PLAYER #98 - TOM WALDON (1945-46)

Tom Waldon's career with the Argos was written in stone, even if they couldn't get the name right.

"All we got when we won the Grey Cup was a windbreaker in 1945 and a watch in 1946, and they spelled my name wrong on the engraving," said Waldon, who played on Grey Cup winning teams in the only two years he suited up in Double Blue.

After attending high school at North Toronto, Waldon joined the Balmy Beach team of the ORFU for six games in 1942, a year when the Toronto Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) won the Grey Cup 8-5 over their Winnipeg counterparts. Two years later, Waldon played on the Toronto navy team with the likes of future Argo superstar Royal Copeland, as well as the team's coach, Teddy Morris. The navy's counterparts in Montreal won the championship that year, defeating the Hamilton Wildcats 7-6.

After the war ended in 1945, Waldon joined the Argos and was their starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, but since he was set to attend the University of Toronto, he left the Argos mid-way through to play for the Varsity Blues. However, a rule stipulated he wasn't allowed to play for both teams that year, so he rejoined the Double Blue. But when he got there, his starting quarterback position was gone.

"I had taught them the system, then I went back to university," laughed Waldon, a move which looks absurd by today's standards, but was common back when the amateur status of the various leagues was still in question. With Fred Doty and Charlie Camilleri taking his place behind the centre, Waldon ended up playing defensive back and running back kicks for the next two years.

In 1947, Waldon finally made the change to U of T, as it was allowed this time around. Playing his customary quarterback position, he led the Blues to the 1948 Yates Cup and was the team's MVP. In 1949, he played for the Hamilton Tigers and tried to rejoin the Argos for the 1950 season, but an injury forced him to miss a third Grey Cup championship. An attempted comeback with the newly-formed Tiger-Cats in 1951 was again cut short by an injury, and "I finally said the hell with this".

After retiring from football, Waldon taught high school at Western Tech for five years, then got involved with a variety of businesses, including selling real estate, working in sales for heavy machinery companies such as Bruning and Abso, as well as working for Honeywell in the 1970's.

Having retired three years ago, Waldon lives in Etobicoke and is still an avid golfer and tennis player. He has a wife of 47 years, Shirley, and the couple has a daughter, Martha, and a grandson, Sam.