MONTREAL --
Bill Bewley, who played 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League and coached the McGill University football team to the 1962 Yates Cup championship, has passed away. He was 87.
Bewley replaced the legendary
Bruce Coulter as head coach at McGill in 1962 and in his three seasons, guided the team to a 15-10-1 record overall before stepping down and being replaced by
Tom Mooney. In 1962, the Redmen posted a 4-2 record to finish tied for first with Queen's, then defeated the Golden Gaels 15-13 in a sudden-death playoff for the Yates Cup title in Kingston, Ont. With two minutes remaining in that game, McGill trailed by five points and had the ball on their own seven-yard line. Quarterback
Tom Skypeck then completed five straight passes for 103 yards, hitting
Willie Lambert for the game-winning 25-yard TD toss with 59 seconds left on the clock as McGill rallied to defeat their arch-rivals. In 2012, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that championship, the 1962 team was inducted to the
McGill Sports Hall of Fame.
Born William James Bewley on Aug. 11, 1931 in Hamilton, Ont., he was a gifted natural athlete and went on to play his collegiate ball at the University of Toronto, where he was a two-time league all-star (1951 and 1952) before graduating in 1953 from the faculty of physical and health education.
A 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back, place-kicker and defensive back, Bewley embarked on a 10-year CFL career, beginning with Calgary in 1953, then playing with Montreal from 1954 to 1961, in addition to an emergency stint as a kicker with the Alouettes in 1965. He was a three-time recipient of the Berkley Trophy as the Alouettes most outstanding Canadian (1958, 1959, 1960).
In 1958, he won the Big Four -- later known as CFL East Division -- scoring title with 62 points in 14 games.
In 105 career CFL games, Bewley scored 345 points with 28 field-goals and eight career touchdowns, including two on interception returns. He had a 5.3 rushing average (814 yards, 155 carries) and averaged 12.1 yards per catch (135 receptions, 1,640 yards).
He also saw significant duty as a defensive back and had 11 career interceptions. On special teams, he had 42 punt returns for 333 yards and nne kickoff returns for 119 yards.
Bewley, who was also a fierce competitor in squash and curling, suffered a stroke in 2011. He died of respiratory failure on Feb. 23, 2018 in North York General Hospital.
His wish for his body to be donated to U of T for medical education was granted and his ashes will be scattered at the family cottage in Temagami at a later date. A celebration of his life was held on March 10.
A son of the late Joseph and Lily (Swain) Bewley, he is survived by his brother Joseph, and Joanne, his wife of 67 years, three daughters (Brenda, Kathryn and Janna), six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Messages of condolence can be left online at this link.
BILL BEWLEY'S CFL PLAYING CAREER
| Year |
Team |
GP |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long |
PTS |
| 1953 |
Calgary |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1954 |
Montreal |
14 |
20 |
123 |
6.2 |
1 |
6 |
98 |
16.3 |
0 |
29 |
5 |
| 1955 |
Montreal |
5 |
16 |
67 |
4.2 |
0 |
3 |
42 |
14.0 |
0 |
20 |
14 |
| 1956 |
Montreal |
11 |
26 |
166 |
5.9 |
1 |
8 |
130 |
16.3 |
0 |
29 |
57 |
| 1957 |
Montreal |
14 |
23 |
155 |
6.7 |
0 |
10 |
65 |
6.5 |
1 |
14 |
53 |
| 1958 |
Montreal |
14 |
30 |
166 |
5.7 |
0 |
33 |
395 |
12.0 |
1 |
87 |
62 |
| 1959 |
Montreal |
13 |
19 |
105 |
5.5 |
0 |
36 |
404 |
11.2 |
0 |
41 |
34 |
| 1960 |
Montreal |
14 |
8 |
-1 |
-0.1 |
0 |
27 |
394 |
14.6 |
1 |
64 |
78 |
| 1961 |
Montreal |
14 |
11 |
33 |
3.0 |
0 |
11 |
112 |
9.3 |
0 |
17 |
36 |
| 1965 |
Montreal |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| TOTALS: |
10 SEASONS: |
105 |
153 |
814 |
5.3 |
2 |
134 |
1640 |
12.2 |
3 |
87 |
345 |
