Tony Champion

Tony Champion

No. 87, 1
Born:	(1963-03-19) March 19, 1963 Humboldt, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
Status	Retired
CFL status	American
Position(s)	WR
College	Tennessee Martin
High school	Humboldt
Career history
As player
1985–1992	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star	1989
CFL East All-Star	1989

Tony Champion (born March 19, 1963, in Humboldt, Tennessee) is a former American football and Canadian Football League player.

Early sports career

A multi-sport star, Champion lived up to his name as a football standout at the high school, college and pro level. A 1981 Humboldt grad, he was an all-district player on the Vikings' 1979 undefeated, 13-0 Class AA state champion football team. As a senior, he quarterbacked Humboldt to a 10-1 season and was selected All-West Tenn., 2nd Team All-State and Humboldt Player of the Year. In basketball Champion earned All-District and All-Region as Humboldt finished state runner-up. In track, he placed 4th in state in the 330 yd. low hurdles as a junior and qualified for the state as a senior, but elected to attend graduation instead of competing at the state meet.

Football career

Playing football at the University of Tennessee at Martin (1981–84), Champion was All-Gulf South Conference, had 84 career points and tied a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return. As a junior, he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards and set school records for receptions in a season (39) and most yards single game (181 yards on 3 catches). He was a pre-season All-American before suffering knee injury as a senior.

Champion went undrafted in the NFL, but he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, and Green Bay Packers in the National Football League, and ended up being cut by all three teams.

He was a two time all-star (1986 and 1989) in the Canadian Football League, playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for eight seasons from 1985 to 1992. He had 340 career receptions for 5,498 yards and 37 TD's. In 1989 Champion was runner-up for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award, Hamilton's Most Valuable Player, winner of the Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy, and set a team season record for touchdowns with 15 on the year.

Champion is remembered for his last minute touchdown catch in the 1989 Grey Cup game. With Hamilton trailing in the final minutes, Champion caught a 13-yard Mike Kerrigan pass deep in the end zone with 44 seconds remaining, tying the game at 40–40. Fully extended, he rolled over in mid-air to grab the ball in both hands and fell flat out on the ground, without dropping the ball. Champion was playing with broken ribs.

He won the 74th Grey Cup with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1986.

Professional football record

Year	Team	Catches	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
1985	Ham	13	203	15.6	67	1
1986	Ham	74	1216	16.4	75	6
1987	Ham	53	851	16.1	75	6
1988	Ham	16	270	16.9	42	1
1989	Ham	95	1656	17.4	83	15
1990	Ham	37	581	15.7	75	5
1991	Ham	45	545	12.1	26	2
1992	Ham	7	176	25.1	75	1

After football

Champion was somewhat bitter when he left the CFL in 1992. This was evidenced as early as the 1989 Grey Cup game, where in a post game interview he proclaimed: "You've seen the last of Tony Champion." While not correct, this was a manifestation of his belief that he was not fully appreciated or compensated. Although bitter toward the end of his playing career, he eventually made his return to Hamilton more than 20 years after his playing career ended for a Hamilton Tiger-Cats playoff game at Tim Hortons Field, the 2015 East Division Semi-Final. The Tiger-Cats would go on to win that game 25–22.