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| Actor Bobby Hosea who played in the CFL from 1979 to 1981. |
Recently, I saw an old episode of “Bones” on DVD, and Bobby Hosea
was making a guest appearance. It took a bit of digging because Wikipedia is
pretty thin on information, but Bobby Hosea the actor used to be Bobby Hosea
the Canadian Football League player.
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| Bobby Hosea in his Montreal Alouettes uniform. |
Part-time job
Bobby Hosea played three seasons in the CFL. He joined the Montreal
Alouettes in 1979, where he played 13 games and intercepted two passes,
returning them a total of 24 yards. He also returned two punts for 10 yards.
The Alouettes made the Grey Cup that year, but lost to the Edmonton Eskimos by
a score of 17-9.
It was in Montreal, that much was made of the fact that, although he
was a football player, he also did some modelling and acting on the side. The Montreal Gazette did kind of an odd piece that included Hosea. You can actually read it for yourself right here:
How journalism has changed.
Rider Pride – and humility
The next season he suited up with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Hosea played
in 15 games, had two more interceptions that season for 24 yards, returned two
kick offs for 32 yards, and returned three punts for 22 yards.
His final season was his best defensively. In 1981, he played all 16
games and intercepted four passes
for 30 yards. He returned one kick off for three yards and returned one punt
for nine yards.
The most memorable episode of his career came in a 30-26 loss against
Hamilton on Oct. 4, 1981 at Taylor Field in Regina. The Roughriders were in the
hunt for a playoff spot, after years of futility. With three minutes and seven
seconds left and Hamilton leading 23-12, Saskatchewan stopped the Tiger Cats
short on a key second down play. Hosea got into a shoving match with Tiger Cat
slotback Gordie Paterson then punched him. He was flagged for rough play and
ejected from the game. The penalty gave Hamilton a first down. Theyt would proceed to go down the field and score a touchdown that turned out to be the
winning points. The incident marred a solid game for Hosea where he intercepted a Tom
Clements pass. To his credit, after the game Hosea apologized to Bud Riley,
Hamilton’s defensive coach.
The next day CFL Comissioner Jake Gaudaur fined Hosea $300, but chose
not to suspend him because he had no previous record of bad conduct.
Life after football
Bobby Hosea would also play for the Los Angeles Express and
Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League, but at age 28 decided
he had taken enough of a beating and retired from football.
His first credited appearance on the screen was in a TV movie called
“Her Life as a Man”. Before the end of the decade he would make appearances in
movies, as well as TV shows such as “Benson”, “Perfect Strangers”, “Knots Landing”,
“The Twilight Zone”, “21 Jump Street”, and “227”.
Parting thoughts
I have always been interested in connections. When you really look at
things, the world can become a very small place. I’m also absolutely fascinated
by the number of people with connections to the CFL.
Bobby Hosea would go on over the next 30 years to appear in some major
movies such as “Independence Day”, and “61*”. He also made a name for himself
playing high-profile killers and accused murderers such as the title character in
1995’s “The O.J. Simpson Story” and John Allen Muhammad the title character in
“D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear” (2003). His latest claim to
fame is coaching football, and teaching kids a safe way to tackle.
But back in the 1980s, he was a fresh and pretty faced defensive back
for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It just shows, all roads run through the CFL,
and there is life after football.
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