PLAYER #86 - TED REEVE (1923)

There have been many great nicknames in Argo history. "Crazy Legs", "Spaghetti Legs", "Pinball", "Rocket", "The Professor" and others quickly come to mind, but if there is one name that fits a football player, it is "The Moaner".

For the Argos, "The Moaner" would be Ted Reeve, a tough, larger-than-life legend that played in an era that seemed to have plenty of them. Multi-sport athletes like Reeve, Lionel Conacher and Red Storey were commonplace in the 1920's and '30's, and their exploits were the stuff that Hollywood would find enticing.

Born in Toronto before the turn of the century, Reeve grew up in a rough, working-class neighbourhood and came out tougher than the rest. Judging from early photographs, he looked the part of his nickname: dark, squinting eyes, a full moustache and broad shoulders; it was a look that guaranteed instant respect.

But there was a lot of substance behind the look. A fine soldier who served in the first World War, Reeve was a champion lacrosse and hockey player in his youth, and has an arena bearing his name in North York. However, it was on the football field that he excelled the most, which included a single season in Double Blue in 1923. The team finished with a 3-1-2 record and second place in their division that year, but lost out in the playoffs to a powerful Queen's University squad that eventually won the Grey Cup 54-0 over Regina.

But Reeve would have his Grey Cup success later on as a member of the Balmy Beach team in the ORFU. Although they lost to Queen's 11-3 in 1924, the Balmy boys beat the Hamilton Tigers 9-6 to claim the Grey Cup in 1927, and they won once again in 1930, this time 11-6 over Regina. Reeve played a key part in that victory by coming off the bench in the fourth quarter, and despite a separated shoulder, blocked a punt. It was the pivotal point in the game, and Reeve was able to write about it the next day in the Toronto Telegram, since he was also a sportswriter at the time.

"Oh, when I was young and in my prime/ I used to block kicks all the time/ But now that I am old and gray/ I only do it once a day," he wrote.

Reeve was known for his strong wit and writing skills as a well-known columnist for the Telegram, and later The Toronto Sun. In fact, he was in the unique position of being inducted in the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame on two occasions, first as a player in the first player induction ceremony in 1963, and later in the first induction ceremony for the Football Reporters of Canada in 1979.

Aside from playing and writing about the game, Reeve was a leading high school football coach in the Toronto area as well. Former Argo player and fellow Hall-of-Famer Ab Box, who played under Reeve at Malvern Collegiate. referred to him as "tough, but he wanted to have fun at the same time".

After a storied career on and off the gridiron, "The Moaner" passed away in 1983.