Pinball Clemons

Michael Lutrell "Pinball" Clemons, O.Ont, (b. January 15, 1965 in Dunedin, Florida, USA) is the current head coach of—and one of the most famous former players for—the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Clemons graduated from the College of William and Mary and then played as a running back for twelve seasons with the Argos, and has been their head coach since December 17, 2002. Clemons is 5'6" (167 cm) tall and weighs in at 170 pounds (77 kg). When Clemons first joined the Argonauts in 1989, head coach Bob O'Billovich nicknamed him "Pinball" because of his offensive style. His diminutive size allowed him to bounce between defensive players much like a pinball inside a pinball machine.

Playing career

Clemons played NCAA Division I-AA football on a football scholarship at the College of William and Mary. In his four-year college playing career, Clemons amassed a total of 4,778 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was also named a Division I-AA All-American and Virginia major college offensive player of the year in 1986.

Clemons was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and played for the Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League before heading north to Toronto in 1989 to play in the CFL.

In twelve seasons with the Argonauts, Clemons established himself as one of the greatest players the CFL has ever seen, and was a Grey Cup champion three times (1991, 1996, and 1997). Clemons retired on September 15, 2000 to become the head coach of the Argonauts.

Clemons set CFL career and single-season records for most combined yards (rushing, receiving, punt returns, kickoff returns and missed-field-goal returns). He was named the league's Most Outstanding Player in 1990, was a CFL All-Star twice (1990 and 1997), and was voted an Eastern Division All-Star at three different positions (running back, slotback, and special teams) over his 12-year playing career.

Coaching career

Clemons became head coach of the Toronto Argonauts upon ending his playing career on September 15, 2000. In November, 2001, he was promoted to president of the Argonauts.

Clemons returned officially as head coach of the Argonauts on December 17, 2002 after taking over as interim coach for the second half of the 2002 season. Clemons has been nominated for the Annis Stukus Trophy (awarded to the CFL's coach of the year) for four straight years (between 2002 and 2005) and has come up short all four times. He also became the first African-American or African-Canadian head coach to win the Grey Cup in 2004, and the second ever to have guided his team to a pro-football championship. (Darren Arbet of the San Jose SaberCats was the first to do so in 2002 with an ArenaBowl XVI victory.)

Pinball, the person

In addition to his head coaching responsibilities, Clemons is heavily active in public appearances and community involvement throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Currently, he resides in Oakville, Ontario with his wife and three daughters as a permanent resident of Canada. Pinball has always described himself (borrowing a quote from C.D. Howe) as an "American by birth but Canadian by choice.".^* Pinball, ironically, has not yet officially become a Canadian citizen.

Trivia

During a live radio interview via cell phone on September 28, 2005, Clemons was stopped by the police for driving without a seatbelt. Not muffling the phone, he dealt with the police officer live on the radio.
In addition to playing four years of football with the College of William and Mary, he also played a year on their soccer team.

Achievements

Record for career all-purpose yardage (25,402)
Record for single-season all-purpose yardage (3,840)
Recorded over 5,000 career yards in rushing (5,232), pass receptions (7,015), kickoff returns (6,349), and punt returns (6,025)
Argonauts team records for career pass receptions (682), punt return yards (6,025), punt returns (610), punt return touchdowns (8), kickoff return yards (6,349), and kickoff returns (300)
Argonauts team records for single-season punt return yards (1,070), punt returns (111), and kickoff returns (49)
Argonauts team record for single-game kickoff returns (8)
CFL most outstanding player (1990)
Three-time Grey Cup champion as a player (1991, 1996, 1997)
One-time Grey Cup champion as a head coach (2004)
Two-time CFL All-Star (1990, 1997)
Two-time Tom Pate Award winner (1993, 1996)
One-time Eastern Division Most Oustanding Player Trophy winner (1990)
Four-time Eastern Division All-Star (1990, 1993, 1994, 1997)
Order of Ontario (2001)

External links