Leif Pettersen (December 23, 1950 – July 30, 2008) was a receiver who played eight seasons in 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 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 ...

and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. He was born in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ancho ...

. After playing college football at

Otterbein College Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. Westerville is the home of Otterbein University. Westerville was once known a ...

, Pettersen was drafted by the

in 1974 and played in the CFL for eight seasons. In 1976, Pettersen's Roughriders lost one of the most memorable Grey Cups when Ottawa's Tony Gabriel caught a long touchdown pass in the last minute to give the (Ottawa) Rough Riders the win. However, even in a losing cause, that game was still a career highlight as Pettersen caught seven passes that day and received the game ball from then CFL Commissioner Jake Gaudaur. Three years later, as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1979, Leif won the

Lew Hayman Trophy The Lew Hayman Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding Canadian player in the East Division. Each team in the East Division nominates a player, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of the Hayman troph ...

. After retiring, he spent eighteen years as an analyst for the CFL on CTV and Friday Night Football. Pettersen joined TSN as a

game analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

in 1987, when the network began televising CFL games (and after CTV ceased CFL coverage). Pettersen also worked at RBC Sports Professionals & Private Client Group as Director of Business Development, managing banking and investments for athletes, coaches and sports executives. He was the president of a chemical manufacturing firm in Etobicoke as well. Pettersen was a founding Governor of the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame and was appointed as a Governor 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 ...

in 2006. In 1992, he was considered for the position of commissioner of the Canadian Football League, but his asking price was too high. Pettersen died on the evening of July 30, 2008, at the age of 57 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in Toronto. Leif's wife Sharon Lee Pettersen died from ovarian cancer on May 2, 2017. Leif and Lee are survived by their two daughters, Kate and Ali.

References

External links

* 1950 births 2008 deaths Canadian colour commentators Canadian Football League announcers Canadian football slotbacks Canadian television sportscasters Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Otterbein Cardinals football players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Etobicoke Canadian football people from Toronto {{Canadianfootball-widereceiver-stub