ESKIMOS TO HONOUR POTHIER AND STEVENSON

(Edmonton) – This Fall, the Edmonton Eskimo Football Club will honour the careers of two outstanding players who were integral members of the five-in-a-row Grey Cup championship dynasty teams.

Hector Pothier and Bill Stevenson will have their names added to the Eskimo Wall of Honour at Commonwealth Stadium on October 13 during a special halftime ceremony when the Edmonton Eskimos host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The pair will be honoured again two days later on October 15 at the 50th Eskimo Annual Dinner, presented by Capital Power, at the Shaw Conference Centre.

“I was excited and honoured to call Hector and Bill’s widow Marilyn Stevenson to let them know about the recognition. Both were thrilled and touched to receive the news,” says Eskimo President and CEO Len Rhodes. “This is an honour reserved for only the very special Eskimos and I think it’s extra special this year because Hector and Bill were Canadian players, and, in Bill Stevenson’s case, he was an Alberta-born player.”

Pothier played his entire 12-year Canadian Football League career with the Edmonton Eskimos between 1978 and 1989 as an offensive lineman. He was named a CFL All Star in 1981 and a Western Division All Star in 1981, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Pothier won six Grey Cup championships with the Green and Gold, including five-in-a-row between 1978 and 1982 and again in 1987. In 1988, he was awarded the league’s Tom Pate Memorial Award for his outstanding service in the community. Currently, he serves as secretary for the Eskimo Alumni Association and is a former president. Born in St. Catherines, Ontario, Hector retired as an Eskimo and has resided in Edmonton since.  He is a principal in the Edmonton public school system.

Stevenson played 14 seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos between 1975 and 1988. He began his career on the defensive line as a member of the formidable front four known as the “Alberta Crude” and later switched to the offensive line where he would spend most of his career.  A three-time Western Division All Star (1978, 1979, 1981) and a two-time CFL All Star (1978, 1981), he won a record seven Grey Cup championships with the Green and Gold in 1975, 1978-82 and 1987. Stevenson, who was born in High Prairie, Alberta, was a high school basketball star in Edmonton and passed away in March 2007, will be honoured posthumously.