Donald John Loney (November 16, 1923 – June 19, 2004) was a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and football coach. He was called the "Father of Maritime Football" by ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' for his work as a coach at

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

and his contributions to developing the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...

as a national championship.

Playing career

After graduating from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, he played for the Ottawa Combines and the

St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Navy ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

before serving in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Post-war, he resumed his career and played nine seasons as a centre in Canadian football with the

Montreal Hornets Montreal Hornets was a Canadian football team in Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1945 season. IRFU season-by-season {, class="wikitable" , - ! Season ! W ! L ! T ! PF ! PA ! Pts ! Finish ! Playoffs , - , 1945 ...

(1945),

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

(1946),

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

(1947–1952) and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

(1954), meriting four East all-star selections and the

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanship ...

as East MVP in 1950, a rare feat for a player at his position. He won a pair of

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

s, with the Argonauts in 1946 and the Rough Riders in 1951. Don served in

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwa ...

as the Base Physical Training and Recreation Officer for two years, and it was during this period that he coached the senior Shearwater Flyers football teams to Nova Scotia and Maritime championships in 1955 and 1956.

University coaching career

Loney headed the

St. Francis Xavier X-Men The St. Francis Xavier X-Men and X-Women are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Oland Stadium located at the University's campus. Hist ...

football program from 1957 to 1973. During his tenure as head coach, he compiled a winning percentage of .807, including an eight-year-long undefeated streak, nine conference banners, six

Jewett Trophy The Jewett Trophy is a Canadian sports trophy, in honour of Dr. B. L. Jewett, presented annually to the winner of the Atlantic University Sport Football Conference of U Sports. Unlike the other three conference championship games, the game in whi ...

s, four

Atlantic Bowl The Atlantic Bowl was one of the two national semifinal men's football games of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now known as U Sports). The winner of the Atlantic Bowl would meet the winner of the Churchill Bowl for the Vanier Cup. It was repla ...

wins, and a win in the second Canadian College Bowl in 1966. He helped establish both the Atlantic and Canadian College Bowls in 1960 and 1965, respectively. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine dubbed St. FX as "The Assassins of

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

". Following his retirement in 1973, the Atlantic Bowl MVP award was named for him. He was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1988. The

Loney Bowl The Jewett Trophy is a Canadian sports trophy, in honour of Dr. B. L. Jewett, presented annually to the winner of the Atlantic University Sport Football Conference of U Sports. Unlike the other three conference championship games, the game in whi ...

was named for him in 2006. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

in 2013, and has also been inducted into the

Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame The Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame was established in 1964, to honor outstanding athletes, teams and sport builders in the Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The facilities are located at the World Trade and Convention Centre in the provi ...

Canadian Forces Hall of Fame Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

StFX Sports Hall of Fame St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

. Obituary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loney, Don 1923 births 2004 deaths Canadian football people from Ottawa Canadian military personnel of World War II Toronto Argonauts players Ottawa Rough Riders players Calgary Stampeders players NC State Wolfpack football players Canadian football offensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Navy football players