Former Surrey Ram Retires

When you start your career in a sport you normally play for fun and if you are talented enough you quite possibly take it to the pro ranks, such as Paul McCallum managed to do.

Growing up in the lower mainland and being born in Vancouver it was fitting that his team was the home-town favourite BC Lions.

He played his Junior for the Surrey Rams of the Canadian Junior Football League in Bear Creek Park located off King George Highway.

He holds the CFL record for longest field goal made at 62 yards and has the second-highest field goal kicking accuracy in a single season at 94.34%.

He is currently the oldest active player in the CFL, having played in 23 seasons over the course of his career (as of 2015). McCallum is also the last active player to have played for the Ottawa Rough Riders, with that franchise folding in 1996.

September 6, 2014, McCallum is the only active CFL player to have played against all 3 Ottawa CFL franchises as well as the last active player to have played against an American based CFL team.

The BC Lions officially announced place-kicker Paul McCallum will sign a one-day contract with the team so he can officially retire as a BC Lion player.

Over his 11 seasons (’93 -‘94, ‘06-‘14) with the Lions he (McCallum) dressed for 152 regular season games for the Lions as well as 11 playoff games and two (2) Grey Cups.

He enjoyed a historic and Hall of Fame-worthy 23-year, 339-game CFL career as a BC Lion and Saskatchewan Roughrider as well as a three-game stint in Ottawa.

GM and Head Coach Wally Buono “Paul’s consistency and longevity make him one of the greatest kickers to have ever played in our league.”

He continued “He began his career in the shadow of Lui Passaglia and he finished his playing days as just one of two players in professional football to have ever recorded more than 3,000 points. I look forward to the day when I can be one of many to welcome him to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.”

After a handful of games with the club in the early 90’s following his junior days with the Surrey Rams, Paul returned to British Columbia as a free agent in 2006 following an 11-year run with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Enjoying a standout season that year nailing 84% of his field goals, Paul’s postseason heroics provided Lions fans with one of his most memorable games as he nailed all six field goal attempts tying a CFL record and accounted for 19 of the team’s 25 points on the way to the 2006 Grey Cup title.

When asked he stated “I am very proud of my CFL career and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending and I enjoyed some memorable years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the people of Regina will forever have a special place in my heart.”

He continued “Given my time there, it was not an easy choice to retire as a Lion, but growing up not far from the practice facility and having an opportunity to win two Grey Cups with my hometown team makes this the right decision for me and I couldn’t be happier.”

Seeming to only get better with age, McCallum did not miss a single playoff field goal attempt as a Lion; a 36-attempt run over nine seasons and 11 games from 2006 to 2014.

He also collected his first two CFL-All Star selections in 2010 and 2011, 17 years after his first game as a pro.

Perhaps most impressive was his 94% success rate on field goals in the 2011 Grey Cup year which featured a string of 30-straight successful attempts.

After concluding his 23-year CFL career with Saskatchewan last year, Paul walks away with the fourth-most regular season appearances in league history with 339 (Passaglia 408), the second-highest career point total 3,131 (Passaglia 3,991) and the second-most field goals 718 (Passaglia 875).

Paul’s amazing career will be acknowledged at the Lions’ first regular season home game on Saturday, June 25 versus the Calgary Stampeders.

Thanks to the BC Lions for the press release