Called to the Hall: McCallum, Shivers, Suitor heading into Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Three men with ties to the Saskatchewan Roughriders are part of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.

Kicker Paul McCallum, who had three stints with the Roughriders (1994-95, 1996-2005, and 2015), is being inducted in the player category.

Roy Shivers, who was Saskatchewan’s general manager for 6 1/2 seasons, is going in as a builder. Shivers was the first Black GM in pro football.

And former Roughriders safety Glen Suitor is being inducted into the media wing for his work on TSN.

McCallum also had CFL stints with the B.C. Lions and Ottawa Rough Riders. As well, he played in the World League of American Football with the Scottish Claymores and in the XFL with the Las Vegas Outlaws.

He played 340 regular-season games over 24 CFL seasons and remains the second-leading scorer in league history, with 3,145 points. Only former Lions kicker Lui Passaglia (3,991) had more points.

“People have asked me, ‘What do you think as far as when you get in or should you be in?’ and I’ve said, ‘It’s not up to me. I’m just happy I got to do what I did for a living for so many years,’ ” McCallum, 52, told The Green Zone when asked about getting into the Hall of Fame.

“Now that it has actually happened and I look into it and see the players that are in — and actually see the players that aren’t in; there’s a lot of good football players who aren’t in the Hall of Fame — it makes it that much more special that my peers have looked at me that way.”

McCallum took over for Dave Ridgway in Saskatchewan, but never felt the pressure to replace the man known as Robokicker.

“I just wanted to be me,” McCallum said. “Dave is Dave and I’ve got to be me. That’s kind of how I looked at it. I didn’t want to try to do what he had done, I just wanted to do my own thing.”

McCallum hit 722 of 898 field-goal attempts and 812 of 815 convert tries in his CFL career. He holds the league record for longest field goal (62 yards on Oct. 27, 2001).

He’s second in Roughriders history for field goals (368) and converts (408) made.

McCallum is a two-time Grey Cup champion who was named a division all-star five times and a CFL all-star twice. His second stint in Saskatchewan ended when he refused to take a pay cut proposed by Shivers.

“I don’t think my career would have been what it was without Saskatchewan,” McCallum said. “You take the good, you take the bad — you take it all. I wouldn’t have been in B.C. if Roy didn’t kind of push me out the door.

“I wouldn’t change of any of it, to be honest with you.”

Shivers, who played in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals, was an assistant coach, player personnel executive and assistant general manager in the CFL before becoming GM of the expansion Birmingham Barracudas. He spent 32 seasons in the CFL.

“I’ve been fortunate,” the 80-year-old told the Green Zone when asked what being a Hall of Famer said about him. “I always had somebody who gave me a shot, even with all my so-called hangups and my outspokenness. They gave me a shot.

“Don (Matthews) gave me a shot over in B.C., then Normie Kwong gave me a shot in Calgary and then they gave me a shot in Saskatchewan.”

Shivers joined the Roughriders as general manager in December of 1999 and built a team that compiled a 52-64-1 record during his tenure. He was fired by the board of directors in August of 2006.

“I had a great time in Saskatchewan,” Shivers said. “You go through ups and downs in life, but I had a great time. I met some great people. Danny (Barrett, whom Shivers hired to be head coach) and I really put our hearts and soul into rebuilding the team.

“When we took over, we sat down for three days x’ing and crossing guys out who we wanted to bring back … I loved the time I had there. It was kind of confrontational at times, but that never bothered me.”

Shivers won the Grey Cup four times in his career, twice with B.C. (1985 and 2011) and twice with the Calgary Stampeders (1992 and 1998).

After 11 seasons as a player with the Roughriders — he still holds the club record with 51 interceptions — Suitor joined TSN as its lead colour commentator.

He and play-by-play man Chris Cuthbert won numerous awards, including a Gemini Award for best sports play-by-play or analyst in 2006.

The Class of 2022 also includes Ricky Ray, Chip Cox, Dick Thornton, Tim Tindale, Dave Ritchie, and Keith Evans.

The induction ceremony is to be held Sept. 16 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. They’ll also be honoured the following day during the Hall of Fame Game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.