The Argos of the early 1980's were a true rags-to-riches team, and slotback Paul Pearson was there to experience all the grime and the gold.
"We went through some rough times, it was horrible," said Pearson. "But it made me appreciate the good times more."
When Pearson joined the Argos as a rookie in 1979 from the University of British Columbia, they were a team on the decline. They hit rock bottom in 1981, when they set a team record for futility by going 2-14.
"We went into games knowing we would lose," admitted Pearson, who nevertheless led the team in receiving that year with 55 catches for 796 yards. "We had nowhere to go but up."
And up they went, WAY up, all the way to the Grey Cup game the following year. It was a transformation not seen since the Alouettes went from last to a Grey Cup championship in 1970.
"We were all kind of stunned, actually," said Pearson, who had an even better year in 1982 by catching 62 passes for 972 yards. "(The improvement) looked kind of simple, but it wasn't."
The '82 team had an overhaul in the coaching staff and its philosophy, and the moves paid huge dividends. Bob O'Billovich as a rookie head coach and Darrell "Mouse" Davis with his patented "run 'n shoot" offence were the catalysts for a team that went 9-6-1 and ultimately lost 32-16 to the Edmonton Eskimos in the championship game at Exhibition Stadium.
However, the team made up for it the next year as they won their first Grey Cup in 31 years, by defeating the B.C. Lions 18-17 at B.C. Place in Vancouver.
"It's nice to look back and have won a championship," said Pearson. "It's nice to have (a ring). That's all I've got now, and all I need."
Although Pearson finished up fourth in all-time Argo receiving yardage with 5,867 and third in receptions with 424, there was no bigger catch he made in his career than the 22-yard extended grab in traffic late in that 1983 Grey Cup game. On the next play, Cedric Minter scored on a three-yard catch for the winning points.
"I caught that ball because I got stripped a couple of plays earlier, and I said to myself: 'If you get another opportunity to catch the ball, you'd better catch it'," said Pearson, who was able to win the Cup in his native Vancouver. In fact, Pearson and many of his teammates went to party at his parents' place after that game.
The next Grey Cup that he played in was also in his hometown in 1987, but unfortunately the Argos lost to the Eskies 38-36. Ironically, he dropped a key pass late in that game, and it ended up being his last game ever in an Argo uniform.
After leaving football, Pearson opened a Pizza Pizza franchise in Brampton, and in 1990 sold it and moved out to Kelowna, B.C. ("the Palm Springs of Canada") with his wife Shan and kids David and Michael. He has operated Pearson's European Deli there for the past five years.
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