Former CFLer Gino Fracas dies at 79
Grey Cup winner with Eskimos also coached University of Windsor Lancers
Last Updated: Friday, October 30, 2009 | 3:52 PM ET
CBC News
Gino Fracas, a former player with the Canadian Football League and a long-time coach of the University of Windsor Lancers football team, has died.
Fracas, 79, died Thursday of complications following hip replacement surgery in London, Ont.
Though he hadn't coached football in 20 years, Gino Fracas never hesitated to call current University of Windsor Lancers football boss Mike Morencie to offer advice. (CBC) Fracas played as both a running back and linebacker at the University of Western Ontario, leading the Mustangs to back-to-back Yates Cup championships in 1952 and 1953.
A first-round draft choice of the Ottawa Rough Riders, Fracas played his entire eight-year CFL career with the Edmonton Eskimos, winning the Grey Cup in 1955 and 1956.
After his playing days, Fracas won three championships as the head coach at the University of Alberta.
Fracas then returned to his hometown of Windsor, Ont., and served from 1968 to 1986 as the first head coach of the Lancers football program. He led the team to two championships and was named coach of the year in 1976 and 1977.
"He was the nicest of men," said former CBC sportscaster Tony Doucette, who covered sports in Windsor for 16 years. "He was a gentle fellow, he was a kind fellow. He seldom, if ever, had anything negative to say about anybody."
Fracas was also a professor at the University of Windsor, retiring in 1995 after 28 years in the faculty of human kinetics.
Fracas, who coached the Lancers football team from 1968 to 1986, 'seldom, if ever, had anything negative to say about anybody,' former sportscaster Tony Doucette said. (CBC) Fracas last coached 20 years ago, but was still involved in the university program and "was never shy about expressing his opinions" on games, said current coach Mike Morencie.
"He'd call me and say 'Mike, I was watching the telecast on [local cable station] Cogeco or watched a replay. I noticed you're not doing this really well on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe you should take a look at this on the defensive side the ball,' " Morencie told CBC News.
"Whenever things were down, I would call coach Fracas," Morencie added. "And whenever he expected that maybe I needed a phone call to lift me up, he would call me up."
The annual award recognizing outstanding career service by a volunteer coach in Canadian university football is named in his honour.
Fracas is survived by his wife, Leona.
With files from The Canadian Press
