RIP - The Stuke

Stories and info about those no longer involved in the industry

Postby Jack Bennest » Sat May 20, 2006 8:23 pm

Annis Stukus, the former Toronto Argonauts player who later helped build up the Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions as an executive with his flair for promotion, has died. He was 91.

Stukus, known as Stuke or the Loquacious Lithuanian, died at his home in Canmore, Alta., the Eskimos and Lions announced Saturday.

A legend in Canadian football circles - the CFL named its annual coach of the year award after him in 1961; he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder in 1974 - Stukus also made a mark in the hockey world.

He served as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks when they were in the Western Hockey League and of the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets, signing Bobby Hull to a then-unheard of $1 million contract.

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Annis Stukus - Professional football player and coach; BC Lions organizer and coach 1953-56; GM Vancouver Canucks 1967, Winnipeg Jets 1971; football colour commentator CFTO-TV Toronto; sports announcer/commentator and Goodwill Ambassador CFUN Vancouver; member of Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and Canadian Football (Sports Reporting) Hall of Fame; CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame 1992.

"In the last minute of the game we were behind by a point and I went in to try a field goal. Then I had an inspiration. I showed the guys in the huddle my watch and said, 'Boys, you know I don't believe in fining players, but if this watch of mine gets one scratch on it, I'm fining each one of you $75.' They hold, I kick it through, we win by two points, and the guys carried their old playing coach off the field."

But that's not the end of the story. Always with a keen eye on promotion, Stukus made sure a Canadian Press reporter heard about the watch incident and even went so far as to say he would continue to wear the watch. He did. In 39 games.

"It got great publicity everywhere we played. And a lot of defensive guys got twisted in knots trying to rip it off my wrist, forgetting all about trying to block the kick.

"I even invented the bounty story. I told a couple of reporters I'd heard that some coaches were offering bonus money for my watch. We went to Winnipeg, and at a pre-game rally I said 'Cheap Winnipeg bastards. Little Regina offers $100 for my watch. Calgary bids $50. Winnipeg? A measly $25.' It drove them crazy."

(And what became of the $75 Gruen Very-Thin timepiece? You'll have to read the book to find out).
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