Leo Cahill obituary

Me & Leo following an Argo team reunion in 2013

Legendary Toronto Star reporter Milt Dunnell tagged Leo Cahill with the "Leotus" moniker soon after he arrived from his stint with the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League.

 

With Cahill, "Leotus" seemed perfect. A nod to the Caesars, perhaps.

Leo didn't waste time as the coach

of the Argos in 1967.

He was noisy, confrontational,

belligerent, and he could be nasty to the press -- he quickly learned how to manipulate them. Some football fans of the '60s thought his player/team pronouncements were outrageous.

Toronto Maple Leaf owner, Harold Ballard, was often incensed that the Argos could move his hockey team off the front page of the sports section of every newspaper in town ... in the middle of winter.

The press called him "Leo the Lip." However, in 1967-68-69, the fans of the Argos responded by taking every one of the 46,000 seats at CNE stadium, rain or shine, for every game. I was there for every game.

Incidentally, the Gardens had 16,500 seats. 

We loved the double blue and Leo made everyone take notice. 

A team trainer told me that before heading out onto the field for games, Leo's final marching orders would be short and direct ...                  "let's cause some chaos" ... was one of his favourites.

He knew the simple phrase that would get a player's attention.

He'd been one, as part of the University of Illinois team that went to the 1947 Rose Bowl game.

He had passion. He didn't hold back when he disapproved of a bad call or a missed play. His actions and antics on the sidelines often opened the door for reporters to criticize him without acknowledging that he made their writing jobs a whole lot easier.

Following a loss to Calgary, he gave the opposing middle linebacker his props ... "he's as tough as Chinese arithmetic". How much ink do you think that line got in the press the next day?

His game/player/play choices may have been flawed but nobody in CFL history, before or after him has ever been able to recruit players the way he did.

He recognized talent. 

He re-fitted other teams' discards.

He convinced players they were still good. 

He may have made players perform at a higher level than they thought they were capable of. And, he loved a little flash and flare in a player because he knew that would sell tickets.

We got Theisman ... how can we lose?

He was a master recruiter getting Heisman Trophy runner-up, Joe Theismann, "Tricky" Dick Thornton, Tom Wilkinson, Bobby Taylor, Leon McQuay, Mel Profit, ZEE and Stillwagon, Corrigall and Wadsworth and my personal favourites; Jimmy Dye, Ed Harrington, Bill Symons, Dave Raimey, Eric "the flea" Allen and Jim Tomlin.  They didn't win all the games but they sure were entertaining.

Leo had a five-year run as Argo's coach.  Nobody remembered who had preceded him and the team, the city and the league suffered when he was fired.

In 1974/75, Toronto millionaire, Johnny Bassett, who was also the son of Leo's former Argo owner, hired Cahill as GM of his inaugural World Football League team, the Toronto Northmen. Before its first game, it morphed into the Memphis Southmen. Bassett needed to make a splash. Bassett needed to put his team and the league on everyone's radar the way the WHA did by kidnapping Bobby Hull away from the Black Hawks. Bassett had to sell tickets. With his money and Leo's recruiting skills, they convinced three of the NFL's biggest names, Csonka, Kiick and Warfield to jump ship and join their new franchise. How did Leo do that? The Memphis Southmen dominated the league in their first year. The league, however, wasn't to succeed due to bad organization, terrible owners and a lack of big market advertising and TV dollars.

Following his coaching days, Leo took his celebrity to the radio business selling air-time, providing voice-overs and conducting interviews.

I met him in 1980 and our friendship began.

At my request, he and his then-partner, Canadian pro golf legend, Sandra Post donated their appearance fees. They attended the annual Sports Celebrities Festival for the benefit of the Special Olympics. They were responsible for helping to raise thousands of much-needed funds and awareness. Leo and Sandra loved the opportunity to support their fellow athletes. Leo continued to be very popular in Toronto and started his CBC on-air colour commentary for the CFL.

McQuay slipped ... and Leo fell

However, Leon McQuay's Grey Cup slip would follow him everywhere. Fans wouldn't let him forget. How'd it happen? Why'd it happen?  Do you want to know what I was doing when it happened?

It was the reverse of another huge Canadian sports story and what the fans did when hockey star, Paul Henderson scored "The Goal" in the Summit Series. Leo didn't want to hear about McQuay anymore and 45 years later, Henderson can't get enough of fans' questions and personal recollections.

Sazio thought Leo could produce his old magic. He couldn't.

On the morning of December 10, 1985, I was driving on Toronto's Lakeshore Blvd. The radio announcer mentioned a news flash from the offices of the Toronto Argonauts at CNE stadium. I turned my car around, ran up the stairs to the office

and was met by sports writer Earl McCrae. He'd done the same thing.

Was the "news flash" going to be about Leo Cahill's return to the team? Every sportscaster in Toronto and its vicinity was there. The room was buzzing.

Argo president, Ralph Sazio, split the curtains on the makeshift stage, cameras were rolling and TV lights were at full blast. Sazio said he was "proud to announce the appointment of Argo's new GM, Leo Cahill". The place erupted with cheers! I guess the writers all thought they'd just been handed a gift ... finally, a sports guy who would feed them the type of copy or soundbite that would help them.

Cahill had done it again!

That afternoon his football announcement was the top-of-the-page lead item on the sports section of the country's biggest newspaper, in the middle of winter.

