Granville Liggins

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Granville 'Granny' Liggins (born on June 2, 1946 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) was an American football player. At the University of Oklahoma, Liggins was not only a football player, but also a wrestler. In 1967, he was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, a Consensus All-American with the Sooners football team, where he played noseguard, 7th in Heisman Trophy voting and an All-Big Eight Conference All-Star, Coaches’ All-American and Most Valuable Player. He was a member of the Sooners' squad when it won the 1968 Orange Bowl.

In his autobiography, Fighting Back, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Robert "Rocky" Bleier lauded Liggins as perhaps the fastest defensive lineman Bleier had ever faced during his college career.

During his football career, Liggins played for the Calgary Stampeders (1968-1972) and the Toronto Argonauts (1973-1978) in the Canadian Football League. He was a member of the Stampeders team when it beat the Toronto Argonauts to win the CFL championship in the Grey Cup game of 1971. Liggins made the CFL's All-Canadian Team in 1971 and 1976 and received the All-Western Football Conference Honours in 1972. During his time with the Toronto Argonauts in the mid-1970s, he was part of the team's famed "Dirty Dozen" defence, at the time the best in the CFL. Following a trade to the Ottawa Rough Riders, Liggins retired in 1978. Perhaps the biggest barrier he encountered with his professional career was the fact that at "only" 235 lbs, he was small for his position by NFL standards. His quickness and speed made him a perfect fit at that size for the Canadian Football League. He was embraced by the CFL fans, particularly in Toronto, and never looked back.

As an American football player who decided to stay in Canada after his playing career was over, Liggins was featured on a Toronto Parks and Recreation "Contributions of African Canadians" poster created for Black History Month. Entitled "Beyond the Game", the poster featured Liggins and four other famous Toronto Argonaut players: Michael "Pinball" Clemons, Ulysses Curtis, Chuck Ealey and R. Bruce Smith.