The BC Lions are excited to announce that coaching legend Wally Buono and Waterboys founders Dennis Skulsky, Moray Keith, Jamie Pitblado and Tom Malone will be added to the club’s Wall of Fame as part of Legends Night on August 12 when the team plays host to Calgary.
“I am forever thankful to David Braley and Bob Ackles for believing in me and giving me a great opportunity with the BC Lions,” said Buono.
“Being recognized is always about the people around you. I was blessed with great ownership, great staff and many, many great players in my 16 seasons with the club. The fan support was also a great difference maker, especially at BC Place.”
“This is a special honour and it’s really about more people than just us founders of The Waterboys,” said Skulsky who also served as president of the Lions from 2010-16.
“We were so fortunate to have Bob Ackles as our inspirational leader along with the support of owner David Braley and exceptional long-time club leaders like George Chayka and a tremendously dedicated Lions staff. Our sincere thanks to Amar Doman, Duane Vienneau, and the entire Wall of Fame committee for selecting us.”
After 13 seasons in charge of the Calgary Stampeders, Buono was recruited by the late Bobby Ackles to take over as general manager and head coach prior to the 2003 campaign.
The results were instantaneous as Buono quickly established the Lions as one of the CFL’s model franchises.
Following an 11-7 record and return to the playoffs in his first season at the helm, the Lions finished atop the West Division every season from 2004-07, a run that was highlighted by a Grey Cup championship in 2006 when the Lions took down Montreal 25-14 in the 94th edition of the championship game.
On September 19, 2009, Buono reached the pinnacle by surpassing Don Matthews as the CFL’s all-time leader in coaching victories.
Two seasons later, he helped engineer one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in league history as the Lions rebounded from an 0-5 start to finish 11-7 and first in the West Division before defeating Winnipeg 34-23 in the 99th Grey Cup at the newly-refurbished BC Place.
Buono would step aside from coaching for the next four seasons and focus on his general manager duties. During that period, the Lions would maintain their CFL-leading playoff streak which would ultimately reach 21 seasons (1997-2017).
He returned to the sidelines ahead of the 2016 season and helped the squad improve from 7-11 the year before to 12-6 and a thrilling home victory over Winnipeg in the West Division Semi-Final.
Buono retired from football after the 2018 campaign with 282 coaching wins and also remains atop the CFL record books in many categories including the most games coached (450) while his five Grey Cup wins ties him with Matthews, Hugh Campbell, Lew Hayman and Frank Clair for most all-time amongst head coaches.
He also leads the Lions with 129 regular season wins and is the only coach in history to lead the franchise to two Grey Cup victories.
Upon his return to the Lions as president in 2022, Ackles created ‘The Waterboys’, a group consisting of several British Columbia business leaders who engaged in building the Lions brand in the corporate community.
Founding members Skulsky, Keith, Pitblado and Malone were instrumental in gaining early momentum for the group while helping membership exceed 120 business leaders before the end of the decade.
Fulfilling Ackles’ goal of restoring the passion and aura of Lions football, The Waterboys were honoured by the CFL with the 2005 Commissioner’s Award given annually to an individual or group that demonstrates dedication and makes a significant contribution to Canadian football.
The founding members were instrumental in successful Grey Cup festivals for Vancouver in 2005, 2011 and 2014, the latest of which Pitblado oversaw as general manager.