Lui Passaglia
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Lui Passaglia (born June 7, 1954) is a former 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 ...
player. Passaglia was the
placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...
/ punter for 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 season ...
of 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 ...
for a record-breaking 25 years (1976–2000) and scored more points in that time than any professional
gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...
player in history. He is a member of
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 ...
, 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 ...
, the
British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...
, and the BC Lions Wall of Fame. Passaglia's #5 jersey is one of nine numbers retired by the Lions. In 2003, Passaglia was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration. In 2006, Passaglia was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#30) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.


High school and college career

After playing
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 ...
at
Notre Dame Regional Secondary School Notre Dame Regional Secondary is a Mixed-sex education, co-ed Catholic school, Catholic Secondary school, under the administration of Catholic Independent Schools Vancouver Archdiocese (CISVA) school board inn Canada. The school participates in sp ...
in
East Vancouver East Vancouver (also called "East Van" or "the East Side") is a region within the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to the ...
, Passaglia, not straying far from home, accepted an athletic scholarship to local
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
in suburban
Burnaby 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 I ...
, British Columbia. At Simon Fraser, Passaglia played wide receiver as well as
kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...
/ punter. As a member of the
Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
, Passaglia recorded 175 career points, won All NAIA District 1 honours twice, and was named an All-Northwest All-Star. Passaglia was the fifth-overall selection of 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 season ...
in the
1976 CFL season The 1976 CFL season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season. CFL news in 1976 For the first time in Canadian Football League history, more than two m ...
Canadian College Draft The CFL Draft (also known as the CFL Canadian Draft, CFL College Draft or the Canadian College Draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from ...
, as a kicker and wide receiver.


Canadian Football League career

Passaglia caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in his first
CFL 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 ...
game on July 22, of the
1976 CFL season The 1976 CFL season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season. CFL news in 1976 For the first time in Canadian Football League history, more than two m ...
against 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 ...
. His only other career touchdown came on a one-yard run in his final home game at
BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...
, on November 4, of the 2000 season, again against the Roughriders. Between those two touchdown "bookends," Passaglia arguably became one of the most consistent performers in Lions', CFL, and professional football history. Passaglia played the most CFL regular seasons at 25, the most CFL regular season games at 408, and scored the most points in regular season play with 3,991 points, all with one team: the BC Lions. Passaglia was the first player to score 200 points in a season (
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, k ...
), with 214 points. Passaglia holds many CFL regular season records including total points scored (3,991), most converts at 1,045 (560 consecutive—he missed only three), most field goals at 875 (of 1,203 attempted), best single season field goal percentage at 90.9% (40 of 44 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 ...
, his final year of play), and most single points at 309. Passaglia is the second all-time CFL punt leader with 3,142 for 133,826 yards (behind Bob Cameron), with the second highest average in a season ( 1983 CFL season) of 50.2 yards (
Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional football punter. He played college football for the University of Regina Rams, and began his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) after being ...
had a higher average in the 2005 season). In CFL playoff games, Passaglia holds records for most points with 210, is tied for most field goals with 48, and has the longest recorded punt of 89 yards. As a Lion, Passaglia was named a CFL Western Division All-Star nine times, and was a CFL All-Star four times (
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 ...
,
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, and 2000 seasons). Passaglia was a member of three of the Lions'
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 ...
seasons (
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
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 Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, and 2000 seasons), winning the
Dick Suderman Trophy The Dick Suderman Trophy (french: Trophée Dick Suderman) for the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian (''Le Canadien le plus précieux de la Coupe Grey'') is awarded annually to the Canadian player deemed to have the best performance in the Grey Cup ...
as the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian twice (
73rd Grey Cup The 73rd Grey Cup was the 1985 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, between the BC Lions and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Lions easily handled the Tiger-Cats with a 37–24 victory. Game summ ...
and
82nd Grey Cup The 82nd Grey Cup was the 1994 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Baltimore Football Club and the BC Lions at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was the first championship in professional football histo ...
). Passaglia is the longest-playing Lion in team history, appearing in a total of 408 games, overtaking Leos' great
Al Wilson Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and ...
's previous mark of 233 games. Passaglia retired from the CFL following the Lions' 28–26
88th Grey Cup The 88th Grey Cup (Canadian Football League championship) was held in 2000 in Calgary. The BC Lions won the game 28–26 over the Montreal Alouettes. The Lions, who finished 8–10 with an overtime loss during the regular season, became the fir ...
victory over 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 ...
in the 2000 season, where he kicked the winning points in the game. In the
2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
, Passaglia was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team, at the
kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...
and punter positions, as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration. In November 2006, Passaglia was voted #30 of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Passaglia's last-second field goal in 1994's
82nd Grey Cup The 82nd Grey Cup was the 1994 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Baltimore Football Club and the BC Lions at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was the first championship in professional football histo ...
game at BC Place, which clinched the championship for the Lions over the
Baltimore Football Club 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 ...
, was named the greatest play in BC Lions history in 2007. By the time of his retirement, Passaglia had been a member of the Lions for over half of its then-47-season history. Consistently a fan favorite, home crowds consistently chanted his given name in a long drawn-out manner (such that it sounded like an extended ''"Loo..."'') whenever he came on the field, particularly when attempting crucial field goals.


Post-playing career

Following his years playing with the Lions, Passaglia worked for seven years as the Lions director of community relations. He resigned from the Lions at the conclusion of the 2007 CFL season to devote his time to his family property development business. Passaglia was replaced as BC Lions director of community relations by fellow Lions great and former teammate,
Jamie Taras Jamie Taras (born January 31, 1966, in Acton, Ontario) is a former professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League British Columbia Lions, and current director of community relations with the BC Lions. Taras spent his ent ...
. Passaglia has lived in the city of
Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...
for over 20 years.Richard Stewart
Endorsements
Retrieved on 15 March 2009
In 2006,
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
granted him an honorary degree and he delivered a convocation address. In 2014, Passaglia revealed that he was receiving
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
for stage 3
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
. By going public, he intended to fundraise for research and treatment.


References


External links


Lui Passaglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passaglia, Lui 1954 births BC Lions players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Canadian people of Italian descent Living people People from Coquitlam Players of Canadian football from British Columbia Simon Fraser Clan football players Simon Fraser University alumni Sportspeople from Vancouver