Officially, the mayor of Oakville is a lady named Ann Mulvale. However, to those who know how the corridors of power work, the real "mayor of Oakville" is one Dan Ferrone.
Born and raised in this suburban hamlet thirty minutes west of downtown Toronto, Ferrone is an Oakville icon, right up there with world sprinting champion Donovan Bailey and the Canadian Open golf tournament at Glen Abbey. However, there was a time when the athletic spotlight shone even brighter on this 6-foot-2, 270-pound natural-born leader. While constantly busy with political decision-making, Ferrone still found the time to moonlight as an offensive lineman with the Toronto Argonauts, anchoring a close-knit unit for 11 years, a span that included two Grey Cups and five all-Canadian all-star selections.
"I got to accept the Grey Cup trophy on behalf of the team on two occasions," said a proud Ferrone, a captain on both of those squads, in 1983 and 1991.
Leadership and longevity were the cornerstones of one of the game's top offensive lineman, a candidate for future CFL Hall of Fame selection. However, rumours of the Hall's moving thirty minutes east from downtown Hamilton to Oakville are not true.
"It's a violent game; I can't believe I did it for 12 years," said Ferrone, who also played one season for the Calgary Stampeders. "I think it's a game you evolve in. Guys who hang around longer than the four-year average, they earn a little distinction."
That distinction carried over from the field to the boardroom, where Ferrone earned enough respect from his peers to be named president of the Canadian Football League's Players Association (CFLPA). "In the last two years, it's been a full-time job," said Ferrone, who deserves kudos, along with league commissioner Larry Smith, for agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement last month. It was done rather quickly and quietly, without the bad publicity and work stoppages that have plagued other sports leagues in recent years.
Aside from his CFLPA work, Ferrone does have a full-time job, operating Ferrone Ventures Inc., a family company that runs, among other things, a fitness centre, a union-sponsored venture capital fund called "SportFund", and, one can assume, Oakville city council. "Yeah, the mayor of Oakville; I think (Winnipeg lineman) Chris Walby tagged him with that monikor," said former linemate Jim Kardash, who remembers Ferrone with equal parts admiration and humour.
All kidding aside, Ferrone is a true role model in every sense of the word, a dedicated family man (wife Barb and children Matthew, Marco and Danielle), whose accomplishments on and off the field should be echoed by athletes and citizens alike.
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