 | |
| No. 75 | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Wide receiver •Defensive back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1932-10-04)October 4, 1932 Garden City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 2011(2011-11-21) (aged 79) Kinsley, Kansas, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Kansas |
| NFL draft | 1954: 14th round, 165th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| 1954–1960 | Montreal Alouettes |
| 1961–1967 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| Awards and highlights | |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1971) | |
Harold Edward Patterson (October 4, 1932 – November 21, 2011), nicknamed "Prince"Hal, was an American starcollege basketball player at theUniversity of Kansas, and a professionalCanadian football player with theCanadian Football LeagueMontreal Alouettes andHamilton Tiger-Cats. Patterson is a member of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame, and in 2006, was voted one of the CFL'sTop 50 players (#13) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.[1]
Born inGarden City, Kansas in 1932, Patterson was afootball,baseball andbasketball star at theUniversity of Kansas. He was the second-leading rebounder for Kansas' 1953 national runner-up team that lost theNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game by a single point toIndiana University. Anend with theJayhawks football team, he alsolettered inbaseball.
Drafted by thePhiladelphia Eagles of theNational Football League in the1954 NFL draft, Patterson opted to sign with theMontreal Alouettes of theInterprovincial Rugby Football Union in1954. (The IRFU became part of the CFL in 1958.)[2]
Known as "Prince" Hal, in1956, he won theJeff Russel Memorial Trophy then theSchenley Award as theCanadian Rugby Union's Outstanding Player as anoffensive end. That same year, Patterson set a record that has yet to be matched, when he caught passes for 338 yards in a single game and set the record of 88 catches that stood up for 11 years beforeTerry Evanshen broke it in1967. He also set records with 1914 receiving yards, 2039 scrimmage yards (he was the first player to reach 2000 scrimmage yards) and 2858 all purpose yards.[3] His receiving yards record stood until1983 whenTerry Greer beat his record with 2003 yards. His all purpose yards record stood until1984 whenRufus Crawford beat his record with 2896 yards.
Patterson was a member of the Alouettes until being part of a controversial trade in1960 that sent him to the last-placeHamilton Tiger-Cats with fellow Montreal starquarterbackSam Etcheverry. Patterson's impact was immediate, as he helped to lead the Tiger-Cats to the1961 Grey Cup, where the Ti-Cats lost inovertime to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers.
Hal Patterson still holds the record of 580 yards for most pass-receiving yards inGrey Cup history. Patterson scored 54 touchdowns in his 14-year Canadian pro career and had 34 games with at least 100 yards in pass receptions. He was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1971. In November 2006, Patterson was voted one of theCFL's top 50 players (#13) in a poll conducted by Canadian sports networkTSN.[1]
Early in his career, he was a triple threat. Besides being theMost Outstanding Player and two time all-star as a receiver, he returned kickoffs, with 3 going for touchdowns, and played defensive back (being a 5 time all-star). Later he would add 6 all-star selections as a receiver in Hamilton.
On November 21, 2008, the Montreal Alouettes retired Patterson's number 75. He died on November 21, 2011.[4]