| No. 76 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1948-03-10)March 10, 1948 (age 77) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Kansas |
| Career history | |
| 1971–1978 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Awards and highlights | |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) | |
George McGowan (born March 10, 1948) is an American former professionalfootball player for theEdmonton Eskimos of theCanadian Football League (CFL) where he played for eight seasons from 1971 to 1978. During his career with the Eskimos, he set CFL league records for most catches in a game (15) and most catches in a season (98) and won twoGrey Cups before his career was cut short by knee injuries. McGowan was elected to theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
Born inBethesda, Maryland, on March 10, 1948, he grew upGlendale, California. McGowan attendedUniversity of Kansas and played for the Jayhawks for two years. In 1968, he had great success as a receiver, with 32 receptions for 592 yards and five touchdowns. In 1969, he was moved to defensive back, and was less impressive.
It took McGowan several training camps (one with theAtlanta Falcons in theNFL) and a couple of years until he ended up inEdmonton as a receiver.
He would play 8 seasons inEdmonton. In his first year, 1971, he caught 49 passes for 827 yards, and 54 for 1015 yards the next season. 1973 was one of his greatest years, and his 81 catches for 1,123 yards won him theCFL's Most Outstanding Player Award.
An injury limited his performance to 8 receptions in 1974, but McGowan provided the comeback story of the next year, catching a then-record 98 passes for 1,472 yards. In his last three seasons, injuries steadily limited his effectiveness, and he caught 60, 40 and 34 passes respectively during that time.
His career totals were 424 receptions for 6,356 yards (14.9 yard average) and 42 touchdowns. He was an all star 3 times and played in 5Grey Cup games, winning two. He also caught a then-record 15 passes in the September 3, 1973, game against theSaskatchewan Roughriders.
George McGowan was always considered the equal of the great receivers of his day, and was elected to theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
His former head coach,Ray Jauch, recalled, "George ran patterns just like they were drawn up in the playbook. He'd get to the correct spot and catch the ball. And although he didn't possess great speed, his quickness allowed him to break the odd long one. He could run with almost anyone for the first 30 or 40 yards."[1] He is remembered for his hand-eye coordination and for catching as well in a crowd as in the open.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Ted Soutar, "Soudog's CFL History Fan Site", July 8, 2002