The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will add Canadian Football Hall of Famers Mike Walker and Bernie Custis to the team’s Wall of Honour this season.
The two will be honoured Oct. 4 at halftime of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats home game versus the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Custis was a pioneer, becoming the first Black quarterback in all of professional football with Hamilton in 1951. He appeared in 50 games over four seasons with the Ticats (1951-54), earning all-star nods at quarterback (1951) and running back (1954), helping pave the way for the likes of Warren Moon and Chuck Ealey to play quarterback in Canada.
Custis finished his CFL career with Ottawa (1955-56).
But Custis did more than play football in Hamilton, serving as a teacher and elementary school principal in the Hamilton Board of Education. He also spent over 30 years coaching amateur football at Sheridan College, McMaster University and the Burlington Braves — a junior squad — winning six Eastern College, three Ontario and two Eastern Canadian championships.
Custis is also a member of the McMaster University Hall of Fame and Syracuse University Athletic Hall of Fame.
When he died in 2017 then CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge issued the following statement:
“Trailblazers are rightly remembered for being the first. Bernie Custis, the first black professional quarterback in the modern era starting with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1951, should be revered as well for being one of our best. A world class athlete, he excelled both as a quarterback and a running back. A tremendous leader, he was a successful coach who had a positive impact on countless young lives. A true gentleman, he brought honour to our game and our league, and provided us with a role model to emulate.
