Tony Champion
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[edit] Early Sports Career
A multi-sport star, Champion lived up to his name as a football standout at the high school, college and pro level. A 1981 Humboldt grad, he was an all-district player on the Vikings' 1979 undefeated, 13-0 Class AA state champion football team. As a senior he quarterbacked Humboldt to a 10-1 season and was selected All-West Tenn., 2nd Team All-State and Humboldt Player of the Year. In basketball Champion earned All-District and All-Region as Humboldt finished state runner-up. In track he placed 4th in state in the 330 yd. low hurdles as a junior and qualified for the state as a senior, but elected to attend graduation instead of competing at the state meet.
[edit] Football Career
Playing football at the Univ. of Tenn. Martin (1981-84), Champion was All-Gulf South Conference, had 84 career points and tied a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return. As a junior he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards and set school records for receptions in a season (39) and most yards single game (181 yards on 3 catches). He was a pre-season All-American before suffering knee injury as a senior.
Champion signed as free agent with Dallas, San Diego, and Green Bay in the NFL, but narrowly missed roster cuts.
He achieved all-star status in the Canadian Football League, playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for eight seasons, 1985-1992. For his career he had 340 receptions for 5,498 yards and 37 TD's. In 1989 Champion was runner-up as the CFL Player of the Year, Hamilton's Most Valuable Player, winner of the Frank Gibson and Terry Evanshen trophies, and set a team season record for touchdowns with 15 on the year. Champion's last-minute touchdown catch in the 1989 Grey Cup against the Saskatchewan Roughriders was called "the greatest catch in football."
[edit] Professional Football Record
| Year | Team | Catches | Yards | Average | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Ham | 13 | 203 | 15.6 | 67 | 1 |
| 1986 | Ham | 74 | 1216 | 16.4 | 75 | 6 |
| 1987 | Ham | 53 | 851 | 16.1 | 75 | 6 |
| 1988 | Ham | 16 | 270 | 16.9 | 42 | 1 |
| 1989 | Ham | 95 | 1656 | 17.4 | 83 | 15 |
| 1990 | Ham | 37 | 581 | 15.7 | 75 | 5 |
| 1991 | Ham | 45 | 545 | 12.1 | 26 | 2 |
| 1992 | Ham | 7 | 176 | 25.1 | 75 | 1 |
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