Gene Gaines

Gene Gaines
No. 22
Date of birth	June 26, 1938
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Date of death	July 6, 2023 (aged 85)
Career information
CFL status	National
Position(s)	DB
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
US college	UCLA
High school	David Starr Jordan (CA)
AFL draft	1961 / round: 21 / pick: 167
Drafted by	San Diego Chargers
Career history
As coach
1982	Edmonton Eskimos (DB Coach)
1986–1990	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Secondary Coach)
As player
1961	Montreal Alouettes
1962–1969	Ottawa Rough Riders
1970–1976	Montreal Alouettes
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star	1965, 1966, 1967
CFL East All-Star	1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971
Awards	1966 Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy
Honors	4× Grey Cup champion - 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974 (player), 1970, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1990 (coaching staff)
Career stats
	Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1994;

Eugene Carver "Gene" Gaines (June 26, 1938 – July 6, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back for 16 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.^[1]

Gaines was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Watts neighborhood.^[2]^[3] He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. Gaines had 42 career interceptions in the CFL.^[4] With Ottawa in 1964, he set a CFL record with a 128-yard kickoff return in the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.^[2] In 1970, he was both a player and one of the defensive backfield coaches for the Alouettes.^[5]^[6] Gaines played in the CFL as a non-import player based on a 1965 ruling allowing teams to designate certain long-term players as Canadian for football purposes.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

Following his retirement as a player, he remained involved in coaching in the CFL, with Montreal (1977–81), Edmonton Eskimos (1982), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1986–87, 1989–90), and Hamilton (1988). He also coached in the United States with the Los Angeles Express (USFL) in 1983, and in 1984–85 with the NFL Houston Oilers; on the American teams, he accompanied his Edmonton Coach Hugh Campbell, and at the end of the 1985 season was not renewed to the staff, and Campbell had been fired after 14 games.

Gaines died on July 6, 2023, at the age of 85.^[11]

References

^ Canadian Football Hall of Fame
^ ^a ^b Cole, Cam (July 16, 1982). "Gaines: building on excellence". Edmonton Journal. p. E4. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Burke, Tim (July 15, 1972). "A pride in tolerance since Robinson, Trawick; but is the image really cut on the race bias?". The Gazette. p. 23. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gene Gaines Pro Football Stats, Position, College, Transactions". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
^ Gaines Likes Dual Role, Admits 'it's Been Tough'
^ Now a coach, Gene Gaines says 'my big chance'
^ Hickey, Pat. "Gaines (the player) can't quit yet. Gaines (the coach) has no substitute". The Montreal Star. p. 43. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ MacDonald, Ian (October 26, 1966). "Ottawa's Gaines Still Unsigned". The Montreal Star. p. 30. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Player selections down to wire". The Ottawa Citizen. July 30, 1965. p. 15. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Lalonde bill timing tight". The Gazette. April 25, 1974. p. 40. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. For instance, if the law passes, does Gene Gaines have to take out Canadian citizenship to retain his non-import status? CFL commissioner Jake Gaudaur says 'no' because "acquired rights will have to be protected and Gaines acquired his Canadian status years ago.
^ "Ottawa Mourns the Loss of Legend Gene Gaines". CFL News Hub. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.

[1] Canadian Football Hall of Fame

[cole_07161982-2] Cole, Cam (July 16, 1982). "Gaines: building on excellence". Edmonton Journal. p. E4. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Burke, Tim (July 15, 1972). "A pride in tolerance since Robinson, Trawick; but is the image really cut on the race bias?". The Gazette. p. 23. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Gene Gaines Pro Football Stats, Position, College, Transactions". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.

[5] Gaines Likes Dual Role, Admits 'it's Been Tough'

[6] Now a coach, Gene Gaines says 'my big chance'

[7] Hickey, Pat. "Gaines (the player) can't quit yet. Gaines (the coach) has no substitute". The Montreal Star. p. 43. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] MacDonald, Ian (October 26, 1966). "Ottawa's Gaines Still Unsigned". The Montreal Star. p. 30. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Player selections down to wire". The Ottawa Citizen. July 30, 1965. p. 15. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "Lalonde bill timing tight". The Gazette. April 25, 1974. p. 40. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. For instance, if the law passes, does Gene Gaines have to take out Canadian citizenship to retain his non-import status? CFL commissioner Jake Gaudaur says 'no' because "acquired rights will have to be protected and Gaines acquired his Canadian status years ago.

[11] "Ottawa Mourns the Loss of Legend Gene Gaines". CFL News Hub. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.

