 1979 |
CAL |
3 |
27 |
9 |
0 |
16 |
| 1980 |
CAL |
18 |
217 |
12.1 |
0 |
33 |
| 1981 |
CAL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1982 |
CAL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1983 |
WPG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1983 |
CAL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1986 |
WPG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Fumbles
| Year |
Team |
F |
FL |
OFR |
| 1978 |
CAL |
5 |
3 |
0 |
| 1979 |
CAL |
7 |
6 |
1 |
| 1980 |
CAL |
7 |
4 |
4 |
| 1981 |
CAL |
12 |
6 |
3 |
| 1982 |
CAL |
9 |
5 |
3 |
| 1983 |
WPG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1983 |
CAL |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 1986 |
WPG |
2 |
2 |
1 |
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