Rogers Lehew (July 30, 1928 – March 16, 2021) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

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 ...

executive. He served as the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

from 1965 to 1974. He went on to become vice president and assistant general manager of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. Lehew graduated from the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

, where he played for the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...

. After a stint in the air force, he returned to his alma mater and coached its football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

teams. He started working for the Stampeders in 1960 and was appointed general manager at the end of 1964. During Lehew's nine-season tenure, the franchise won the 1971 Grey Cup. He subsequently moved to the Lions in 1974, before retiring as an executive four years later and returning to Calgary.

Early life

Lehew was born in

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busines ...

, on July 30, 1928. He studied at the

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1950. During his time there, he played on the

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

teams, and

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

four and three times, respectively. He was 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 ...

for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 1946 until 1949. He became one of only two players to qualify for the varsity football team as a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, and contributed to the team's 9–1 record during his first season. In his final year, he was appointed

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and honored as its best lineman. He led the team to one of their most notable upsets that same year, with their victory over Villanova. Lehew first stint in coaching came with a high school football team in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, overseeing their

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the ...

in 1950. He concurrently undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

educational administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some t ...

in 1951. He joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

that same year and played on its football team at

Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, until 1952. Upon completing his military service, Lehew returned to Tulsa and worked as an assistant football coach at his alma mater in 1953, as well as its head baseball coach. He served in those capacities for two seasons.

Career

Lehew was invited to the

training camp in 1959 as a guest coach. He joined 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 ...

(CFL) franchise on a permanent basis the following season, working as coordinator of minor football development and as an assistant to the general manager. He was subsequently promoted to

in November 1964, succeeding

Jim Finks James Edward Finks (August 31, 1927 – May 8, 1994) was an American football and Canadian football player, coach, and executive. Early life and playing career Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended high school in Salem, Illinois, and a ...

. Lehew was responsible for signing players like

Wayne Harris Carroll Wayne Harris (May 4, 1938 – June 4, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1961 through 1972. His son, Wayne Harris, Jr., coaches f ...

Herm Harrison Herman Austin "Ham Hands" Harrison (September 29, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was a tight end with the Calgary Stampeders from 1964 to 1972. College football Herm Harrison played college football at Arizona State University. Calgary Herm Harriso ...

John Helton John Helton (born 23 May 1947) is a former defensive tackle for the Calgary Stampeders from 1969 to 1978 and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1979 to 1982 of the Canadian Football League. High school and college John Helton graduated from Captai ...

Jerry Keeling Jerry Keeling (August 2, 1939 – January 20, 2018) was a quarterback and defensive back in the Canadian Football League, playing fifteen seasons from 1961 to 1975 for the Calgary Stampeders, the Ottawa Rough Riders, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. ...

Earl Lunsford Earl Lunsford (October 19, 1933 – September 3, 2008), known as the "Earthquake", was a fullback for the Calgary Stampeders and is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. College football Lunsford played during college at with Oklahoma ...

Don Luzzi Don Luzzi (August 20, 1935 – October 30, 2005) was a politician and professional football player who played in the Canadian Football League. CFL career After playing college football at Villanova University, Don Luzzi played 12 seasons for the ...

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

, and

Harvey Wylie Harvey Douglas Wylie (April 6, 1933 – September 17, 2019) was a defensive back who played nine seasons in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders (ending his career with them in 1964). For five consecutive seasons, he was an All ...

(all of whom were elected to 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 ...

), and for turning the Stampeders into a competitive team. During his tenure, the Stampeders made three appearances in Grey Cup games and won the championship in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, the franchise's second Grey Cup. He was influential in starting the team tradition of featuring a horse at the

sidelines The "sidelines" are the white or colored lines which mark the outer boundaries of a sports field, running parallel to each other and perpendicular to the goal lines. The sidelines are also where the coaching staff and players out of play ope ...

during games at

McMahon Stadium McMahon Stadium is a Canadian football stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. The stadium is between the downtown core and the University of Calgary, north of ...

. This was the precursor to Quick Six the Touchdown Horse. He also created the Presidents’ Ring in 1967, to honour the player who "best demonstrates excellence on and off the field as voted by the players". He oversaw the inclusion of the white horse to Stampeders helmets. Lehew left the Stampeders in 1974. He proceeded to serve as the vice president and assistant general manager of the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

from that year until 1978. He was inducted into the Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. He was subsequently honoured by the Stampeders on their

Wall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

in 2004.

Personal life

Lehew was married to Joann until her death. Together, they had three children: Garry, Lora, and Larry. After Lehew stopped working as a football executive in 1978, he returned to Calgary. He was subsequently employed at an oil patch until his retirement in 1997, and also engaged in other business interests. He died on March 16, 2021, in Calgary at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehew, Rogers 1928 births 2021 deaths Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Tulsa Golden Hurricane baseball players Tulsa Golden Hurricane baseball coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches Calgary Stampeders coaches Calgary Stampeders general managers Detroit Lions executives