Paul Osbaldiston: One of the best

Paul Osbaldiston (#3) is one of the best

place kickers in the CFL of all time.

Source: Facebook/Fans and Friends of Joe Kapp and the History of the CFL

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He seemed destined to be the fill-in kicker. The guy who teams called on to fill in for their hall-of-famers, but only until they came back from injury.

Eventually, Paul Osbaldiston got his shot, and made the most of it, propelling himself into Grey Cup championships, all-star selections, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cat Wall of Honour.

Last week, he was on hand as the Tiger Cats inducted Darren Flutie into the wall of honour at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton, when they hosted the Edmonton football club.

Seeing him brought back some memories.

Bouncing around
The year 1986, Paul Osbaldiston’s rookie season, was one of flux for the kicker and punter. Born in Oldham, Lancashire, England, playing college ball at Western Montana and junior football for the Richmond Raiders, Osbaldiston was drafted in the seventh round of the 1986 CFL Draft, 63rd overall by the B.C. Lions.

He then found himself suiting up with the Lions, filling in for the legend and hall of famer Lui Passaglia, who was injured. Osbaldiston appeared in three games for the Lions, making five of nine field goals, kicking four singles, going six for six on convert attempts, and had a 42.7 yard punting average with a long of 56 yards. The hall of famer would return, and Osbaldiston was released.

The next thing I knew, I was watching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play, and who’s kicking for them? None other than Paul Osbaldiston, filling in for the injured place kicker Trevor Kennerd. Osbaldiston appeared in five games for the Bombers, making nine of 15 field goals, kicking four singles, and making 17 of 17 convert attempts. He didn’t have to handle punting duties because Winnipeg had Bob Cameron as their regular, full time punter. Kennerd too would return, and again Osbaldiston was released.

Again, I tuned into a Hamilton Tiger-Cats game and who comes trotting out to try a field goal – Paul Osbaldiston.

This time he stuck.

Magical run
Osbaldiston appeared in the final nine games of the 1986 season for Hamilton, taking over for yet another injured legend – Bernie Ruoff . He would go 23 of 30 in field goal attempts with seven singles, and 16 of 16 in convert attempts, while turning in a punting average of 39.1 yards with a long of 59 yards.

The 1986 Hamilton Tiger-Cats were due to win a Grey Cup. They had fallen short the previous two seasons, to Winnipeg in 1984 and to B.C. in 1985 in the two previous Grey Cups.

They finished second in the East Division with a 9-8-1 record, and would face the Toronto Argonauts. That year the top two teams in the East played in a two-game, total-point series. Hamilton hosted Game 1, losing by a score of 31-17. However, they won Game 2 in Toronto by a score of 42-25, to win the series by a score of 59-56.

The Tiger-Cats entered the Grey Cup against Edmonton as 12-point under dogs, but just dominated the Eskimos, jumping out to a 29-0 halftime lead.

Osbaldiston kicked six field goals to tie a Grey Cup record for most in a single game, and won the Dick Suderman Trophy for Most Valuable Canadian.

It was a great way to end a rookie season in the CFL.

The rest of the decade
Paul Osbaldiston would go on to play 18 years in the CFL, the final 17 exclusively with the Tiger-Cats. By the end of the 1980s, he had firmly entrenched himself with the team and become a well-respected, consistent punter and place kicker.

In 1987, Osbaldiston made four of eight field goals with five singles and was one for one in convert attempts. His punting average was 35.5 yards with a log of 68 yards. The Tiger-Cats tried three kickers at the position with long-time Hamilton kicker Bernie Ruoff playing 11 games, veteran Roy Kurtz playing three games, and Osbaldiston playing three games.

Yet, Osbaldiston was back for the 1988 season, playing in all 18 regular season games, kicking 36 of 56 field goals with 21 singles and going 49 for 49 on convert attempts. His punting average was 37.8 yards with a long of 83 yards.

In 1989, he was 54 of 74 in field goal attempts, with 24 singles and 47 of 47 in convert attempts. His punting average was 40.1 yards with a long of 73 yards. He was also an East Division All-star.

He helped the Tiger-Cats advance to the Grey Cup where they lost a thrilling classic to Saskatchewan on a last minute field goal.

As the 1990s dawned, the future looked very bright for Paul Osbaldiston.

The years after
Paul Osbaldiston would continue to play right through to the end of the 2003 season.

He would be a CFL All-star in 1996, 1998 and 2001; an East Division All-star in 1989; 1990; 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. He would also win the Lew Hayman Trophy in 1990 as the Outstanding Canadian in the East Division. He is tied for the record for most field goals in a game with eight, and is fourth overall in total points with 2,932. He also helped the Tiger-Cats defeat the Calgary Stampeders to win the 1999 Grey Cup.

He holds virtually all the Hamilton club records including career scoring, 2,856; single season scoring, 233; career converts, 652; single season converts, 63; single game converts, nine; career field goals, 655; single season field goals, 54; single game field goals, eight; career punting yards, 88,542; career punts, 2,127; and single season punts, 165.

In 2011, Paul Osbaldiston was added to the Tiger-Cats Wall of Honour.

Parting thoughts
One of the constants for so long in the CFL was the kickers. While other position players came and went with regularity, kickers and punters stayed. Both jobs used to be done by one person, but that has changed over time too.

Yet, in the 1980s, the 1990s and into the 21st Century, Paul Osbaldiston was synonymous with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

He literally spanned generations, playing on both the 1986 Grey Cup Championship team, and the 1999 Grey Cup team.

Plus he did it with class and dignity.

Paul Osbaldiston was one of the best.