PLAYER #118 - STEVE PRUSKI (1945-46)

The Argos final regular season home game on October 27th, a 25-21 win over the B.C. Lions, was a particularly nasty affair, judging from the reports by the media and fans in attendance. Countless on-field cheap shots and scraps even got the stadium music selector in on the action, as he played the theme from Hockey Night in Canada late in the game to signify the tension.

But Steve Pruski sat in a private box about three storeys up from the field and shrugged. He was not impressed, reminding one of the scene in the movie "Crocodile Dundee", when Mick Dundee (Australian actor Paul Hogan) was approached by a thief in New York City brandishing a knife. While others around him were on edge, Dundee smiled calmly, saying "that's not a knife, THIS IS A KNIFE!", pulling an intimidating blade from his pocket in the process.

For Pruski, who played in the years following the second World War, watching players trying to beat each other up in full gear with helmets and masks on was not a symbol of toughness. Tough were the players of his era, who played both ways, played hurt and were not nearly as protected as today, especially facially since there were no face masks back then.

"After one game, (I was so badly beat up) that my mother opened the door, looked at me and said: 'Who are you?'" said Pruski, who was often hurt, and remembered one bad injury in particular. "I was playing linebacker, and I got clipped and hit in the chest at the same time. My head was touching my ankles. They thought I had broke my back, I was out cold. But it was hearing Teddy's (coach Morris) voice that brought me back."

Pruski felt that if it wasn't for the great shape that he was in, he may very well have ended up paralyzed. But a variety of injuries eventually did slow him down, although he did end up playing on a pair of Grey Cup teams with the Argos in 1945 and '46. He had played on the victorious Navy teams during the war, even though he served in the Air Force as part of a ground crew stationed just outside of Ottawa. After his Argo stint, he took some time off to recover from the near-tragic injury, but came back to play for Balmy Beach of the ORFU. In the 1950's, he tried to rejuvenate his CFL career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but injuries again slowed any comeback bid.

"I also got poked in the eye, dislocated an elbow, had four hip replacements done, had bad knees and ankles,..." said Pruski, probably not being able to remember all of the hurts that he endured playing a game that he loved. "You know (the only thing) I regret. These guys get paid. That's why a lot (of Argo players) went out to Edmonton (in the early 1950's). For three years in a row, if you've got guys that are unsatisfied and leaving the team, there's something wrong."

When Pruski finally did give up football, he owned a few restaurants in Toronto, and then in 1968 went to Mohawk College in Hamilton to teach in the athletic department. 20 years later, he retired on a disability pension, and he currently lives in Hamilton with his second wife Helen.