Allen Pitts

[edit] Biography

On Sept. 10, 1999, during the 10th of his 11 CFL seasons as a Calgary Stampeders slotback, Allen Pitts caught a 13-yard pass that made him the CFL's all-time receiving leader. When his career ended after the 2000 campaign, Pitts had caught 966 passes for 14,891 yards and 117 touchdowns, all CFL records.

Pitts spent his entire career with the Stampeders, with whom he appeared in five Grey Cup games (1991, 1992, 1995, 1998 and 1999) and won twice. In 1992 the Stampeders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-10 and in 1998 they beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 24-22. In 19 postseason games Pitts caught 103 passes for 1,654 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Through 176 regular-season games Pitts averaged 15.4 yards per reception and caught touchdown passes in 95 games. Four times he led the ]]CFL\\ in receiving yardage. After an injury-plagued 1993, he posted his best season in 1994 when he caught 126 passes for 2,036 yards and 21 touchdowns.

A product of Cal State-Fullerton who was born June 28, 1964, in Tucson, Arizona, Pitts became the [CFL]]'s dominant receiver. Tall and powerful (6-foot-4 and 200 pounds), Pitts was a deep threat who rarely dropped a catchable pass from the top-quality quarterbacks he played with throughout his career, including Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia and Danny Barrett.

Four times the Stampeders fans voted him the team's outstanding player and twice his teammates chose him as the President's Ring recipient for his inspirational and motivational skills. Football Reporters of Canada voters selected him a divisional All-Star in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999. He was a five-time CFL All-Star (1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998) and the West's nominee as outstanding player in 1999. In 1991, 1996 and 1999 he was Calgary's nominee as outstanding player. Four times he led the CFL in receptions and yardage. In 2004 the Stampeders honoured Pitts by retiring his jersey number (18).

[edit] Statistics

<stats> Player=Allen Pitts Sport=CFL </stats>

[edit] References

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