The Dick Suderman Trophy () for the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian is awarded annually to the Canadian player deemed to have the best performance in the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...

game, the championship of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. This award is presented before the Grey Cup trophy is presented. The winner does not necessarily have to play for the Grey Cup winning team in order to qualify. The award was introduced at the 1971 Grey Cup, and the first winner was Dick Suderman, a Canadian

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. A year later, just six weeks before the playing of the 1972 Grey Cup, Suderman collapsed and died from a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

after playing a regular season game; the trophy was subsequently renamed in his honour.

Player achievements

The most wins by a player is three, for both Don Sweet (completed in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

) and Dave Sapunjis (completed in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

). Four other players have won the award twice each. Dave Sapunjis is the only player to win the award in consecutive (

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

) Grey Cup games. Garry Lefebvre is the only player to be awarded the trophy for his performance at three distinct positions, in three distinct aspects, during a single (

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

) Grey Cup game:

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, part of the defense unit of the team; punter, part of the special teams unit of the team; and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

, part of the offense unit of the team. Four other players (one a double winner) have been awarded the trophy for their performance in playing the two distinct, yet related, positions of punter and

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

. Andrew Harris and Hénoc Muamba are the only players to win both the Dick Suderman Trophy and the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award in the same Grey Cup game.

Dick Suderman Trophy winners

Team achievements

Teams represented by Dick Suderman Trophy winners through the years. Notes:

References

{{CFL Grey Cup Canadian Football League trophies and awards Awards established in 1971 1971 establishments in Canada

Player achievements

Dick Suderman Trophy winners

Team achievements

See also

References