Randy Ambrosie
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Randy Ambrosie (born March 16, 1963) is the 14th and current commissioner 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 ...
(CFL). Ambrosie played
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 ...
professionally as 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 inj ...
for the CFL's
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 ...
,
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
, and
Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
. He was selected with the second overall pick in the 1985 CFL Draft by the Stampeders. Over the course of a nine-season career, he played in 142 professional games and became a
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. Ambrosie played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays their games at Investors Group Field. The soccer team play their home games at the University of Manit ...
as an offensive lineman. In 1984, he was named an All-Canadian. He was also a
Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
All-Star in 1983 and 1984. In a February 1985 article in ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', it was stated that a recent poll of CFL teams listed Ambrosie as one of the top nine players available for the 1985 CFL Draft. Ambrosie received a
Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...
degree from the school.


Professional career


Calgary Stampeders

Ambrosie was selected in the first round of the 1985 CFL Draft by 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 ...
with the second overall pick. The Stampeders used Ambrosie in their lineup immediately. Despite a late season injury due to torn ligaments in his ankle, Ambrosie played in 13 regular season games in his rookie season and was named the Stampeders' nominee for rookie of the year. Ambrosie remained in the lineup in 1986, playing in 17 regular season games.


Toronto Argonauts

After playing four games for the Stampeders in 1987, Ambrosie was traded to the
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
for a second-round draft pick. He quickly earned a place on the Argonauts' roster, playing against the Stampeders in his first week after changing between the two teams. The Argonauts eventually promoted Ambrosie to start as a
right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...
. Ambrosie finished the season with 13 games played for the Argonauts. He played in the
75th Grey Cup The 75th Grey Cup was the 1987 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Toronto Argonauts. The Eskimos defeated the Argonauts 38–36, on Jerry Kauric's last ...
, making a key block to allow running back Gill Fenerty to score a touchdown late in the first half. The Argonauts went on to lose the game 36–38. The offensive line of the Argonauts dealt with injuries for much of the 1988 season. Ambrosie injured his knee during training camp, while other Argonaut offensive linemen suffered from a variety of ankle, groin, knee, and back injuries. By late July, Ambrosie had recovered, but he was the only healthy starting member of the offensive line that year. Despite the medical setbacks, both the press and the Argonauts coaching staff praised the offensive line, with the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' crediting the unit for "establish ngToronto as one of the best running teams in the Canadian Football League". In September, Ambrosie missed three games due to a back injury and he played through an ankle injury in October. The continued injury issues did not affect the offensive line's success on the field, as they finished with the second fewest sacks allowed in the CFL. Ambrosie finished the regular season with 15 games played. The Argonauts went on to lose in the East Final to the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
.


Edmonton Eskimos

In June 1989, Ambrosie was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos to obtain defensive lineman Branko Vincic. The Argonauts had not originally planned to trade Ambrosie, but he requested to be traded to a team closer to where his wife worked. Ambrosie played in all 18 regular season games for the Eskimos in 1989 as the Eskimos established a 16–2 record. By adding to the Argonauts 14 wins the previous season, Ambrosie set a new CFL record as the player with the most wins in two consecutive seasons. Despite being described as "one of the strongest teams in CFL history", the Eskimos lost to 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 ...
32–21 in the West Final to end their season. Ambrosie played in 13 games for the Eskimos in 1990, missing time due to a knee injury. He played in all 18 regular season games the following year. In 1991, the Eskimos finished first in the West Division but lost the West Final to the Stampeders. In 1992, Ambrosie played in all regular season games as the Eskimos went 13–5 before losing in the West Finals to the Stampeders for the second consecutive season. The Eskimos considered there to be "no safe jobs" on the roster following several years of playoff losses, but Ambrosie earned a starting role on the team to start the 1993 season. A knee injury kept Ambrosie out of the lineup for most of September, and he finished with 13 games played in 1993. The Eskimos met the Stampeders in the West Final for the fourth consecutive season and won 29–15 to break their playoff losing streak. Ambrosie helped the Eskimos win the
81st Grey Cup The 81st Grey Cup was the 1993 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The Eskimos defeated the Blue Bombers 33–23 to win the Grey Cup. ...
over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 33–23 to earn his only championship ring.


Retirement

Following his Grey Cup win, the future of Ambrosie's football career was uncertain. His persistent knee injuries had required multiple surgeries over the years. Ambrosie put off another serious surgery on his left knee during the 1993 season to remain with the team through their Grey Cup victory. After he underwent his fourth knee surgery during the offseason, Ambrosie retired from professional football.


Administrative roles

By 1992, Ambrosie took over as the secretary of the
Canadian Football League Players' Association The Canadian Football League Players' Association (or CFLPA) represents Canadian football players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The association was established in 1965, when local lawyer John Agro became concerned by the number of Hamilton ...
(CFLPA). He played a role in monitoring the 1992 NHL strike as the CFLPA and the CFL renegotiated their collective bargaining agreement that year. Ambrosie was also part of the CFLPA board that oversaw the CFL's expansion into the United States. During the expansion, Ambrosie took a strong stance against lowering the import ratio which requires each team to carry a certain number of Canadian players. He also took issue with a proposed expansion or dispersal draft intended to be held in early 1993 to provide players for the
San Antonio Texans The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Miner ...
and
Sacramento Gold Miners The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff and much of the rost ...
. The CFLPA and Ambrosie threatened legal action over the import ratio issue, but no legal action came to pass. On June 28, 2017, the ''
Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...
'' reported that Ambrosie would soon be named the 14th CFL commissioner, succeeding
Jeffrey Orridge Jeffrey Lyndon Orridge (born 1960) is the chief executive officer of TVOntario, the provincial educational television network. He was appointed effective November 30, 2020. Previously he served as 13th Commissioner of the Canadian Football Leagu ...
. The move was officially announced seven days later. He is the first Canadian-born CFL commissioner since Tom Wright left in 2006, and the first to have played in the league since Larry Smith left the position in 1997.


Business career

After retiring from football, Ambrosie became the North American head of sales at HSBC Securities. In May 2004, Ambrosie joined AGF Management Ltd. as their head of sales and marketing. The president of the company reportedly hired him to "shake things up". Ambrosie's leadership brought several changes to AGF Management Ltd., including new fund managers and the launch of new products. In June 2006, Ambrosie was appointed president of AGF Funds Inc. Due to another managerial change in 2008, Ambrosie left the firm. Ambrosie served as CEO of Accretive 360 Inc. from 2010 to 2012, before joining investment firm MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier as president and CEO.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrosie, Randy 1963 births Living people Canadian football offensive linemen Manitoba Bisons football players Calgary Stampeders players Toronto Argonauts players Edmonton Elks players Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Sportspeople from Winnipeg Canadian Football League commissioners