B.C. Lions' head coach Wally Buono watches from the sideline during the first half of a CFL football game against the Calgary Stampeders in Vancouver, B.C., on June 25, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
I began writing about the CFL for the News in 1972, the same year Wally Buono signed with Montreal. His dad died when he was a boy and his Italian immigrant mother struggled to make ends meet. For a time she placed Wally and his brother in a reform school until she got back on her feet. He inherited an unwavering faith in God and the determination to succeed against all odds.
He became the most successful coach in Stampeder history during the team’s most turbulent times under erratic owner Larry Ryckman. On one occasion with the club facing bankruptcy, he and Stan Schwartz put the team payroll on their credit cards.
In his 25-year coaching career, he had 13 first place finishes, made the playoffs 23 times, won four coach of the year awards, five Grey Cups and 305 regular- and post-season games. He won two Cups as a player, 1974 and ’77.
In his first year as a head coach, he took the Stamps to the West Final, losing to Edmonton. His team got to the Grey Cup the following year, falling to Toronto. In his third year, with Doug Flutie at quarterback, they won the Cup by defeating Winnipeg. From defeat came victory.
“Everybody in June has aspirations to go to the Grey Cup,” said Buono. “You start struggling and you realize it won’t happen. That’s not the way it was with us. Our theme is playing that big game in November. When you get that focus, your mind, your body, your actions reflect that. You could be lucky and accidentally win the Grey Cup (Toronto 2017?). But teams that are prepared to win it and expect to win it have the advantage.
“What are the biggest things a Grey Cup champion has? One, they’ve got the skills. If you’ve got the skills, all you have to do is go out and do what is natural for you. The other thing you have to have is the determination to want to do it. If you’ve got the skill what prevents you from winning is yourself.”
He also lost four Grey Cups. A fierce competitor, he felt those losses deeply.
In 1993, his Stamps were 15-3 but lost the West Final to Edmonton. In 1994, after dropping their season opener in Regina 22-21, Calgary ran off eight straight wins, averaging 46 points a game. Again they finished 15-3. Again they lost the division final, this time to B.C.
“The tragedy of our sport,” lamented Buono, “is the fact you play one game to get to the next step and sometimes that isn’t the game you are at your peak.”
In 1995 Calgary again finished 15-3. Doug Flutie missed 10 games with an elbow injury. His backup Jeff Garcia got them home in first. Flutie returned and made it to the Grey Cup in Regina, losing to Baltimore. In his first six years as a head coach, Buono had won 80 of 108 games but only one Grey Cup in three tries. When he finally turned the trick in 1998 against Hamilton in Winnipeg, he felt an enormous sense of relief.
“For me it was very satisfying. I was happy for our players, I was happy for the organization and for myself in a very non-selfish way. To see the city enjoy the victory was tremendous. It is a pleasure to see people get so much joy out of touching and feeling the Cup.”
Calgary lost the Cup to Hamilton in 1999. With an 8-10 record, they went to the big game in 2001 and defeated prohibitively favoured Winnipeg 27-19.
In 2002 Buono moved on when he wouldn’t start the owner’s son at quarterback. In B.C. he got to three Grey Cups, losing to Toronto in ’04, beating Montreal in ’06 and Winnipeg in 2011.
Wally is the first to share credit for his remarkable career. In Calgary and B.C. he had the best bird dog in the business in Roy Shivers. His first GM Normie Kwong gave him a free hand. He had marvelous players like Flutie, Garcia and Dickenson and assistant coaches John Hufnagel and Tom Higgins. His personal secret of success?
“Seek God’s kingship over you and the rest will follow.”
Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 46 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.
