Troy Westwood

Troy Westwood
No. 7
Date of birth (1967-03-21) March 21, 1967
Place of birth Gilbert Plains, Manitoba
Career information
CFL status National
Position(s) K/P
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg)
College Augustana College
CFL draft 1991 / Round: 6 / Pick: 48
Drafted by Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Career history
As player
1991–2007, 2009 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star 1992
CFL East All-Star 1992, 1994
Career stats

Troy Westwood (born March 21, 1967) is a former professional Canadian football place kicker and punter who played 18 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted 48th overall in the 6th round of the 1991 CFL Draft by the Blue Bombers and holds several club records, including most points scored in a career (2748) and most points scored in a single season (213).

Early life

Westwood was born in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba and raised in Dauphin, Manitoba. At 16, he was a member of the Canadian national soccer team[1] and played for the Winnipeg Fury. He attended Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and graduated in 1991.[2] He played college football for the Augustana College Vikings and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2011.[1]

Professional career

After briefly playing professional soccer for the Winnipeg Fury, Westwood was selected by the Bombers in the 1991 season, when he was selected 48th overall in the 6th round of the Canadian College Draft. Westwood was also known for his mullet, which he reportedly vowed not to cut until he wins the Grey Cup. He decided to grow it out after the 2001 Grey Cup loss to Calgary, in which he missed three out of four field goal attempts. In a radio interview, he publicly denied this claim and attributed his hair to his spirituality, and resents the notion that his hair has anything to do with football. This poor performance capped off what was Westwood's worst season statistically as he only converted on 60.8% of his field goal attempts that year.

After a disappointing start to the 2007 season against Edmonton, Westwood was told by Bomber coach Doug Berry not to dress for the second game of the season against Montreal. After replacement Rob Pikula went 1/2 in field goals, Westwood was reinstated as the Bomber's place kicker by the third game of the season. In the 7th game of the season however, Westwood sustained a hamstring injury and his future with the club was again in doubt. However, after injuries to Pikula and newly signed Pat Fleming, Westwood was called upon for kicking and punting duties in the Eastern Semi-Final where he went 1/2, kicking the game winning field goal from 20 yards out with no time left on the clock.

Westwood was cut by the Bombers during training camp on June 15, 2008.[3]

Westwood was re-signed by the Blue Bombers on Oct 19, 2009 to their practice roster following an injury to starting punter Mike Renaud and struggles by place kicker Alexis Serna to pull double duty. [4] On April, 2010, Westwood was released by the Blue Bombers.

He is known for stirring things up off-field: he has tried his hand at professional boxing and tap dancing, and had a public feud with Montreal Alouette Ed Philion. He is arguably most known for his tongue-in-cheek insult of the rival Saskatchewan Roughriders' fans by calling them "banjo-pickin' inbreds." He later followed that up with a faux apology, saying he did not think anyone in Saskatchewan was actually capable of playing a banjo. These quotes inspired the Banjo Bowl.

Career stats

Regular season

Year Kicking
FG FG Att FG % Singles Conv Conv Att Conv % Points
1991 16 22 72.7 6 21 21 100 75
1992 47 62 75.8 11 47 48 97.9 199
1993 45 56 80.4 6 68 69 98.5 209
1994 42 58 72.4 15 72 72 100 213
1995 36 49 73.5 5 34 34 100 147
1996 37 51 72.5 9 36 36 100 156
1997 39 54 72.2 7 40 40 100 164
1998 36 64 66.7 6 30 30 100 144
1999 34 49 69.4 11 27 27 100 140
2000 45 58 77.6 8 52 52 100 195
2001 31 51 60.8 12 54 54 100 159
2002 45 62 72.6 12 57 57 100 204
2003 47 61 77.0 9 48 48 100 198
2004 39 50 78.0 8 41 41 100 166
2005 28 40 70.0 8 49 49 100 141
2006 30 43 69.8 15 32 32 100 137
2007 20 33 60.6 6 28 28 100 94
2009 0 0 -- 4 0 0 -- 4
Career 617 853 72.3 158 736 738 99.7 2,745

Music

Westwood, who was exposed to First Nations culture growing up in Dauphin, has also recorded several albums inspired by First Nations music, both in the band Eagle & Hawk and later as a solo artist named Little Hawk.[5]

Personal life

Westwood is known by many through his musical career as a member of Manitoba's Eagle & Hawk, which he began in 1993 with Vince Fontaine.[6] He provided lead vocals, and songwriting from a First Nations perspective in this role, until stepping down in 2001, due to the time demands of playing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Troy Westwood worked for QX 104 FM Radio as part of the "Waking Crew" in Winnipeg from March 2009 through March 2011. In April 2011, Westwood appeared on the Canadian version of the show Wipeout. Westwood is currently part of the "The BIG Show" mornings on Winnipeg's TSN 1290 sports radio.

References

  1. 1 2 "Augustana Vikings: Hall of Fame". Augustana Vikings Website. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  2. ↑ "Notable Alumni". Augustana University Website. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  3. ↑ "Kicker Westwood cut by Blue Bombers". CBC Sports. 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  4. ↑ "Bombers Sign Troy Westwood". Winnipeg Free Press. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  5. ↑ Wolfe, Cory (2007-05-11). "Westwood gets kick out of Hollaback Girl". The StarPhoenix. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  6. ↑ Sounds of Manataka - Little Hawk
Preceded by
Bob Cameron		 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Punters
2003 		Succeeded by
Jon Ryan
Preceded by
Jon Ryan		 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Punters
2006 		Succeeded by
Pat Fleming
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