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Vince Goldsmith of the Calgary Stampeders. Source: https://x.com/Stampeders1945/status/1786432397850124752/photo/2 (May be subject to copyright) |
Yet sometimes, when a player has been retired for a long time, everyone loses sight of him, and he never receives the recognition he deserves.
I am glad that is not the case with Vince Goldsmith, a former linebacker and defensive lineman.
He was just elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
College career
Vince Goldsmith played his college football for the University of Oregon Ducks from 1977 to 1980. There he was First Team All-Conference twice, won the Morris Trophy as top lineman in the Pac-10 Conference, and was a 1980 Associated Press Second Team All-American. He finished his college career with 281 tackles including 34 sacks or tackles for losses.
Vince Goldsmith played his college football for the University of Oregon Ducks from 1977 to 1980. There he was First Team All-Conference twice, won the Morris Trophy as top lineman in the Pac-10 Conference, and was a 1980 Associated Press Second Team All-American. He finished his college career with 281 tackles including 34 sacks or tackles for losses.
NFL scouts figured he was too small for the NFL, so Goldsmith ventured north and brought his talents to Canada.
Rider Pride
Goldsmith joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 1981 season and made an immediate impact. He registered 17 quarterback sacks in 1981, including four in one game against Winnipeg in his second ever CFL game. He was named the CFL Outstanding Rookie of the Year and a CFL West All-Star.
Goldsmith joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 1981 season and made an immediate impact. He registered 17 quarterback sacks in 1981, including four in one game against Winnipeg in his second ever CFL game. He was named the CFL Outstanding Rookie of the Year and a CFL West All-Star.
The next year, 1982, Goldsmith had another 12.5 sacks. Then he set a career high with 20 sacks in the 1983 season. He also recovered two fumbles, returning one for a touchdown. In 1983, he was named a CFL All-Star and earned his second CFL West All-Star selection.
On the move
Just as he found his rhythm in terrorizing quarterbacks, Goldsmith was on the move. For whatever reason, the Riders traded him to Toronto in May of 1984 and he suited up with the Argonauts for one season. He recorded 12 sacks, recovered one fumble, and blocked a kick with the Boatman, and was on the move again prior to the 1985 season. The Argos traded Goldsmith to Edmonton with defensive back Lemont Meacham in exchange for quarterback Kevin Ingram. For whatever reason, Edmonton released Goldsmith before the 1985 season started.
Just as he found his rhythm in terrorizing quarterbacks, Goldsmith was on the move. For whatever reason, the Riders traded him to Toronto in May of 1984 and he suited up with the Argonauts for one season. He recorded 12 sacks, recovered one fumble, and blocked a kick with the Boatman, and was on the move again prior to the 1985 season. The Argos traded Goldsmith to Edmonton with defensive back Lemont Meacham in exchange for quarterback Kevin Ingram. For whatever reason, Edmonton released Goldsmith before the 1985 season started.
He was on the movie again.
Stampeder sensation
This is where I, as a fan, pick up Vince Goldsmith’s trail again. It was the summer after Grade 10 when I went to Calgary with my friends Dave and Craig to a science fiction convention called Con-version. It was held in the Carriage House Inn and lasted Friday through Sunday.
This is where I, as a fan, pick up Vince Goldsmith’s trail again. It was the summer after Grade 10 when I went to Calgary with my friends Dave and Craig to a science fiction convention called Con-version. It was held in the Carriage House Inn and lasted Friday through Sunday.
On Saturday, I found out Goldsmith was playing with the Calgary Stampeders from a newspaper I picked up in the lobby of the Carriage House Inn. I was so thrilled.
Goldsmith only played 10 games in the 1985 season registering six sacks and recovering one fumble.
That season would be a disaster for the Stampeders as they really were not very good on the field. Attendance plummeted and it looked at one point like the Stampeders would fold. Yet a grassroots movement from within the community rose up, created “Save Our Stamps” or “SOS”, and saved the team.
The Stampeders would get back on track in 1986 and so would Goldsmith. He registered 15 sacks and recovered a fumble in 1986. He had 12 sacks in the 1987 season but also recovered five fumbles and returned two for touchdowns. That was the first season the league kept track of tackles, and Goldsmith had 31 tackles.
Return to sender
The Stampeders traded Goldsmith to Saskatchewan for a third round draft pick. Once more the trade was hard to understand, but Goldsmith was going back to where it all started.
The Stampeders traded Goldsmith to Saskatchewan for a third round draft pick. Once more the trade was hard to understand, but Goldsmith was going back to where it all started.
In the 1988 season, he had 15 sacks, 31 tackles, recovered one fumble and was a CFL West All-Star for the third time. The Riders also returned to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
The 1989 season was a memorable one for Goldsmith and the Riders, as they won their first Grey Cup since 1966, and the second in franchise history. Goldsmith had 12 sacks, 30 tackles and recovered two fumbles.
He returned to the Riders for the 1990 season, where he registered nine sacks, 37 tackles, and three fumble recoveries.
Vice Goldsmith retired after the 1990 season, with 130.5 career sacks in 163 games.
Parting thoughts
Personally, I remember how excited I was when I read Vince Goldsmith had joined the Calgary Stampeders, because he had been such an impact player with Saskatchewan. He brought stability and toughness to the Stampeder defence.
Personally, I remember how excited I was when I read Vince Goldsmith had joined the Calgary Stampeders, because he had been such an impact player with Saskatchewan. He brought stability and toughness to the Stampeder defence.
It was so good to hear he has been elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. It has been 34 years since he retired and more than 40 since he came to the league.
Often after that much time has gone by, a player’s chances at the hall of fame have also passed by.
That isn’t the case, nor should it be, because Vince Goldsmith, pound for pound, was one of the best defensive linemen of his era. It was not just because he got to the quarterback, but because he made tackles, caused and recovered fumbles, and even had the odd interception and blocked kick.
He really was a solid gold defender.
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