Albert George "Ab" Box (March 8, 1909 – July 30, 2000) was a Canadian

professional football In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

halfback,

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 ...

and punter. Born in Toronto, Box attended

Malvern Collegiate Institute Malvern Collegiate Institute (Malvern CI, MCI or Malvern), previously known as East Toronto High School and Malvern High School is a high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada part of the Toronto District School Board. Prior to 1998, it was ...

where he played on the football team and later on the Malvern Grads junior team from 1928-1929 under coach

Ted Reeve Edward Henry Reeve (January 6, 1902 – August 27, 1983) was a multi-sport Canadian athlete and sports journalist. He was on two Grey Cup winning teams as a football player, a Mann Cup championship as a lacrosse player and three Yates Cup cha ...

. Box then moved to the senior

Ontario Rugby Football Union The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur Canadian football league comprising teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt th ...

, again playing under Reeve with the

Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers The Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers were a Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. Spanning three decades, they appeared in four Grey Cup ...

from 1930-1931, winning the Grey Cup in 1930. Box then played three seasons with 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 ...

, winning another Grey Cup in 1933 and being voted the

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanshi ...

winner as the most valuable player for 1934. He returned to Balmy Beach in 1935 and played another four years there. Box also played on championship baseball and softball teams. He has been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1965) and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1975). A sportswriter for the Toronto Telegram from 1932-35, Box was known not only for his incredible athletic ability but also for his superb sportsmanship. After his retirement, he worked as a salesman during the winter and operated a lodge during the summer. Box died in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

at age 91.

References

External links

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame profile
1909 births 2000 deaths Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football punters Canadian football quarterbacks Canadian football running backs Ontario Rugby Football Union players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football people from Toronto Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers players {{Canadianfootball-quarterback-stub