NAME: Brian Fryer
UNIVERSITY: Alberta
CATEGORY: Student-Athlete
SPORT: Football
YEARS ACTIVE: 1972-1975
HIGHLIGHTS:
Vanier Cup champion in 1972
Two-time All-Canadian (1974 and 1975)
1975 Hec Crighton Trophy winner
First Canadian university-trained player selected in the NFL Draft (1976)
5x Grey Cup champion with the Edmonton Eskimos (1978-1982)
BIOGRAPHY:
Few Canadians have had as much success at both the university and professional levels of football as Brian Fryer.
The native of Edmonton was a star wide receiver for four seasons with the Alberta Golden Bears before going on to play for Washington in the NFL and later with his hometown Eskimos in the CFL.
In Fryer’s first year at the University of Alberta in 1972 the Golden Bears won the Vanier Cup. He was twice named an All-Canadian (1974 and 1975), and in 1975 he received both the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) football and the Wilson Challenge Trophy as the Most Outstanding Male Athlete at the University of Alberta.
With the Golden Bears, Fryer was a three-time WIFL All-Star. During the 1974 season he became the first player in CIAU history to have over 1,000 yards, and set the single-game record for receiving yards with 227.
In 1976 Fryer became the first Canadian university-trained player to be selected in the NFL Draft when Washington picked him in the eighth round, 234th overall. He played four games for the Redskins in 1976 and spent 1977 on Washington’s practice roster while recovering from an injury, before joining Edmonton for the 1978 CFL season and becoming part of a dynasty.
With the Eskimos, Fryer won five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982. He would play eight seasons in the CFL, including a brief stint with Ottawa in 1985, before retiring with career totals of 83 regular season games, 179 receptions, 2,670 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns.
Fryer has long worked with Football Alberta, the governing association of amateur football in the province. His positions have included Executive Director and his present role of CFO.
Fryer is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (class of 2013), Alberta Schools Athletic Association Sports Hall of Fame (2008), City of Edmonton's Sports Hall of Fame (2005), and University of Alberta Sports Wall of Fame (1983). He was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the 1978-1982 Eskimos.