 Faloney featured in the October 1966 issue ofCanadian Boy | |||||||||||
| No. 10, 90, 92 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1932-06-15)June 15, 1932 Carnegie, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died | June 14, 1999(1999-06-14) (aged 66) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 193 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| College | Maryland | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1954: 1st round, 11th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| 1954 | Edmonton Eskimos | ||||||||||
| 1957–1964 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | ||||||||||
| 1965–1966 | Montreal Alouettes | ||||||||||
| 1967 | BC Lions | ||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Career CFL statistics | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1974) | |||||||||||
Bernie Faloney (June 15, 1932 – June 14, 1999) was a professionalfootball player in theCanadian Football League (primarily with theHamilton Tiger-Cats) and an outstanding Americancollege football player for theMaryland Terrapins. Born inCarnegie, Pennsylvania, Faloney is a member of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame,Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Western Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, and theUniversity of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Faloney's jerseyNo. 10 was retired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1999.[1] In 2005, Faloney was inducted into theOntario Sports Hall of Fame.[2] In 2006, Faloney was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL'sTop 50 Players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.[3]
B.J. "Bernie" Faloney was born inCarnegie, Pennsylvania, where he played high school football before attending theUniversity of Maryland, College Park. There, he playedcollege football as aquarterback, helping theTerrapins make it to theSugar Bowl in 1952. In his senior season of 1953, Faloney quarterbacked Maryland to beNCAA Division I-A national football champions and into the 1954Orange Bowl. At season's end, Faloney finished fourth in the balloting for the 1953Heisman Trophy.
Faloney was selected in the first round of the1954 NFL draft by theSan Francisco 49ers.[4] San Francisco offered Faloney $9,000 to playdefensive back and back-up quarterback. HoweverPop Ivy, coach of the University of Maryland's Orange Bowl opponent,Oklahoma, was moving to theEdmonton Eskimos of theWestern Interprovincial Football Union and offered Faloney a $12,500 contract to accompany him. At the time theCanadian dollar was worth 10 percent more thanits American counterpart, so the choice to head north was easy, Faloney later recalled.
A scrambling quarterback, Faloney helped the Eskimos win the1954 Grey Cup but then fulfilled his mandatory service in theUnited States armed forces, serving with theU.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1956. A free agent after his military service, Faloney signed with theHamilton Tiger-Cats in 1957 and became one of the major stars of theCanadian Football League, winning two Grey Cup championships with the Ti-Cats. Traded from Hamilton in1965, he played for theMontreal Alouettes and theBC Lions before retiring in1967.
Faloney was theEastern Conference's All-Star quarterback on five occasions,1958,1959,1961,1964 and1965. In1961, he won theCFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. His career CFL stats include 1,493 pass completions of 2,876 attempts for 153 touchdowns and 24,264 yards. He is the first CFL quarterback to win a Grey Cup championship with bothEastern andWestern Conference teams.[5]
Bernie Faloney was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1974, the Western Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 1983, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988, andCanada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. In November 2006, Faloney was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL'stop 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.[3]
In retirement, Faloney made his home in Hamilton, Ontario,[6] where he became a part owner of a construction company. An avid horseman, he remained active in community and business affairs until being stricken withcolorectal cancer.
Faloney was the first Tiger-Cat player to have his number retired by the club when the team announced his number retirement on June 8, 1999.[1] He died six days later on June 14, 1999, in Hamilton, Ontario.[7]
Cannon Street in Hamilton, Ontario, in the Brian Timmis Stadium andTim Hortons Field area is also known asBernie Faloney Way.
Canadian Football Hall of Fame member