Tommy Joe Coffey, the Canadian Football League, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are mourning the passing Canadian Football Hall of Famer and Ticats’ Wall of Honour. Tommy Joe was diagnosed with lung cancer in June and died in St. Peter’s Hospital Tuesday night.
“The Hamilton Tiger-Cats would like to offer sincere condolences to the family and friends of the legendary Tommy Joe Coffey,” said Chief Executive Officer of the Tiger-Cats, Scott Mitchell. “Tommy is one of the most decorated players ever to wear a Ticats jersey and will forever be a huge part of our franchise’s great history.”
Inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1977, Coffey was named a Canadian Football League All-Star seven times during his 14-year career with the Edmonton Eskimos (1959-60, 1962-66), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1967-1972) and Toronto Argonauts (1973). He was a finalist for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award three times (1962, 1967 & 1970) and won two Grey Cups with the Tiger-Cats in 1967 and 1972, the second of which in his final season with the team in front of hometown fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.
Coffey scored 971 points throughout his CFL career on 65 touchdowns, 204 converts, 108 field goals, and 53 singles. He was the league’s scoring leader in 1962, 1967, 1969, and 1970. The West Texas State product registered 650 receptions for 10,320 yards, and 63 receiving touchdowns and was the CFL’s pass reception leader in 1962, 1964, 1965, and 1969. In addition to joining the Tiger-Cats’ Wall of Honour in 1999, he also got honored on the Edmonton Eskimos’ Wall of Fame.
