The BC Lions Football Club is very pleased to announce that former Leo greats Brent Johnson and Barron Miles will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame later this year. The rest of 2018 inductees include players Scott Flory, the late Tommy Hugo and Hank Ilesic as well as builder Frank Cosentino and were announced as part of CFL Week activities in Winnipeg.
“Nothing fills a coach with more pride and happiness than to see his former players honoured in this manner,” said Lions VP of football operations and head coach Wally Buono. “Brent and Barron will be forever recognized for their accomplishments on the field, but they should be equally honoured for the outstanding qualities they exhibited away from the game. They are exceptional husbands and fathers who not only provide a career blueprint for the young men in our league today, but continue to serve as shining examples that each of us as men should aspire to in our own lives.”
A career Lion, Brent Johnson enjoyed 11 spectacular seasons fol
lowing an impressive college career at Ohio State and his selection in the third round of the 2000 CFL Draft. Officially joining the Lions in the later stages of 2001, he played 184 consecutive games before sitting out a regular season game in 2011 to witness the birth of his son. The Kingston, Ontario native had his number 97 retired by the Lions following the 2011 Grey Cup title season.
Through 185 career appearances (11th all-time among Lions) Brent established a team record for quarterback sacks with 89 to go along with 267 tackles and four interceptions. The gifted defensive end was also an offensive threat notching a pair of touchdown receptions during the club’s 2006 Grey Cup title season.
Remarkably consistent, extraordinarily dedicated and universally respected by fans, teammates and opponents, Johnson earned both the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Canadian Player award in 2006, helping lead the way to the club’s fifth Grey Cup title that season. He was also the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2005 as well as a three-time CFL All-Star (2008, 2006 and 2005), a five-time West Division All-Star (2010, 2008, 2006, 2005 and 2004) and two-time Grey Cup champion (2006, 2011).
Barron Miles joined the Lions as a free agent in 2005 following seven outstanding seasons as a member of the Montreal Alouettes. The New Jersey native and former Nebraska Cornhusker was the CFL’s Outstanding Rookie in 1998, a three-time CFL All-star (’99, ’00, ’02) and a Grey Cup champion in 2002 before bringing his impressive resume to the BC Lions.
Over the next five seasons as a Lion, the talented and opportunistic safety recorded six blocked kicks giving him the all-time CFL mark of 13 to go along with the second-highest career interception total in league history with 66. During his five-season, 88-game tenure with the Leos, he piled-up 37 picks and 219 defensive stops which were recognized with five-straight West Division All-Star nods and three more league-wide honours in ’06, ’08 and ’09.
During the club’s dominant championship run in 2006, Miles provided plenty of sleepless nights for CFL quarterbacks striking for a career-high 10 interceptions, tops among a wrecking crew that struck for 36 that year. Following the 2009 campaign, a season in which he would tally the second-most tackles in his career dating back to his days as a rookie, Miles retired and joined the Lions’ coaching staff. He enjoyed his third Grey Cup win as part of the team’s coaching staff in 2011 and yet another win in 2013 as part Saskatchewan Roughriders coaching staff.
Canadian Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies take place in Hamilton on Friday, September 14th.