Details Announced for Ham's Canadian Football Hall of Fame Weekend
6/9/2010 10:12:00 PM | Football
Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA - The Canadian Football Hall of Fame announced its 2010 inductees earlier this year, with former Georgia Southern All-American quarterback Tracy Ham on the list of honorees. The ceremony to induct Ham and the other four members of the class, Bob Cameron, Don Narcisse, Elfrid Payton and Joe Pistilli, will be held August 11-14 in Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The events in Regina include the unveiling of the profile bust of the inductees and jacket presentation as well as the Hall of Fame game between the Saskatchewan Roughrigers and British Columbia Lions. The Induction Golf Tournament will take place on Friday, August 13th, and the Hall of Fame dinner on Saturday, August 14th at the TCU Centre, both in Saskatoon.
"It is a great honor to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and this achievement is a testament to all the people who have invested in me throughout the years," said Tracy Ham. "When you are on the journey of your playing career, of your life, you may not realize what the outcome will be. This is an amazing reward for what I believe was my privilege to represent great teams and the Canadian Football League."
Ham signed with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1987 of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and became the starting quarterback the following season. In 1989, he became the first quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards. For his performance that season, he was named the league's Most Outstanding Player and was a unanimous selection as a Western All-Star and CFL All-Star.
In 1993, Ham spent one year with the Toronto Argonauts before moving to the Baltimore Stallions for the 1994 season. He led the Stallions to Grey Cup victory in 1995 and earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the CFL championship game. Signing with Montreal in 1996, he played a total of four seasons with the Alouettes, leading them to the Eastern Division final in 1997. At the time of his retirement, Ham held the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback (regular season) with 1,096 yards and ranked second with 8,043 yards in all-time rushing yards by a quarterback (10th overall).
In his 13-year career in the CFL, Ham amassed 40,534 passing yards for seventh all-time in the league, completing 2670 of 4943 passes (54 percent) and accounting for 284 touchdowns. He added 62 rushing touchdowns to his career totals.
Ham's speed and cannon of an arm helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back national championship seasons in 1985 and 1986. When he completed his collegiate career, his statistics placed him as Georgia Southern's all-time leader in almost every offensive category. Ham still owns more than 15 game, season and career records and more than 20 playoff records. One of only two Georgia Southern players to have his number (8) retired, Ham was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
"It is again my pleasure to congratulate the Inductees on behalf of the Canadian Football League and fans from coast to coast. Well done and well deserved to Bob, Tracy, Don, Elfrid and Joe" said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon.
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame class of 2010 will bring the total members to 244. The Hall, located in Hamilton, Ontario, is home to more than 30,000 Canadian football artifacts, ranging from equipment and trophies to photos and videos, as well as the the Zone of Champions, which features busts of each member of the Hall.
More information on the weekend and Hall of Fame events may be found Tracy Ham Canadian Football Hall of Fame" href="http://www.cfhof.ca/index.php/article/2010sask" target="_blank">here.
