HAMILTON, Ontario – On a few Sunday nights this summer, Canadian football fans will pause and gaze at a bust of former Tennessee Vols quarterback Condredge Holloway.
It’s displayed on the club level of Tim Hortons Field, the home stadium of the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
That’s not the first place UT fans would envision when celebrating Holloway’s career. After all, there’s a life-size bronze statue of Holloway standing outside Neyland Stadium.
Holloway, nicknamed “The Artful Dodger,” became the first Black quarterback to start in the SEC in 1972. He’s idolized as a trailblazer in college football.
But north of the border, he’s recognized as one of the best CFL players of his era.
That’s why Holloway’s bust occupies a spot on the wall at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, hidden away on the fourth floor of the Tiger-Cats’ stadium. He was inducted into the hall in 1999.
On the 25th anniversary of his induction, we visited the Hall of Fame. It's usually closed to the general public, but we got a glimpse of Holloway’s bust. Here’s what we saw.
Why Condredge Holloway is a Canadian hall of famer
Holloway is among almost 300 hall of famers whose busts are displayed, including 241 players.
Three former UT players are in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Defensive tackle Dick Huffman was inducted in 1989, and linebacker Ray Nettles was in the 2005 class.
Holloway played for the Ottawa Rough Riders, Toronto Argonauts and British Columbia Lions from 1975-87. He was the CFL MVP in 1982. And he won two Grey Cup titles, the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl.
Holloway passed for 25,193 yards and 155 TDs and rushed for 3,167 yards and 13 TDs during his 13-year CFL career.
Holloway never played for the Hamilton franchise. But the city has been the home of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame since its inception in 1972, so Holloway’s feats are immortalized there.
Hamilton has a population of almost 600,000, about the size of Memphis, and it’s located 60 miles northwest of Buffalo and 200 miles northeast of Detroit.
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame originally was housed in a freestanding building in Hamilton. But it now resides on the club level of Tim Hortons Field, a stadium with a capacity of about 24,000.
A statue outside the stadium marks the home of the Hall of Fame.
We found Holloway’s bust near Warren Moon
Much of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame is located in a long hallway, which wraps around the club level of the stadium.
Holloway’s bust is located among his fellow 1999 inductees to the left of the entrance. Most members are displayed chronologically according to their induction year.
Four spots away from Holloway is former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon, who was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 2006.
A photo of Holloway playing for Toronto is on the wall opposite his bust. That franchise recognized him as an All-Time Argonaut in its team history. And there are other references to Holloway’s career throughout the facility.
Down the hallway are busts of former CFL and NFL coaches Bud Grant and Marv Levy. Like Moon, they are members of both halls of fame.
Doug Flutie, the 1984 Heisman Trophy winner from Boston College, is arguably the greatest CFL player of all time. As a 2008 inductee, Flutie’s bust should be displayed near Holloway.
However, fans in the club level can get up close and personal with the busts during Tiger-Cats’ games. So Flutie’s bust was recently moved, apparently to repair damage caused by overexuberant fans.
But Holloway’s bust remains on full display.
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is only open to club level ticket holders to Tiger-Cats’ games and other fans in general seating for only 20 minutes after the conclusion of a game. Otherwise, these Canadian treasures are mostly off limits to the public.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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