Eagle Keys (December 4, 1923 – December 20, 2012) was a
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 ...
player and coach.
He is currently
fifth all-time in regular season wins with 131 as a
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
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 ...
. 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 1990.
Early life
Keys was an outstanding center and linebacker for the
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football program is a college football team that represents Western Kentucky University. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level and represents the university as a member of Confer ...
team in 1942 and, after a stint in the military (Marine Corps) in World War II, 1946 and '47. He also lettered in baseball (pitcher-outfielder) three straight years (1946–48) after the War. He was an All-KIAC (Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) selection in football as a senior. His 1946 baseball team went a perfect 9–0, outscoring the opponents by an average of five runs a game.
Eagle "Buddy" Keys was inducted into the
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...
Athletic Hall of Fame (Football-Baseball '42, '46–48) in 1994.
Professional career
Following his career on the Hill, Keys moved north to play professional football 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 ...
. He was All-Eastern Conference for three straight years (1949–51) with the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
and then he earned a berth on the All-Western Conference team throughout the next three seasons while playing for the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
. He is best remembered as a player for his final game when he played on a broken leg in the Eskimos'
1954 Grey Cup triumph.
Coaching career
After his six years as a player, he put in six more years as an assistant coach in the CFL before being named head coach of the Eskimos in 1959. He coached Edmonton from 1959 until 1963, became an assistant coach with the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
in 1964 and was promoted to head coach in 1965. He was awarded the
CFL Coach of the Year The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The Trophy is named aft ...
award in 1968. In 1970, the Roughriders finished with a mark of 14 wins and 2 losses, a CFL record that stood until 1989 when Edmonton went 16–2 (by that time, the CFL had expanded its regular season schedule to 18 games). Keys resigned at the end of that season and coached the
British Columbia Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first season ...
from 1971 until partway through the 1975 season. In 1966, he won his only championship as a head coach, with his Roughriders team winning the
54th Grey Cup
The 54th Grey Cup was hosted at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 26, 1966. The Saskatchewan Roughriders won their first Grey Cup after 53 years of competition for this trophy, after losing eight times. With Eagle Keys as ...
(which was also the team's first CFL championship in team history). As such, he was voted the All-Time All-Star Coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In total, he spent 16 seasons as a head coach in the Canadian Football League.
CFL Coaching record
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
He retired from coaching after the 1975 season and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1990. His 131 wins as a coach in the CFL still stands as the fifth highest victory total for a head coach in the league. He was elected as a builder on April 28, 1990.
Personal life
Keys had retired and was living in
Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard Inl ...
, until his death on December 20, 2012. He and his wife Joyce (née White), also deceased, had five children.
See also
*
List of Canadian Football League head coaches by wins
This article contains a list of Canadian Football League head coaches by regular season wins. This list is current through the close of the 2021 regular season.
This list also includes coaches who coached in the CFL's predecessor leagues, the I ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keys, Eagle
1923 births
2012 deaths
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
American players of Canadian football
BC Lions coaches
Canadian football offensive linemen
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Edmonton Elks coaches
Edmonton Elks players
Montreal Alouettes players
People from Tompkinsville, Kentucky
Players of American football from Kentucky
Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches
United States Marines
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players