Jamie Taras (born January 31, 1966, in

Acton, Ontario Acton (population 9,377 in 2021) is a community located in the town of Halton Hills, in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. At the northern end of the Region, it is on the outer edge of the Greater Toronto Area and is one of two of the primary po ...

) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a 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 scoring area ( ...

player with 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 ...

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 ...

, and current director of community relations with the

BC 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 seas ...

. Taras spent his entire 16-year career with the Lions as a fullback and offensive lineman, and played on two Grey Cup championship teams with the club. Taras played Canadian college football at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

. In 2003, Taras was voted a member of the B.C. Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club's 50th anniversary celebration. Taras' number 60 jersey is one of eleven numbers

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the B.C. Lions.

High school and college career

From 1979 to 1983, Taras played high school football at Bishop MacDonell High School in Guelph, Ontario. From 1983 to 1986, he played Canadian college football at the

. Taras was an

offensive guard 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 in ...

for the

Mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

Professional career

Following his graduation from the

, Taras was drafted by the B.C. Lions in the third round of the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

CFL Draft as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. Taras initially played fullback for the Lions for four years, but achieved the greatest success of his playing career as an offensive guard, and later,

center 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 eccentrici ...

. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, Taras was a part of the Lions' 11-6-1 season that culminated in a Grey Cup matchup with the

Baltimore Stallions The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

. The Lions ultimately prevailed, 26–23. The following season,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, Taras, playing guard, was named a CFL All-Star for the first time. Taras would be named a CFL All-Star a second time, in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, for his play at center. Taras twice won the DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy as the CFL Western Division's Most Outstanding Lineman, in

and

. In

, Taras was also awarded the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy as the Most Outstanding Canadian in the CFL Western Division, and the

Tom Pate Memorial Award Tom Pate Memorial Award, selected annually by the Canadian Football League Players' Association, is awarded to a player with outstanding sportsmanship and someone who has made a significant contribution to his team, his community and Association. T ...

, for his outstanding sportsmanship and service to the community. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, Taras was a member of the Lion's fourth Grey Cup championship team. The Lions defeated the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (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 East Division of the Canad ...

28–26, with Taras snapping the ball to then-Lions

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Damon Allen Damon L. Allen (born July 29, 1963) is a former professional quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he ...

. Taras retired from the Lions in 2003, and was voted a member of the B.C. Lions All-Time Dream Team, at the guard position, as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration. Taras #60 was also

by the Lions, but curiously, his jersey number was worn during the

2006 CFL season The 2006 CFL season is considered to be the 53rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 49th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 2006 It was announced on April 9, 2006 that the CFL had suspended the operat ...

by then Lions tackle, Jason Jimenez.

Post-football life

Following his retirement in 2003, Taras became the Vice-President of the Canadian Football League Players' Association. Now the Director of Community Relations with the BC Lions. Taras currently resides in South Surrey, British Columbia with his wife Jennifer and their two children, Sydney and William. Taras is very active in the Greater

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

area in community and charitable activities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taras, Jamie 1966 births Living people BC Lions players Canadian football offensive linemen People from the Regional Municipality of Halton Players of Canadian football from Ontario Western Mustangs football players