Leif Pettersen

Leif Pettersen
Date of birth(1950-12-23)December 23, 1950
Place of birthEtobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Date of deathJuly 30, 2008(2008-07-30) (aged 57)
Place of deathToronto, Ontario, Canada
Career information
Position(s)SB/WR
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight183 lb (83 kg)
US collegeOtterbein College
CFL draft1974 / round:
Drafted bySaskatchewan Roughriders
Career history
As player
1974–1977Saskatchewan Roughriders
1978–1981Hamilton Tiger-Cats
AwardsLew Hayman Trophy (1979)

Leif Pettersen (December 23, 1950 – July 30, 2008) was a receiver who played eight seasons in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was born in Toronto, Ontario.

After playing college football at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, Pettersen was drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1974 and played in the CFL for eight seasons. In 1976, Pettersen's Roughriders lost one of the most memorable Grey Cups when Ottawa's Tony Gabriel caught a long touchdown pass in the last minute to give the (Ottawa) Rough Riders the win. However, even in a losing cause, that game was still a career highlight as Pettersen caught seven passes that day and received the game ball from then CFL Commissioner Jake Gaudaur. Three years later, as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1979, he won the Lew Hayman Trophy.

After retiring, he spent eighteen years as an analyst for the CFL on CTV and Friday Night Football. Pettersen joined TSN as a game analyst in 1987, when the network began televising CFL games (and after CTV ceased CFL coverage).[1][2][3]

Pettersen also worked at RBC Sports Professionals & Private Client Group as Director of Business Development, managing banking and investments for athletes, coaches and sports executives. He was the president of a chemical manufacturing firm in Etobicoke as well.[4] Pettersen was a founding Governor of the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame[2] and was appointed as a Governor of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1992, he was considered for the position of commissioner of the Canadian Football League, but his asking price was too high.[4]

Pettersen died on the evening of July 30, 2008, at the age of 57 of a heart attack in Toronto.[1][5]

  1. ^ a b "TSN, CFL, mourn loss of Leif Pettersen". TSN.ca. July 31, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Introducing Leif Pettersen". Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Former CFL all-star was long-time Etobicoke resident". InsideToronto.com. August 1, 2008. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Matsumoto, Rick (February 18, 1992). "Leif Pettersen's bid for CFL's top post rejected by league". Toronto Star.
  5. ^ Houston, William (July 31, 2008). "Leif Pettersen passes away". Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 31, 2008.