 O'Billovich in 2023 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Quarterback •Defensive back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1940-06-30)June 30, 1940 (age 85) Butte, Montana, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 182 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Montana |
| NFL draft | 1962: 12th round, 159 (By theSt. Louis Cardinals)th overall pick |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1963–1967 | Ottawa Rough Riders |
Coaching | |
| 1982–1989 | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1990–1992 | BC Lions |
| 1993–1994 | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1995 | Toronto Argonauts |
Operations | |
| 1990–1992 | BC Lions (GM) |
| 1994–1995 | Toronto Argonauts (GM) |
| 2008–2012 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (GM) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2015) | |
Robert O'Billovich, nicknamed "Bobby O" or "Obie", (born June 30, 1940) is an east regionalscout for theBC Lions of theCanadian Football League (CFL).[1] O'Billovich has been involved with the CFL since 1963 in the roles of player, coach, general manager, scout, and several front-office positions. As a long-time coach in the CFL, he won 107 regular season games in the CFL, theeighth highest win total by a head coach in the league's history.
O'Billovich was born and raised inButte, Montana,[2] where he was an outstanding football and basketball player at Butte High School. At Butte HS he lettered three years in basketball and two years in football; making All State in both sports. He also lettered in track and played shortstop on the Butte American Legion baseball team.
After graduating from high school inButte, Montana, O'Billovich went toMissoula, Montana to attend Montana State University (later renamed theUniversity of Montana).[3][4] He played in theNCAA infootball,basketball andbaseball, where he started in all three sports for three years. O'Billovich started three years in football for Montana as a quarterback and defensive back (1959–1961). In addition, O'Billovich was a starting guard in basketball (1960–1962) and the starting shortstop in baseball for Montana (1960–1962). He was an all-Skyline Conference selection in all three sports. He also lettered at least one year in track for Montana. He was named University of MontanaAthlete of the Decade for 1960–1970, and inducted to the University of Montana'sGrizzly Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.[5]
O'Billovich began his CFL career with theOttawa Rough Riders in1963 as adefensive back and backupquarterback. He also served as a backupplacekicker, completed his onlyone-point convert attempt. He recorded 24 interceptions over 69 games with the Rough Riders between 1963 and 1967 before ending his playing career.[6]
Bob O'Billovich was coach of theCarleton UniversityRavensCIAU men's basketball team from 1971 to 1973. From 1973 to 1974, O'Billovich served as head coach for theUniversity of OttawaGee-Gees men's basketball team.
In1974, O'Billovich launched his CFL coaching career with the Rough Riders, first as a guest coach, and then assistant coach.
O'Billovich was named head coach of theToronto Argonauts in1982, a position he held until1989. During his tenure atToronto, the Argonauts appeared in theGrey Cup three times (1982,1983,1987), winning the Cup in 1983. He was honoured asCFL Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1987.
Bob O'Billovich joined theBC Lions in midseason on September 14, 1990, as general manager and interim coach. The Lions had been off to a dismal 2–8-1 start that season; they finished the season with an improved 6–11-1 record. O'Billovich remained as head coach of the Lions through the end of the1992 season, a year in which the Lions finished at 3–15.
In 1993, O'Billovich returned to the Argonauts asgeneral manager. The Argos began that season poorly, and O'Billovich took over as head coach on September 10, 1993. He coached for the remainder of the1993 season and for the entirety of the1994 season. At the end of the 1994 season, O'Billovich relinquished the head coach position to concentrate on his general manager duties. The Argos again had a poor start for the1995 season and O'Billovich took over as head coach for the final nine games after firingMike Faragalli; the team finished the season with a lackluster 4–14 record. He finished with 89 career regular season wins as a head coach of the Argonauts, which is the most in franchise history.
O'Billovich was director of player personnel with the Lions from 2003 to 2007. In December 2007, O'Billovich was hired as general manager by theHamilton Tiger-Cats.[7] On January 12, 2012, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced his promotion to Vice President of football operations.[8] On December 17, 2012,Kent Austin replaced O'Billovich as the Tiger-Cats' GM when he was also hired as the team's new head coach.
He was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| TOR | 1982 | 9 | 6 | 1 | .600 | 1st in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in Grey Cup | |
| TOR | 1983 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in East Division | 2 | 0 | WonGrey Cup | |
| TOR | 1984 | 9 | 6 | 1 | .600 | 1st in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 1985 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 1986 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .555 | 1st in East Division | 1 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 1987 | 11 | 6 | 1 | .647 | 2nd in East Division | 2 | 1 | Lost in Grey Cup | |
| TOR | 1988 | 14 | 4 | 0 | .777 | 1st in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Final | |
| TOR | 1989 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .388 | 2nd in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semi-Final | |
| BC | 1990 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 4th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| BC | 1991 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in West Semi-Final | |
| BC | 1992 | 3 | 15 | 0 | .166 | 4th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 1993 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 1994 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .388 | 3rd in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semi-Final | |
| TOR | 1995 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 7th in North Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| Total | 107 | 104 | 3 | .507 | 5 Division Championships | 6 | 8 | 1 Grey Cup | ||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| BC | 1990 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 4th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| BC | 1991 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 3rd in West Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in West Semi-Final | |
| BC | 1992 | 3 | 15 | 0 | .166 | 4th in West Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 1993 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 4th in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| TOR | 1994 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .388 | 3rd in East Division | 0 | 1 | Lost in East Semi-Final | |
| TOR | 1995 | 4 | 14 | 0 | .222 | 7th in North Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| HAM | 2008 | 3 | 15 | 0 | .166 | 4th in East Division | – | – | Missed Playoffs | |
| HAM | 2009 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in East Division | 0 | 1 | LostEast Semi-Final | |
| HAM | 2010 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in East Division | 0 | 1 | LostEast Semi-Final | |
| HAM | 2011 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 3rd in East Division | 1 | 1 | LostEast Final | |
| HAM | 2012 | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 3rd in East Division | - | - | Failed to Qualify | |
| Total | 66 | 111 | 0 | .372 | 0 Division Championships | 1 | 5 | 0 Grey Cups | ||
O'Billovich lives inOakville, Ontario,[9] married to wife Judy from Ottawa where their children, Tracy, Jodi, and Coy, were born.[10] His younger brother, Jack "Mad Dog" O'Billovich, who died in 1995 of a heart condition, was an All-American at Oregon State who helped OSU get to the Rose Bowl in 1965.