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Darren Flutie

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Darren Flutie
Born: (1966-11-18) November 18, 1966 (age 57)
Manchester, Maryland, U.S.
Career information
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)WR
CollegeBoston College
Career history
As coach
2007–2013Natick HS (Asst.)
2014–2017Newton South HS (OC)
2018–2020Rivers School (OC)
As player
1988San Diego Chargers
1990Phoenix Cardinals
1991–1995BC Lions
1996–1997Edmonton Eskimos
1998–2002Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× Grey Cup champion (1994, 1999)
  • Eskimos Record: Most Receptions – Game (15) - August 7, 1997
  • First-team All-East (1987)
CFL All-Star1996, 1997, 1999
CFL East All-Star1998, 1999
CFL West All-Star1994, 1996, 1997
Career stats

Darren Paul Flutie (born November 18, 1966) is an American former Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is the Canadian Football League (CFL)'s fifth all-time leader in catches, behind Nik Lewis, Geroy Simon, Ben Cahoon, and Terry Vaughn.

Early life

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He is the younger brother of quarterback Doug Flutie and also attended Boston College, though he did not graduate. He ranks among the all-time leaders in program history in receptions (134) while also having 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2007.

College receiving statistics

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Year Receptions Yds TD
1984 9 214 1
1985 42 469 1
1986 35 531 5
1987 48 786 7
Career[1] 134 2,000 14

Professional career

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Prior to the CFL, Flutie played briefly for the San Diego Chargers in the 1988 season as an undrafted free agent. He didn't have starting time, but he played enough to make 18 receptions for 208 yards and two touchdowns while also returning eight kicks.[2] He was cut prior to the 1989 season and joined the Phoenix Cardinals for 1991 but did not get to play. It was only then that Flutie was convinced by his brother Doug to play in Vancouver with him for the BC Lions. The 1991 season was the only one that saw the two Fluties on the same field, as Doug would leave in free agency for the Calgary Stampeders after the year ended.

In 1996, Flutie went to the Edmonton Eskimos, who had quarterback Danny McManus (the quarterback behind BC for most of the 1995 season) on the roster. In 1998, Flutie and McManus signed with Hamilton. Hamilton made two Grey Cups with Flutie on the roster in 1998 and 1999, with both being against Calgary. Flutie did not score a touchdown in the loss of 1998, but he made significant contributions in 1999. He caught a long pass from McManus of 40 yards to set up a field goal to make the score 10–0. Later, he scored the final touchdown of the first half to give them a 21–0 lead. He then scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 32–14 before Hamilton won 32–21, for which McManus won MVP; Flutie caught six passes for 109 yards. It was the last Grey Cup appearance for Hamilton for 14 years and currently ranks as the last Grey Cup championship for the franchise.

With his 1,000-yard season in 2001, he tied a record for most 1,000-yard seasons for a receiver with nine.[3] The following year saw him set a record for most receptions in CFL history; both marks have since been passed.

Flutie ranks fourth all-time in career receiving yardage behind Geroy Simon, Milt Stegall, and Allen Pitts. He held the BC Lions club record for receiving yardage in a season, 1,731 yards, from 1994 to 2004 when Geroy Simon achieved 1750 yards. His Canadian career lasted from 1991 until 2002.

During his time in the league, he had various second jobs to make more money, which ranged from selling Christmas trees, bartending, limo driving, or as a Read Custom Soils salesman.

After football

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He was as an analyst on the CFL on CBC from 2002 to 2006. In November 2006, Darren Flutie joined his brother, Doug Flutie, on the list of the CFL's Top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. In 2007, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Since leaving CBC, Flutie has served as a high school football coach. He was volunteer coach with the Natick High School football team from 2007 until his son Troy graduated in 2014. He was also NHS' boys basketball head coach during the 2008–09 season. He then served as offensive coordinator at Newton South High School and from 2018 to 2020 held the same position at the Rivers School. He also works for a medical device company.[4]

In 2023, Flutie was honored by the Ti-Cats with induction into the team's Wall of Honour.[5]

Career regular season statistics

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NFL Statistics Receiving
Year Team GP GS Rec Yards Y/R LNG TD PTS
1988 San Diego Chargers 16 - 18 208 11.6 28 2 12
CFL Statistics Receiving
Year Team GP GS Rec Yards Y/R LNG TD PTS
1991 BC Lions 8 8 52 860 16.5 51 6 36
1992 BC Lions 18 17 90 1,336 14.8 76 4 24
1993 BC Lions 17 16 79 1,068 13.5 45 5 30
1994 BC Lions 18 15 111 1,731 15.6 61 8 48
1995 BC Lions 12 11 59 893 15.0 58 2 12
1996 Edmonton Eskimos 17 17 86 1,362 15.8 42 6 36
1997 Edmonton Eskimos 17 16 90 1,313 14.6 51 9 58
1998 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17 17 98 1,386 14.1 73 5 32
1999 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 18 84 1,155 13.8 37 7 42
2000 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17 17 79 1,120 14.2 58 4 26
2001 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 18 84 1,206 15.1 49 6 36
2002 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 18 64 929 14.5 40 4 24
Total 195 -- 972 14,359 14.8 76 66 404

CFL records

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  • Playoff receptions : 185
  • Regular season receptions : 972 (since passed by others, including leader Nik Lewis in 2017)
  • Most seasons 1,000 yards receiving : 9 (tied with Allen Pitts) (passed by Milt Stegall in 2008)

References

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  1. ^ "Darren Flutie College Stats".
  2. ^ "Darren Flutie Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "Soiled Sport Darren Flutie, a record-threatening CFL receiver, is also a dirt salesman".
  4. ^ Whelan Jr., Tim (January 7, 2018). "Flutie finds new opportunity". MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  5. ^ https://ticats.ca/article/%EF%BB%BFdarren-fluties-journey-from-american-football-to-the-ticats-wall-of-honour [bare URL]
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