Father’s Day is this Sunday and the 2019 edition of regular season play in the CFL begins tonight.
Growing up in Edmonton, I saw my first CFL game in the early 1960s. My dad worked in retail full-time, and had a part time job selling tickets at all Eskimo home games, and he always took me with him.
I saw all of the greats! Jackie Parker, Johnnie Bright, Normie Kwong. Once in a while, I also got to hang out with a few of them.
Eventually, my dad stopped selling tickets, and after graduating from Broadcast School in 1975, I had the pleasure of working with a personal hero of mine, Tom Wilkenson.
We were both employed by CHQT Radio, in the sales department. No. 12 was a very funny guy. He always had a Styrofoam cup with him, so he could spit his chewing tobacco out.
I remember how angry our sales manager would get at Tom, when he would spit out his “Chaw” during meetings.
I bought season tickets in the mid ’70s when the Eskies played at Clarke Stadium.
Soon the construction of Commonwealth Stadium would start, in preparation for the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
Season ticket holders had first dibs on seats in the new stadium, and I ended up between the 35- and 40-yard line, about 40 rows up. Perfect!
The new stadium was great, but I have a ton of great memories from Old Clarke Stadium.
Obviously Clarke was smaller (20,000), but when it was full, it got pretty crazy. Much like the when the Flames played in the Calgary Corral while the Saddledome was being built.
Clarke Stadium was originally built in 1938 and named for then-mayor Joseph Clarke. It was built on deeded land to the city for the purpose of constructing public sportsfields by Mackenzie King, the prime minister at the time who was a personal friend of Clarke’s.
The Eskimos played there from 1949 to 1978, then moved to Commonwealth Stadium. Clarke was then used for junior football, soccer and athletics.
It is still there, but it was renovated in the early 2000s. It remains just south of Commonwealth and the main tenants are the Edmonton Wildcats, and the Edmonton Huskies of the Junior Canadian Football League.
Now, anybody that knows me, knows that I am a foodie. One of my favourites is the hot dog and Clarke Stadium had the BEST! Bar none.
Depending on the wind, you could smell the onions on the grill, under the stands, before you could see the Stadium.
The Clarke Stadium Dog was simple. Warm bum, squirt of mustard and fried onions, wrapped in tin foil. To this day, I studied and mastered the infamous dog, and serve it for Grey Cup and Super Bowl
I even wrap them up at home, and toss them to whoever is watching with me. The secret? Lots of butter in the pan with the onions, and cooked low and slow. The bun is also critical it must be fresh and pliable.
Of all of the great football I watched in Clarke Stadium, The Clarke Stadium Dog remains one of my fondest and tastiest memories.
Everyone in The Hat knows John Carter, morning host on 102.1 CJCY weekdays starting at 6.
