Paul Frederick Bennett (born March 27, 1954) is a former award-winning and all-star defensive back in the Canadian Football League and

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 ...

champion. He attended General Brock Public School and W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ontario. As a high school football player Paul played

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 ...

and quarterback and was named a Toronto All Star in 1972. Offered a full football scholarship to the University of Missouri, in Columbia, Missouri, he played on the Tigers freshman team in 1973. He was redshirted on the varsity squad for his sophomore year. In 1974 Bennett returned to Canada and attended Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. He played for WLU in 1975 and 1976, coached by

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 ...

Tuffy Knight David "Tuffy" Knight (born May 17, 1936) is a former coach of Canadian university football and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Knight was a high school football, track, and basketball coach in Southeastern Ohio who moved to Can ...

. He was protected by the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL draft. Bennett was a hard-hitting safety and a fierce punt returner. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and won a

with

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

in 1986 (whom he played with from 1985 to 1987,) after stints at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1980–1983), and Toronto Argonauts (1977–1979 and 1984). Bennett retired in 1987 after eleven seasons. He had 45 interceptions and CFL records in punt return yards (6,358), punt return carries (659) and interception return yards (1,004). He won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy winner ...

in 1983 and 1985 and the

James P. McCaffrey Trophy The James P. McCaffrey Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding defensive player in the East Division. Each team in the East division nominates a candidate, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of thi ...

in 1985. He was a 4-time all star. In 1985, he was an all-star and won the

as Outstanding Defensive Player in the Eastern Division. And, for the second time in his career, he won the

. He lives in Winnipeg, and brought the 2009 Canadian Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremony to the city. He is currently Head Coach for the Oak Park High School Raiders Junior Varsity football team.

Awards and honours

*Grey Cup Champion - 1986 *CFL All-Star - 1977, 1983, 1985 *Eastern All-Star - 1977, 1985 *Western All-Star - 1982, 1983 *Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian Player - 1983, 1985 *James P. McCaffrey Trophy: Outstanding Defensive Player Eastern Division - 1985 *Lew Hayman Trophy: Outstanding Canadian Eastern Division - 1985 *Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy: Outstanding Canadian Player Western Division - 1983 *Grey Cup Participation - 1984, 1985, 1986

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Paul 1954 births Living people Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian football defensive backs Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Canadian Award winners Canadian football return specialists Canadian people of British descent Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Toronto Toronto Argonauts players University of Missouri alumni Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players