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| Leo Cahill was a colour commentator on the "CFL on CBC" from 1981 to 1985. Source: By Sean Fitz-Gerald Feb 16, 2018 https://theathletic.com/244395/2018/02/16/remembering-leo-cahill-the-legendary-argonauts-coach-with-the-legendary-quotes/ (May be subject to copyright) |
It was sad to hear that Leo Cahill passed away awhile back, but it brought back all kinds of memories of CFL football in the 1980s.
CFL on CBC
In 1981, I was about three solid years into watching Canadian football when the CBC added two colour commentators who made all the difference for me as a fan.
In 1981, I was about three solid years into watching Canadian football when the CBC added two colour commentators who made all the difference for me as a fan.
One was longtime player and recent head coach Ron Lancaster. I was too young to have seen him play, but I saw him coach the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The other I had never heard of. His name was Leo Cahill, and by everything they said, he was the former head coach of the Toronto Argonauts.
Back then, Canadian football broadcasting was a three-headed monster. They employed three-man crews with a play-by-play man such as Don Wittman and two colour commentators.
Together the three of them made a great and formidable team. I learned more about the Canadian game from Lancaster and Cahill than anyone else.
True blue
One of the on-going subplots was that Cahill had been the coach of the Toronto Argonauts, and often infused his experiences there into his broadcasts. Lancaster did the same, drawing on his experiences as a player and coach in Saskatchewan.
One of the on-going subplots was that Cahill had been the coach of the Toronto Argonauts, and often infused his experiences there into his broadcasts. Lancaster did the same, drawing on his experiences as a player and coach in Saskatchewan.
However, Cahill seemed to take more flak, often accused and often it was subtle, of being a Toronto homer. I am not sure he was, but his arrival on the airwaves coincided with a resurgence of football in Toronto.
They had last appeared in the Grey Cup in 1971 when Cahill was their coach. After that, they fell into decline and descended into a long period of darkness. That would change in 1982 for a variety of reasons. When they qualified for the Grey Cup in 1982, the first time since 1971, there were a lot of comparisons to Cahill’s team.
He also did most of his games in the Eastern Division. It only had four teams, so odds were he would be covering an Argonauts game every week.
So, I sometimes think he got a bum rap as a Toronto homer.
Yet, Cahill would solidify that perception for some fans when, after the 1985 season, he re-joined the Argonauts as their general manager, lasting from 1986 to 1988.
Lion-hearted homer
He often joked about that connection with the Argonauts. One day, he turned the tables. The Argonauts were not playing in the game he was covering. In the intro, he made mention of that, and said he still had a stake in the game. The B.C. Lions were playing. He said he once got offered a job by then, accepted it, but then backed out to go to Toronto. Then he produced a B.C. Lions hat and put that one.
He often joked about that connection with the Argonauts. One day, he turned the tables. The Argonauts were not playing in the game he was covering. In the intro, he made mention of that, and said he still had a stake in the game. The B.C. Lions were playing. He said he once got offered a job by then, accepted it, but then backed out to go to Toronto. Then he produced a B.C. Lions hat and put that one.
He was a homer of a different kind that day.
He said that
Perhaps my biggest memory of Leo Cahill was a game he covered involving offensive lineman Miles Gorrell. He was massive and a tough blocker from Calgary who played first for Calgary then Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton and Winnipeg.
Perhaps my biggest memory of Leo Cahill was a game he covered involving offensive lineman Miles Gorrell. He was massive and a tough blocker from Calgary who played first for Calgary then Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton and Winnipeg.
Cahill was talking about Gorell’s size and toughness.
“He should have an “A” on the end of his name,” he joked. There was silence in the booth.
Later, on the rival CTV network, one of the announcers, while covering a game in which Gorrell was appearing, alluded to Cahill’s comment.
Again, there was silence, followed by one of the announcers saying, “I’m glad he said that, not me.”
But that was Leo Cahill.
Parting thoughts
It was only later, when one of the networks aired the 1971 Grey Cup in the lead up to the latest Grey Cup, that I saw Leo Cahill as coach. He would coach the Argonauts from 1967 to 1971, and again from 1977 to 1978. He re-joined the team as general manager from 1986 to 1988, and had one more turn in the CFL as general manager of the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1996.
I later learned he was outspoken, dubbed “Leo the Lip” by some, so his comment on Miles Gorrell made more sense.
Yet it was in his time as a CFL broadcaster on CBC from 1981 to 1985 that Leo Cahill left his mark on me.
I have always believed the mark of a good broadcaster is whether he adds value to watching the game. It is a philosophy I adopted from my dear friend Kevin Tabata.
Leo Cahill added value by drawing on all those great experiences with the Argonauts.
On top of that, like good broadcasters, he taught me about the game.
Much of what I know about Canadian football I learned from broadcasters such as Leo Cahill.
For that, I will be eternally grateful.
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