Matt Dunigan

Matt Dunigan

Dunigan at a Heart and Stroke Foundation event in Ottawa, ON
Date of birth:	December 6, 1960 (1960-12-06) (age 50)
Place of birth:	Lakewood, Ohio
Career information
Status:	Retired
CFL status:	Import
Position(s):	QB
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	199 lb (90 kg)
College:	Louisiana Tech
High school:	Lake Highlands
Hand:	Right
Organizations
As player:
1983–1987 1988–1989 1990–1991 1992–1994 1995 1996	Edmonton Eskimos BC Lions Toronto Argonauts Winnipeg Blue Bombers Birmingham Barracudas Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Career highlights and awards
Grey Cup champion (1987, 1991)
CFL All-Star:	1985, 1988, 1995
CFL East All-Star:	1994
CFL West All-Star:	1985, 1988
Awards:	1989 Tom Pate Memorial Award 1993 Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy
Career stats
Passing	3,057/5,476
Passing %	55.8%
Passing Yardage	43,859 (Avg: 8.0)
Passing TDs	306
Interceptions	211
Fumbles	87
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 2006

Matt Dunigan (born December 6, 1960 in Lakewood, Ohio) is a former quarterback, coach, and executive in the Canadian Football League who is currently a CFL sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN. In 2006, Dunigan joined the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#39) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.^[1]

In 2008, he was named the host of Road Grill, a Canadian barbecue cooking series on Food Network Canada.

Early life & college football career

Although born in Ohio, Dunigan was raised in Dallas, Texas, attended Lake Highlands High School (Class of 1979), and grew up admiring Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach. A member of an athletically-inclined family, he attended Louisiana Tech, a school that served as the launching pad for Terry Bradshaw and other future professional quarterbacks such as Luke McCown, and Tim Rattay.

Professional football career

Dunigan broke into the CFL in 1983 with the Edmonton Eskimos, and remained with them through the 1987 season. He won a Grey Cup championship in Edmonton in his last year with the club, and following this he briefly tried his hand at baseball, signing a minor-league tryout contract in the Montreal Expos farm system.

In 1988, Dunigan joined the BC Lions and played with them for two seasons.

From 1990 to 1991, he called the plays for the Toronto Argonauts and won his second Grey Cup title with them in 1991.

Dunigan then became the quarterback of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1992, staying with them until 1994 and leading them to two Grey Cup appearances in 1992 and 1993. On July 14, 1994 in a game against the Eskimos Dunigan achieved one of the most outstanding games ever played in professional football, passing for a remarkable 713 yards in a single game, which is a pro football record.

During Dunigan's tenure in Winnipeg, the CFL made the bold decision to establish franchises in the United States. In 1995, the league awarded franchises to two Southern cities: Birmingham, Alabama (the Barracudas) and Memphis, Tennessee (the Mad Dogs). Although the Memphis franchise pursued Dunigan's services, it was the Barracudas who eventually snared him.

Dunigan had his best year ever as a CFL quarterback in Birmingham. He led the league with 643 pass attempts, 362 completions, 4,911 yards, and 34 touchdowns. These numbers helped catapult his team into the CFL playoffs; however, the Barracudas fell in the first round to the San Antonio Texans while Dunigan sat out the game due to injury and watched Kelvin Simmons and Jimmy Klingler struggle with a tough Texans defense.

Unfortunately for the CFL, all of its American-based teams struggled financially, forcing it to disband all of the U.S. teams except the Baltimore Stallions (which moved to Montreal and became the Montreal Alouettes).

In 1996, Dunigan returned north of the border and signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for what would prove to be his final year in the league. He retired after the 1996 season due to chronic head injuries suffered over the years as a quarterback.

Dunigan finished his career with 43,857 passing yards and 306 passing touchdowns. In 2006, Dunigan was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#39) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.^[1] Dunigan was also elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Post-football career

After his retirement, Dunigan spent some time at Valdosta State University as their football team's offensive coordinator.

In 1999, Dunigan took a job as a studio analyst with Canadian sports television channel TSN.

In 2004, the Calgary Stampeders lured Dunigan away from TSN and hired him to be their general manager and head coach. After a disappointing 2004 campaign for Calgary, however, Dunigan was fired, and he returned to his job as a television analyst with TSN.

In 2006, on a dare from his family, Dunigan auditioned for the position as host of a barbecue TV series Road Grill, which premiered in 2008 with him as host. He has also become a cookbook author, using recipes based on the show.^[2][3]

CFL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season							Post Season
		CGY	2004	4	14	0	.222	5th in West Division	–	–	Missed Playoffs

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "TSN Top 50 Players". TSN.ca. November 28, 2006. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10864. Retrieved July 14, 2007. 
2. ^ "Matt Dunigan". Hosts. Food Network. http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/hostdetails.aspx?hostid=41737. Retrieved June 11, 2008. 
3. ^ Anderson, Mark (May 15, 2008). "Grilling Matt Dunigan". Ottawa Citizen. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/life/story.html?id=ba98cb44-0920-4a76-aa5e-5fa24881a48a. Retrieved June 11, 2008. 

External links

• The CFL in America: History
• Stick To The Basics
• Matt Dunigan Collectibles
• CFL Legends – Matt Dunigan
• Argos Heroes – Matt Dunigan
• Canadian Football Hall of Fame – Matt Dunigan
• Matt Dunigan at Food Network Canada
• TSN profile

Persondata
Name	Dunigan, Matt
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1960-12-06
Place of birth	Lakewood, Ohio
Date of death
Place of death