January 1,
2002
|
|
He
was a journeyman player who gave his all for his team. One of those
too-soon forgotten by
| everyone except
those whose lives he touched; those to whom he was closest - his teammates. |
| One of the
faceless lunchpail brigade who came to work, did his job -- did it very
well, in fact -- and |
| never complained. |
| |
| It's doubtful
anyone will ever suggest he should be considered one of the best all-time,
or for that |
| matter, of
any era. He'll never be in the Hall of Fame, and it's highly unlikely
he'll ever even wind |
| up on the
Eskimos' Wall of Honour. |
| |
| Yet for all
that, Don Warrington probably SHOULD be considered one of the biggest contributors
to |
| the success
of the Edmonton Eskimos' dynasty of the seventies & early eighties.
He was a |
| mainstay of
the Esks' offensive scheme, but never shone individually the way players
like Brian |
| Kelly, Waddell
Smith, Jim Germany, and Tom Wilkinson did. |
| |
|
|
| A ten-year
veteran, Warrington came to the Eskimos via a trade with the BC Lions in
1971. A player who never quite got |
| individual
accolades he deserved, he shunned the limelight, but put his heart - and
body - on the line every time he went out |
| on the field.
He was never a "star" player, yet whenever an extra yard or that crucial
first down to sustain a game-winning drive |
| was needed,
he was there. |
|
| |
| The one time
he came close to winning Grey Cup Outstanding Canadian honours, he got
injured. Typical. Yet his attitude was |
| always the
same: the team won, so who cares? So typical of the Eskimos of the
seventies and eighties: the TEAM came first. |
| |
| His teammate
and best friend, Dan Kepley nicknamed him "Jeep" because he drove a topless
Jeep year-round, and in |
| Edmonton in
January, that's a hell of an achievement in itself! Whether or not
anybody - including him - knew it or not, Don |
| Warrington
was, in many ways, a throwback to the old days - a player who just wanted
to win, would do whatever it took to do |
| just that,
and didn't care what happened after that. |
| |
| In his book
"Inside The Dynasty", Kepley tells this story, which epitomises the makeup
of Don Warrington: |
| |
| "In 1975
Donnie was having a super year - blocking, catching passes, doing it all.
Halfway through the season he looked like he could win the Schenley as
the league's top Canadian. Then in a game in Ottawa Wilkie threw
to him in a crowd. Donnie went for the ball and tore up his knee.
He was through for the year. Wilkie felt terrible. But when
he tried to tell Donnie how bad he felt - "If I hadn't tried to force the
ball to you, you wouldn't have gotten hurt" - Donnie just smiled and said
"Forget it". |
| |
| In the 1978
Grey Cup versus Montreal, Warrington was having perhaps the finest game
of his career. Then on an Eskimo |
| fumble, an
Alouette player scooped it up and was heading for the end zone, when out
of nowhere, Warrington caught him and |
| made the saving
tackle, only to tear his shoulder. Angelo Santucci went into the
game to replace Warrington - and promptly |
| won the Outstanding
Canadian Award. In typical Warrington fashion, he was philosophical
about it afterward: |
| |
| "...if
there was one thing I ever wanted out of this game it would have been to
win an Outstanding Player award in the Grey Cup. |
| But
don't worry. We won, didn't we?" |
| |
| Sadly, he
was killed in a car crash in December, 1980, shortly after the |
| Eskimos won
their third of five consecutive Grey Cups. At his funeral, |
| Tom Wilkinson
was asked to speak. As he stood up to try to put into |
| words what
the team was feeling, he took out his can of Skoal and |
| inserted a
huge wad into his mouth. |
| |
| "Donnie
would have wanted me to be myself", he said. |
| |
| Typical. |
| |
| The team devoted
the 1981 season, and in particular, winning their |
| fourth consecutive
Grey Cup to Warrington. They wore a silver-dollar |
| sized white
patch with "EE 21" on it for the entire season. After |
| defeating
Ottawa 26-23 in the greatest comeback in Grey Cup history, |
| centre Bob
Howes said, |
|
 |
| |
|
"Donnie would
have loved to play in one like this..." |
| "So many
little differences, no bigger than a hair. Aw, I wish Donnie could
have been in it." |
| |
| Head Coach
Hugh Campbell intimated it wasn't quite fair because, |
| |
| "...the
team had been playing with 13 men all year. |
| "I can't
credit Donnie with winning it, but I can credit him with the continuation,
the high level over the season that got us here. Because |
| he was
so much of what being an Eskimo is all about." |
| |
| More from
Kepley: |
| |
| "It was
the Grey Cup we just HAD to win - for Donnie. He was just an incredible
individual. He'd do anything, absolutely anything for this |
| ball club.
He didn't care if he ever read his name in the paper. I wear the
1981 ring for Jeep. Every morning when I put on that ring, it's |
| my way
of saying hi to him before I get on with my business." |
| |
| Finally, some
personal notes. Growing up in Edmonton, I naturally cheered for the
Eskimos, and like most people, I had my |
| favourite
players: George McGowan, Larry Highbaugh, Dave Cutler, and Don Warrington.
What I remember most about him is |
| his unselfishness.
His "team-first" attitude was what instilled in me the belief that all
players, whatever the sport, SHOULD |
| have: namely,
the TEAM comes first. |
| |
| Every team
has a handful of players like Don Warrington. Every team NEEDS players
like Don Warrington; the guys in the |
| trenches;
the guys who do their job because it needs doing if your team is going
to win; the character guys. In other words, |
| typical Don
Warrington types. |
| |
|
