The Ottawa Redblacks will be inducting three local legends into the Wall of Honour at TD Place when their home-opener takes place on June 15.
Dave Thelen, Gene Gaines, and Greg Marshall will join 14 other Ottawa football legends who have already been inducted. The three former players were nominated by the CFL Ottawa Alumni Association’s selection committee.
“The history of CFL football in Ottawa is special and an important part of who the Redblacks are today,” said team president Adrian Sciarra. “We’re proud to honour these three legendary former players by immortalizing them on our Wall of Honour.”
Thelen played running back for the Rough Riders from 1958 to 1964, winning a Grey Cup with the team in 1960. He ran for 8,463 yards and 47 touchdowns over his nine-year CFL career that also included a two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts and was inducted in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
At the time of his induction, Thelen ranked fifth all-time in career CFL rushing yards behind George Reed, Johnny Bright, Normie Kwong, and Leo Lewis. He still ranks fifth all-time in league history with 30 100-yard rushing games. He is now 86 years of age.
Gaines played defensive back with the Rough Riders from 1962 to 1969 as part of a 17-year CFL career. He was a three-time CFL all-star, the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 1966, and won two Grey Cups with Ottawa in 1968 and 1969.
The native of Los Angeles, Calif. still holds the CFL playoff record for longest kickoff return as he brought one back for 128 yards in the 1964 East Final against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Now 84, Gaines was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
Marshall played his entire nine-year career with the Rough Riders from 1980 to 1988, recording 71 sacks along the defensive line. He was a two-time CFL all-star, four-time East Division all-star, and was named the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1983.
The 66-year-old held Ottawa’s single-season sack record for almost 40 years until it was broken by Lorenzo Mauldin IV when he made 17 sacks in 2022. Marshall has coached professionally for the past 30 years, including stints as the assistant head coach of the Ottawa Renegades, assistant head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is now the head coach at the University of Toronto.
The induction ceremony will take place on June 15 when the Calgary Stampeders visit the Redblacks’ for the club’s home-opener. The ceremony will also unveil a new recognition area for the Wall of Honour.
