Moe “The Toe” Racine
Canadian Football Hall of Fame – 4 x Grey Cup Champion
My Dad’s talents and dedication to his sport propelled me to pursue my dreams of being a goalie. Here is a synopsis of his career.
Moe Racine, right tackle and place kicker came to the CFL from his high school and quickly established himself as a most versatile performer. Moe Racine was born October 14th, 1937 in Cornwall Ontario. He attended St. Lawrence High School and lead the Saints as a 6’4″ 250 pound full back to two EOSSA football championships. In 1958 he walked onto the Ottawa Rough Riders training camp and after a short stay at St. Anthony’s, Moe became a fixture on the Riders offensive line for 17 seasons. His longevity and loyalty to the Ottawa Rough Riders was second to none during his era. After retirement, he followed the CFL weekly and watched most games, still able to dissect plays and formations as if watching game film.
During and after his playing years Moe Racine could be counted on to represent the Rough Riders in numerous community events as guest speaker and celebrity host for YMCA and boys clubs across eastern Ontario. His speaking engagements at fund raising and awards banquets were numerous and he frequently attended his old high school St. Lawrence upon the request of his long time coach and mentor Art Anderson.
When summarizing his career accomplishments, Moe took the opportunity and made the best of it. He was raw with desire and heart. Asked in 1962 to start kicking by coach Frank Clair, Moe quickly became a consistent place kicker and finished second in league scoring in 1962 – 64 and 65 and won the eastern scoring title in 1966. Moe amassed 392 total points in six years of handling the kicking duties for Ottawa from 1962 to 1967. Impressive was that in the era of low numbers for attempts at field goals Moe Racine hit 50%. Moe recalls that after marching up the field and playing every down being exhausted and then lining up for a field goal was something that was simply expected. He played in four all-star games 1962 – 65 – 66 and 1972. Best of all he played on 5 Grey Cup teams and was a winner four times 1960 – 68 – 69 and 1973. He holds the record for most games played as a Rough Rider at 201 (since 1960 when records were kept).
Dads accomplishments
Attended St. Lawrence HS in Cornwall from 1954-58 and lead the Saints to three EOSSA final appearances winning two in 1956 and 1957.
Was voted as the overall top athlete in the city of Cornwall in 1958.
17 year professional career, all with Ottawa 1958-1974.
Played on five Grey Cup teams 1960-66-68-69-73. Winning four 1960-68-69-73.
Eastern Scoring champion 1966 – 71 points – 3 time runner up 62-64-65.
Four Time Eastern all-star 62-65-66-72.
274 career regular season Kick-offs for 14,889 yards.
Career longest field goal 49 yards.
Career 50% field goal average in six years 1962-1967.
Total regular season points 392 career.
Missed only 9 games in 17 years.
Played in 20 Play-off games including 11 years in a row 1959-1969.
Holds Rough Rider Record for games played 201 from 1960-1974. Played in a few Rough Rider games during 1958 and all 14 games in 1959 which would add to the total however records were not kept until 1960.
Was co-captain of the Rough Riders 1971-1974.
Number 62 was retired on October 20th, 1974 Moe Racine Day
Won three Gil O’Julien awards as top Ontario-Quebec French Canadian Athlete – Football in 1967, 1968 and 1972.
Elected to the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 1968.
Elected to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.
Elected Member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame – Class of 2014