Don Luzzi (August 20, 1935 – October 30, 2005) was a politician and professional football player who played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

CFL career

After playing college football at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, Don Luzzi played 12 seasons for the

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 ...

from 1958 to 1969. Luzzi was an all-Western conference star, both as an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. In 1958, he was selected to the CFL Western All-Star Team at both offensive and defensive tackle positions. He was also an all-Canadian defensive tackle in 1962, 1963, and 1966. His team reached the

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 ...

game once, in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, but lost a close game to the

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 ...

. Luzzi was elected to 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 1986.

Political career

Luzzi made a run at provincial politics. He ran for the

Alberta Social Credit Party Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement wa ...

in the

1971 Alberta general election The 1971 Alberta general election was the seventeenth general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on August 30, 1971, to elect seventy-five members of the Alberta Legislature to form the 17th Alberta Legislative Assembly. The Progr ...

in the riding of

Calgary-Buffalo Calgary-Buffalo is a current provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of ...

. Luzzi was defeated in a hotly contested election by

Ron Ghitter Ronald D. Ghitter (born August 22, 1935) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from August 30, 1971 to March 13, 1979 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus. Ghitte ...

, losing to Ghitter by about 500 votes.

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Hall of Fame member
1935 births 2005 deaths American players of Canadian football Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football offensive linemen Canadian sportsperson-politicians People from North Branford, Connecticut Players of American football from Connecticut Alberta Social Credit Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections Villanova Wildcats football players {{Canadianfootball-offensive-lineman-stub