This is a special week for Ancient Mariners, as we honour five former Argonauts who can be labelled the best of the best.
The first three, Joe Krol, Dick Shatto and Danny Nykoluk, were honoured at the Argos' regular season home opener against Hamilton last Thursday, and had their names and numbers unveiled on a banner proclaiming them to be "All-time Argos." The next two, Terry Greer and Ulysses "Crazy Legs" Curtis, also had memorable careers and may eventually join the above list in a future ceremony.
Let's start with Krol, a halfback who was better known as "King" and combined with Royal Copeland to form the "Gold Dust Twins", one of the best combinations in CFL history.
"I don't know where that started," said Krol of his dual nicknames, sounding ambivalent about his previous fame. As for the recent return to glory last week, Krol was quite proud.
"What can you say, it's a real honour," said Krol, whose uniform #55 was previously retired in 1955, and was left hanging above the Jumbotron after Thursday's ceremony. "I'd like to thank the guys that made it possible. It's nice to be remembered."
And how could anyone forget Krol, who won five Grey Cups in his stint with the Argos (1945-47, '50 and '52), as well as adding a sixth in 1943 with Hamilton. Unlike many of his later teammates, Krol did not serve overseas in World War II.
"They found out I had a perforated ear drum, and that disqualified me," said Krol, who was sent home after only four days in the service.
However, the ear trouble couldn't prevent him from having a Hall-of-Fame career, as he was one of the first players inducted into Hamilton's golden shrine in 1963. It was quite the path for the son of Polish immigrants, who was born in Hamilton and raised in Windsor.
"They didn't know a football from a pumpkin," laughed Krol in talking about his parents, saying that if they understood the sometimes violent game, they may not have let him play. "I think if I explained it to them, they would have been worried."
But Krol made it through a lengthy career just fine, and after football became involved in the insurance business, where he worked with Canada Life for 20 years. After that, he became a fire inspector with the provincial government, which he did for 15 years before retiring six years ago.
Today, Krol has the time to look after his ever-growing family of two children (sons Richard, a former prospect in the New York Yankees farm system, and Peter), six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, three year-old Abigail, whom Krol calls the "apple of my eye".
And when he can, Krol also tries to find the time to catch the current Argonauts in action. "I watch it quite a bit, but it's an entirely different game (from when I played)," said Krol.
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