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v t e Members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Players	Abendschan Ah You Aldag D. Allen Anderson Atchison B. Bailey Baker Barrow Bass Batstone Battle Beach Benecick Bennett Bonk Bourke Bowman Box Breen Bright C. Brock D. Brock Do. Brown T. Brown Browne Brule Burden Burris Cahoon Calvillo Cameron J. Campbell Casey Charlton Childress Clarke Clements Clemons Coffey Conacher Connop Copeland Cornish Corrigall Covington C. Cox E. Cox R. Craig Crawford Cronin D. Cutler W. Cutler Dalla Riva DiPietro Dixon Dunigan Elgaard Elimimian Eliowitz Emerson Estay Etcheverry Evanshen Fairbanks Faloney Fear Fennell Fernandez Ferraro Ferrone Fieldgate Fleming Flory Da. Flutie Do. Flutie Flynn Frank Fryer Gabriel Gaines Gall George Golab Gorrell Grant Gray Griffing Ham Hanson Harding D. Harris W. Harris Harrison Helton Henley Highbaugh Hinton Holloway Huffman Hufnagel Hugo Ilesic Isbister Jackson Jacobs E. James G. James A. Johnson B. Johnson W. Johnson Ty. Jones Jurasin Kabat Kapp Keeling B. Kelly E. Kelly Kepley Krol Kwong Lapointe Lancaster Lawson Leadlay Lear Lehmann L. Lewis N. Lewis Lumsden Lunsford Luster Luzzi Makowsky McCallum McCance McGill McGowan McManus McQuarters B. Miles R. Miles Mills Mitchell Molson Montford Moon F. Morris T. Morris Mosca J. Murphy Narcisse Nelson Nettles Neumann O'Quinn Okeke O'Shea Pajaczkowski Jac. Parker Jam. Parker Passaglia Patterson Payton G. Perry N. Perry Phillips A. Pitts E. Pitts Pless Ploen Poplawski Pringle Quilty Racine Raimey Ray Rebholz Reed Reeve Ridgway Rigney Roberts Robinson Romano Rowe Ruby Russel T. Scott V. Scott Shatto Simon Be. Simpson Bo. Simpson Sprague Stegall Steinauer Stevenson Stewart Stirling Sutherin Symons Thelen Thornton Timmis Tindale Tinsley Tommy Trawick Tubman Tucker Urness Uteck Vaughan Vaughn Vavra Vercheval Wagner Walby Walker Weir Welch West Wilkinson G. Williams A. Wilson D. Wilson Winfield Wylie Yochum Young Zambiasi Zock
Builders	Ackles Anselmo Back R. Bailey Ballard Barker Berger Braley Brook D. W. Brown Buono H. Campbell Chipman Clair Connellan Cooper Cosentino Coulter Crighton A. Currie G. Currie Custis Davies DeGruchy Dojack Duggan DuMoulin Dussault Evans Forster Foulds Fracas Fulton Gaudaur Gibson Grant Grey Griffith Halter Hannibal Haylor Hayman Henick Hopson Hufnagel Bi. Hughes Ireland Keys Kimball Knight Kramer Levy Lieberman Loney Matthews McBrien McCaffrey D. McCann McDonald McNaughton McPherson Mitchell Metras Montgomery T. Morris C. Murphy Newton O'Billovich Pistilli Preston Reda A. Ritchie D. Ritchie Rodden Ryan Sazio Schwartz Shaughnessy Shepherd Shivers Shouldice J. Simpson F. Smith L. Smith Slocomb Spencer Spring Stukus P. Taylor Tindall Towriss Uteck Warner Warwick Wetenhall S. Wilson
Media	Afaganis A. Allen P. Allen R. Allen Avery Badham Beamish Bishop Bratina Brisebois Brunt Calcutt Carroll Tom Casey Chevrier Cluff Cole Coleman J. Cox G. Craig Cuthbert Davis DeGeer Dryburgh Dufault Dunnell Esaw Frayne Frewin Gilchrist Good B. Hall V. Hall Hanley Hooper Bo. Hughes Hunt Hunter Hynes Irving D. Isaac M. Isaac Te. Jones Kearney G. Kelly Kent Kielty MacCabe Maki Marsden Marshall Martin Matheson Matsumoto A. McCann McConnell McKnight McLean Melville Miller Milton Moir Naylor Newans O'Brien O'Meara Pascall Pascucci Pawson Picken J. Proudfoot T. Proudfoot Proulx Purcell Ralph Reeve Ruckaber Saunders Schultz Selnes Sgambati Sigurdson Simmons D. Smith M. Smith Stephen Stephenson Stukus Suitor Sullivan Swangard Tait J. Taylor Tucker Ullrich Viney G. Walker H. Walker Ja. Wells Jo. Wells Westwick Willes B. Williams Wittman Zurkowsky

Career information
No. 22
Date of birth	(1938-06-26)June 26, 1938
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Date of death	July 6, 2023(2023-07-06) (aged 85)
CFL status	National
Position(s)	DB
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
US college	UCLA
High school	David Starr Jordan (CA)
AFL draft	1961 / round: 21 / pick: 167
Drafted by	San Diego Chargers
Career history
As coach
1982	Edmonton Eskimos (DB Coach)
1986–1990	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Secondary Coach)
As player
1961	Montreal Alouettes
1962–1969	Ottawa Rough Riders
1970–1976	Montreal Alouettes

Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star	1965, 1966, 1967
CFL East All-Star	1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971
Awards	1966 Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy
Honors	4× Grey Cup champion - 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974 (player), 1970, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1990 (coaching staff)
Career stats
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1994