The BC Lions Football Club today announced that kicker Paul McCallum has come out of retirement to join the team.
McCallum, who officially retired as a Lion back in March, dressed for 152 regular season games for the Leos over 11 seasons (’93 -‘94, ‘06-‘14) as well as 11 playoff games and two Grey Cup appearances.
“We need to ensure that all areas of our kicking game are competitive with our opponents,” said GM and head coach Wally Buono. “By bringing in Paul and his playoff production, this is assured.”
McCallum was good on all 36 of his previous postseason field goal attempts for the Lions including a team-record six-for-six in the 2006 Grey Cup win by the club.
“I’m happy to return and do whatever I can to help the club win a championship,” said McCallum. “I believe that Richie and I together give the team a very strong kicking combination.”
Yes, this is real life.@PaulMcCallum4 has come out of retirement to join the @BCLions➡ https://t.co/3nKhlRTIc7 #CFL pic.twitter.com/2MBIZ2ZqBr
— CFL (@CFL) November 1, 2016
I always say it @PaulMcCallum4 is arguably the most clutch kicker in @CFL history. For some strange reason never gets his true props.
— Davis Sanchez (@DavisSanchez) November 1, 2016
As for Richie Leone, he embraced the return of McCallum on Twitter Tuesday morning:
The ? is back… Let’s do this. https://t.co/9ywcwgJgSu
— Richie Leone (@RichieLeone15) November 1, 2016
To say McCallum’s accomplishments in orange have been significant would be an understatement. He was 6-for-6 on field goal attempts in the 2006 Grey Cup win over Montreal, the first of two rings he won in BC. In fact, he’s never missed field goal in the playoffs as a member of the Leos, hitting all 36 attempts from 2006-2014.
He is a two-time CFL all-star and amazingly his first nod didn’t come until the 2010 season, 17 years after he made his CFL debut. In what is likely his most impressive stat, McCallum had a 94 percent success rate on field goals during his second championship season of 2011, including a stretch where he hit 30 straight. And who can forget his 53-yard game winner on the final play against Calgary on October 8th of that year? If that one didn’t split the uprights, the Leos would not have finished first in the West.
In accordance with CFL rules, the club has a 10-day window to evaluate a retired player before assigning him a specific roster status.