McRae and I thought Leo had fooled his old Tiger Cat rival, Sazio.

Incidentally, McRae was a huge Elvis Presley fan. When Leo ran the Memphis Southmen of the WFL, he and "The King" became friends. He even went on the road with him when he appeared in Vegas. Leo offered to introduce McCrae to Elvis. It was a meeting that gave Earl years of columns, stories and remembrances.

In Toronto, Sazio and the Argos were in trouble. They needed more than a shot-in-the-arm. They needed a promotion/marketing genius. They needed someone who could rebuild the team into a winner. Sazio was certain Leo could make that happen.

By the way, how did this Argo nemesis, Ralph Sazio, ever become the president of the Argos?

McRae and I loved Leo. However, we didn't think he knew what it was that made him and his team a success.  There was no magic formula, no master plan, it was just Leo.  We weren't sure that he could do a repeat.  Unfortunately, we were right.

For the 2004 season, Argo ownership, under the guidance of president, Keith Pelley hired Leo as the team ambassador. Leo was very good at his new job. He met with fans before and after the game and listened to their recollections of their team and their favourite players and him. He was gracious, he was humble, he was very thankful to still be involved and he loved being back in the limelight.

When Argos won the Grey Cup, I contacted Pelley to ask if Leo would be also receiving a Grey Cup ring. He confirmed he would because everyone thought of him as an important part of the team. I told him I wanted to organize a dinner for Leo so his fans could see him finally get that ring. Keith Pelley not only got behind my suggestion, but he also got his entire Argo office staff to help out.

Our head table for the "Leo gets a Grey Cup ring" evening included; Argo enemy, Angelo Mosca, former CFL player and TV commentator, Leif Pettersen, maybe the best sportswriter of the era, Earl McRae, CTV's controversial Ottawa Rough Rider loving, Pat Marsden and the one and only "Tricky" Dick Thornton who made the trip all the way from his home in SE Asia, a 24-hour plane ride ... "I wouldn't miss this for the coach".

Award-winning filmmaker/producer, Brad Diamond created a documentary-style video of Leo's great moments on the field and we ran it on a loop throughout the evening. Our master of ceremonies was the fabulous, Ron Hewat and Argo elite player, Peter Martin, was the guy I leaned on for advice.

All of these very talented friends of Leo's participated without a fee of any kind. They just wanted to be there for him. The evening was a great success. Lots of fun. Lots of fans and former players showed up to be part of the celebration.

When it was over, I handed the coach an envelope with $4500. - proceeds from the evening. It was a great surprise for him. He had never complained to me about funds or ever asked for any help but I sensed he could use some money. The CFL never had a pension fund for coaches. A month later, I gave him the balance of what was collected, another $4500.

Then, things changed for Leo. Quickly.

He organized his belongings and left Ontario. He asked if I would "look after" his most prized possessions. Some framed photos of his teams. Surprisingly, the team photo of his Toronto Rifles days, which was taken on the field at the old Maple Leaf Baseball Stadium on Fleet St., included the picture of a man in a suit - standing far right in the photo. A man Cahill didn't like or trust.  A man who was about to launch his own career in sports -- Alan Eagleson.

Leo left Ontario after 50+ years to move to Atlanta so he'd be close to his children and grandchildren.

Very sadly, Canadian sports celebrities; McRae, Petterson, Marsden and Thornton have now all passed away.

In April of 2017, a call went out online that Leo was in serious trouble, health-wise. A website was created for fans and friends to help with his medical expenses. The request was for $25,000. In just a few days, over $30,000 had been donated -- some gave $10, some gave $1,000.

Additionally, the Argonaut Football Club and the Veteran Argo Players Association made contributions directly to the family. The donations made his last days comfortable.

There was a time when he was one of the most recognizable faces in his adopted country.

He was one of us but he was way different. He wasn't shy. He was loud. You knew when he was angry. His personality allowed him to lift the spirits of a whole city -- who does that? He was the glue that kept the popularity of the Canadian Football League together during some tough times.

When he got to Atlanta, we talked on the phone regularly. I was also in regular email contact with Dick Thornton. Dick thought of Leo as kin and had offered him paid vacations in Thailand but Leo couldn't bring himself to consider a road trip that far. But Leo wanted to know everything that "Tricky" was up to.

Thornton had invented the term, "free spirit" and never passed up a happy hour so stories about his most recent nonsense always got a laugh from the coach - the spicier the story the louder the laugh.

Leo Cahill was a Canadian sports icon. His over-the-top competitiveness made watching the CFL and his Argos fun. He was always very approachable. He made friends easily and, eventually, even with writers he'd previously identified as the enemy. He and most of them eventually kissed and made up. Several of them became Leo's closest friends -- a testament to his character. He couldn't suppress his own sense of humour about his days in the spotlight or them for putting him in it.

We all became part of the Leotus Legion.

1928 - 2018

In 1995, he was inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Thousands of words were used by every Canadian newspaper website and sports broadcast talk show to describe him, pay respects and salute this colourful Canadian sportsman when he departed.

He was a once-in-a-lifetime guy ... for Toronto, for the CFL and for me.

It was a privilege to know him and have him think of me as a friend.

What better tribute could I give him than to simply say ... I loved Leo and I will miss him.

Rest in Peace, coach.