VANCOUVER – On Friday, January 7, Doug Mitchell, Frank Smith, and Cal Murphy will have bronzed plaques mounted in Thunderbird Stadium’s concourse as the first members of the UBC Thundebrirds Football Hall of Fame. The installations will serve to commemorate the contributions of these three legendary T-Bird football alumni to the program and sport.
Mitchell will be on hand Friday to see the newest additions to the refurbished Thunderbird Stadium with media availability scheduled from 10-10:30 a.m.
Mitchell, who played football at UBC while earning his law degree, is a former CFL Commissioner (1984-89), a former member of the NHL Board of Governors (1980-84), and a recipient of the Order of Canada (2005). On August 21, 2009, UBC renamed their Thunderbird Sports Centre – a 2010 Olympic Winter Games Venue – in honour of Mitchell.
Smith, who is UBC’s longest serving football head coach (1974-1994) in program history, led the T-Birds to five Canada West titles and a pair of Vanier Cups (1982, ’86). The winningest coach in team history, he sent 47 players to the CFL during his time on the Point Grey campus.
Murphy went on to a distinguished career as a coach both in the US and Canada after his time as a quarterback and co-captain of the T-Birds. Beginning in 1974 he coached and managed in the CFL through 1999 and was a member of nine Grey Cup winning teams. He is currently a scout with the Indianapolis Colts.
UBC Thunderbirds Press Release
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