• Lancaster still a legend on the gridiron
• Dying with dignity

Lancaster still a legend on the gridiron

The legacy of illustrious Wittenberg University quarterbacks arguably began with the stellar career of Ron Lancaster from 1956-59.

More than four decades later, Lancaster remains the fifth-ranked passer in school history, having thrown for 3,149 yards. He completed 205 of 366 attempts (56 percent) and passed for 27 touchdowns.

Lancaster ranks eighth all-time in total offense.

Lancaster's total offense numbers were exceeded only by Charlie Green (1961-64) with 5,575 yards; Rocky Alt (1967-70) with 4,195 yards; Gene Laughman (1964-67) 3,878 yards; and Tim Green (1985-88) 3,343 yards.

In his senior year of 1959, Lancaster was a co-captain along with tackle Dick Franta. Lancaster would be named the Most Valuable Player on that 1959 Tiger team that finished the season with a 5-3 record in the second season of College Hall of Fame Coach Bill Edwards.

To this day, Lancaster remains reticent to expound on the success of his Wittenberg football career. But he was an integral part of the beginning of the school’s nationally recognized football program.

Wittenberg would go on to capture five national championships overall: 1962, 1964, 1969, 1973 and 1975.

The Tigers have amassed an NCAA-best 42 winning seasons since 1955. Three former Tiger coaches are in the College Football Hall of Fame: Ernie Godfrey, Edwards and Dave Maurer.

Edwards and Maurer were honored nationally six times. Edwards (1955-1968) and Maurer (1969-1983) had a combined record over 29 years of 227-43-7 (.832).

Wittenberg was the nation’s winningest college football team of the 1960s: 79-9-1, an .889 percentage.

But Lancaster left an even more impressive legacy in the Canadian Football League as a quarterback and coach of Grey Cup winning franchises.

On Nov. 26, 1997, Lancaster was hired as the 17th head coach in the history of the Hamilton Tiger Cats and also assumed the title of director of football operations.

In 1998, the Tiger Cats rebounded from the worst season in team history the year before to the best regular season record ever, posting the second-greatest turnaround in CFL history in the process.

The Tiger Cats posted a 21-point improvement from a 2-16 mark in 1997 to a 12-5-1 record in 1998.

The Eastern Division Final was played at Ivor Wynne Stadium for the first time since 1989, and the team did not disappoint the home fans, with a thrilling 22-20 win over the Montreal Alouettes.

Paul Osbaldiston booted a 54-yard field goal with no time left, tying the CFL playoff record for longest field goal, to send the Tiger-Cats to Winnipeg for the team’s first Grey Cup appearance since 1989.

Hamilton dropped a 26-24 decision to the Calgary Stampeders in the 86th Grey Cup, ironically it was a 35-yard field goal by Mark McLoughlin with no time left that decided the outcome.

Lancaster’s Hamilton Tiger Cats defeated the Calgary Stampeders 32-21 last season to win the Grey Cup championship.

Such achievement in his field also earned him an Alumni Citation from the Alumni Association in 1980 and 2000.

—Fred Mitchell ’69