Andy Fantuz and Bernie Custis have been named to the inaugural class of the Football Ontario Hall of Fame.
Fantuz, a native of Chatham, Ont., played 12 seasons in the CFL as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, recording 637 catches for 8,363 yards and 44 touchdowns. He was named the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2010 and played in five Grey Cups, winning one as a member of the Riders in 2007.
The six-foot-four, 221-pound target was a first-round pick in the 2006 CFL Draft out of Western University. He set a number of U Sports records during his tenure with the team, catching 189 passes for 4,123 yards and 41 touchdowns with the Mustangs. In 2005, he was awarded the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in all of U Sports football.
Custis is being inducted posthumously in the builder category.
The Philadelphia native is credited as being the first Black quarterback in the history of professional football as he started for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1951. He played five seasons in the CFL before embarking on a long amateur coaching career alongside working as a teacher and elementary school principal.
The Syracuse product coached at Sheridan College from 1973 to 1980 and at McMaster University from 1981 to 1988. In 1982, he was named the U Sports Coach of the Year and was inducted into the McMaster Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
Custis was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a builder in 1998. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 88 in Burlington, Ont. and a high school next to Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton is named in his honour.
The Football Ontario Hall of Fame is currently unveiling its inaugural class, which will include 15 members. As of the publishing of this article, Fantuz and Custis are the only one to be officially announced.
