TOUCHDOWN DINNER INDUCTEE PROFILE: 1965 TEAM

Looking ahead to next month's uOttawa 2018 Touchdown Dinner in collaboration with and support from the 1881 Gee-Gees Football Alumni Association, uOttawa is pleased to profile each of its new Football Hall of Fame Inductees. The undefeated 1965 team will enter the Hall of Fame this year, following the induction of its head coach Matt Anthony, four players, and two team staff members to the Hall of Fame over the years.

The Touchdown Dinner celebration in partnership with the 1881 Football Alumni Association will be held at the National Arts Centre on Saturday, April 28 to honour the accomplishments of the 1965 team and fellow inductees Steve Alexandre, Marcel Bellefeuille, Al Moffat, and Josh Sacobie. Tickets can be purchased here for $150 each with tables of 10 available. Registration is open to all alumni, family, and friends of the Gee-Gees football program. The registration deadline is April 23.

The 1965 Team was the twelfth Gee-Gees campaign under head Coach Matt Anthony and became his third undefeated squad, winning the OIFC Conference and The St. Lawrence Conference Championships. Gee-Gees earned nine places on the OIFC All-Star Team, and the team is remembered as a determined, tightly knit unit which dominated the league.

Prior to the regular season opener, the Gee-Gees sent an early signal of what was to come by defeating McGill 11-0 in exhibition play. A remarkable five interceptions by Michel LeBrun, which still stands as a uOttawa record, highlighted the first of four shutouts which would occur that season.

Sean O'Connor, a rookie offensive lineman in 1965 who has helped to spearhead the team's induction, recalls, "LeBrun was an all-around good athlete - he had great hands and he would come up and just rock guys."

"At training camp, every practice was harder and harder," continues O'Connor, noting that the team was still using a temporary World War two building as its dressing room. "Coach Anthony worked us until he knew he had a team of guys that really wanted to play football and he encouraged us to get going full steam."

The Gee-Gees won the regular season opener against Waterloo Lutheran, 21-0. All-Star Vince Thompson's season debut performance included 15 points scored, a fine defensive performance, and strong punting. The shutout was preserved by a blocked kick by Jim Silye, who also caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Steve Rogin to cap off the game. Willie Scanlon and Vince Thompson were also credited with interceptions.

"If the Gee-Gees can show the same mastery they showed in this game, Matt Anthony can start getting together his trophy-cleaning equipment," wrote Bill Beahaen of The Fulcrum following the season opener.

Next up was a 27-13 victory over the University of Waterloo with a pair of touchdowns by LeBrun, setting up a showdown with McMaster at Lansdowne Park. McMaster had defeated the Gee-Gees the previous three seasons and were considered the favourites early in the season.

75 yards rushing on 12 carries by Vince Thompson, combined with three receptions for 33 yards made him the offensive star once again. Ottawa held a 7-0 lead on a Thompson rouge and touchdown catch before Jean Boudreau recovered a McMaster fumble which, after a series of plays, led to another Thompson touchdown to start the second quarter. Russ McColl made timely catches, including a touchdown which put the Garnet and Grey up 19-3 at halftime, allowing the stalwart defence to close the door in the second half on a 28-10 victory.

A pair of touchdowns from Al Scanlon highlighted a 27-3 victory over RMC which saw 414 yards of total offence by the Garnet and Grey. That sent Ottawa into the Panda Game with a 4-0 record against the also undefeated Ravens. Avenging a one-point loss from 1964, the Gee-Gees reclaimed Pedro with a 27-19 victory while the student bodies organized a tug of war over the canal.

A muddy contest at Guelph produced a 42-0 score. Six different players scored touchdowns for Ottawa, including Mike Couture who will travel from his home in Sri Lanka to attend the 2018 Touchdown Dinner celebration.

The final game of the regular season decided the OIFC championship, and Ottawa travelled to Montreal to take on Loyola College. Gerry Paquette, the team's backup quarterback, started in place of Steve Rogin and opened the scoring with a three-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. It would stand as the game-winning play as the sides battled through a scoreless third quarter. A pair of interceptions by LeBrun helped ensure the score would stand up, and Jean Boudreau tackled a Warrior in the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter.

The St. Lawrence Conference Championship was the final game of the season for the Gee-Gees. It required a strong second half comeback, and took its toll physically. LeBrun earned three broken ribs, Thompson separated his shoulder, and Rogin suffered a broken nose in the game. Jean Boudreau recovered a fumble on a punt to put Ottawa on the 25-yard line. Four plays later, Ric Myles opened the scoring with a two-yard smash over the line.

St. Patrick's scored twice and held a 16-7 lead before, as reported in The Fulcrum, "Steve Rogin gave Jim Silye the opportunity for the play of the day and Jim made no mistake. The Gee-Gees were on their own 30-yard line and Rogin rolled out and shot a 5-yard pass to Silye on the left end. Jim saw open field and left the St. Pat's tacklers in their sea of mud as he went all the way for the touchdown." Still, the resilient underdogs from St. Patrick's punched back and held a 23-14 lead at halftime.

It was a memorable halftime for the Gee-Gees. "Matt Anthony went ballistic," explains O'Connor, and the next part almost sounds like a joke. "Back then we had the team chaplain travelling with us, and he started to follow Matt into the locker room. Matt starts into his tirade with some colourful language, and kicks a bucket across the room. The priest promptly turned around and left the room," O'Connor laughs. "We actually got brought back out on the field early and into the end zone to run some plays. We got the message."

It was all Ottawa from there, with touchdowns from Rogin, Silye (2), and Scanlon propelling the Gee-Gees to a 39-23 win.

While Ottawa was certainly one of the top football teams in the nation that season, it was Toronto and Alberta who were invited to compete for the inaugural College Bowl national championship. The Gee-Gees would play three more seasons under Anthony, who retired from the Gee-Gees with a career record of 76-33. The dominance of the Garnet and Grey in the 1960s set the stage for the future success of the program, with uOttawa able to span different eras of the game with determination, camaraderie, and victories.

"Not getting to play in the College Bowl was a point of contention, for sure," says O'Connor. "We had a lot of pride in our team and it is an honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame."

1965 Game Results:

11-0 vs McGill (exhibition)

21-0 vs WLU

27-13 vs Waterloo

28-10 vs McMaster

27-3 vs RMC

27-19 vs Carleton

42-0 vs Guelph

8-0 vs Loyola

39-23 vs St. Patrick's College (OSLAA Championship)

1965 OIFC All-Stars:

Dan Boivin - Right Guard

Michael Carroll - Safety

Michel LeBrun - Right Half (Defence)

Bob McCulla - Left Tackle

Al Scanlon - Left End

Jim Silye - Right Corner

Pete Smith - Centre

Vince Thompson - Left Half (Offence)

Vince Thompson - Left Half (Defence)

Team Roster:

Daniel Boivin

Jean Boudreau

Peter Brennan

Jerry Brown

Stephen Brown

Sabatino Cardarelli

Allan Carroll

Michael Carroll

Michael Couture

Joseph Durocher

Leonard Hargot

Robert Irvin

Michel Lebrun

David Lee

Russ McColl

Robert McCulla

Eric Myles

Mario Nardone

Sean O'Connor

Gerald Paquette

Steven Rogin

Brendan Rooney

Allan Scanlon

Willis Scanlon

James Silye

Peter Smith

John Spence

Roger Sprague

Barry Starr

Vincent Thompson

Derek Turner

Peter Williams

Coaches and staff:

Matt Anthony

Fred Kijek

Bob Malloy

Robert Pelletier