50TH VANIER CUP INTERVIEW SERIES: 1989
A conversation with...
Duane Forde, running back, University of Western Ontario Mustangs
In 1989, the Vanier Cup celebrated its 25th year in style, moving from historic Varsity Stadium to the brand new SkyDome in downtown Toronto. In front of a crowd of 32,847 – over 8,000 more than the previous game record – the Western Ontario Mustangs outscored the Saskatchewan Huskies 35-10 to capture the fifth national title in program history. Duane Forde, a conference all-star running back and team co-captain, tallied a game-high 58 yards on 13 carries that day to help the Mustangs return to the top of CIAU football for the first time since 1977.
What is your major memory of the entire Vanier Cup week and the overall experience?
The whole week was a very special experience. With 1989 marking the first time the Vanier was played in the SkyDome, the organizers went the extra mile to make it “big.” The week was busy with banquets and ceremonies. It definitely felt like a big-game atmosphere.
What is your one major lasting memory of the actual game?
It's hard to say. There are so many images and highlights from that game etched in my memory, from the coin toss to the final gun. I'd probably pick Tyrone Williams’ touchdown, where the Saskatchewan defensive back, Errol Brown, was draped all over him in the end zone. Tyrone caught the ball over top of him and then just kind of shrugged him off, as if to say, “I could do this all day.”
(Note: Williams, a sophomore wide receiver from Halifax, was named game MVP thanks to his 157 yards on five catches, including a 19-yard TD reception that increased the Mustangs’ lead to 28-10 late in the third quarter. He went on to win the Super Bowl with Dallas in 1994 and the Grey Cup with Toronto in 1996, making him the only player in history to win the Vanier Cup, the Super Bowl and the Grey Cup)
What do you remember as the key play of the game?
Our defence made a huge stop on a third and short, late in the first half as I recall, that seemed to break Saskatchewan’s spirit and snuff out any hope that they might have had for a comeback.
(Note: The Mustangs’ defence held Saskatchewan to 12 first downs and 217 yards of net offence in the game, including only 47 yards on the ground)
What was your personal greatest play or greatest moment?
My favourite moments of the game were actually the two interceptions by my brother, Darryl. I had a couple of okay runs but our offensive game plan was to spread the ball around, as we knew Saskatchewan would key on me and our inside run game. As a result, we ended up having four different players rush for around 50 yards in the game.
(Note: In addition to Forde’s 58 yards on 13 carries, Rob Stewart had 54 yards on nine runs, John Wright had 50 yards on nine touches and freshman Mike Clawson had 48 yards on six carries, including a five-yard touchdown. Quarterback Chris Gaffney added only six yards to Western’s rushing total, but found the end zone three times on short runs)
Did anything unusual or out of the ordinary happen during the game or during Vanier week?
There was a band on the field during the warm-up. I think they were rehearsing for the halftime show or setting up for a pregame show or something. Anyway, it left us with a limited amount of space on the field to warm up. Even worse, they were really loud so it was hard to hear the play calls. I remember going the wrong way on one play during that warm-up because I couldn't hear the quarterback.
Did the coaches do anything different from normal routine in the preparation for the game?
The coaches kept the routine as close to normal as they could under the circumstances but, in reality, everything was different. For example, we could only travel with about 45 players, whereas we usually had about double that number on the field for practices. As a result, offensive starters had to run scout team for our defence, and vice versa. One thing that the coaches did was arrange to play a highlight video of our season on the Jumbotron -- the SkyDome’s big screen -- after our final practice.
How did you or the team react to the stadium and the crowd?
I think that a lot of guys were in awe of the stadium the first day we practised there because they had never been in it before. I was prepared because I had attended some CFL games there during the summer of ‘89.
When I walked out on the field for our first practice of the week, I remember thinking of the scene from the movie “Hoosiers”, where the small town Hickory High School basketball team makes it to the state championship game and is preparing to play in a huge arena in the big city. In the movie, the coach points out that all of the measurements of the arena's basketball court were identical to the measurements of the court in their school gymnasium. I reminded myself that the field was still 110 yards by 65 yards... just like J.W. Little Stadium on the Western campus.
What are your memories of the post-game celebrations on the field and/or in the dressing room?
Right when the game ended, I remember my brother and I simultaneously hugging our head coach, Larry Haylor, and then I found my mother in the stands and hugged her. I'll also always remember the look of triumph on the face of our injured co-captain, all-Canadian guard Rob Godley, as he hoisted the Cup on stage.
What are your memories of the trip back home?
It was actually pretty low key because we didn’t go home until the morning after the game and we were all pretty tired following the previous night’s celebrations. One thing that stood out though was that we had one passenger on the bus who wasn't a member of the team. One of my buddies, “Red”, had been deserted in Toronto by the people he came with... so he caught a lift back to London on the team bus.
What was the reaction on campus when the team returned?
The reaction on campus was great. We were welcomed home as “heroes.” And the reaction at The Ceeps -- our go-to bar in London -- was even better.
At the time, how did winning the Vanier Cup change your everyday life?
It made things busy for a little while, as there were a few functions and events that we had to attend. The thing about a school like Western is that the football team has always had a fairly prominent profile and has generally been successful so our “presence” on campus didn’t change drastically.
How often do you reminisce about your Vanier Cup win?
Pretty regularly. We’ve had three reunions of our ‘89 team in the last five years so of course all the old stories come up during those events. But I think about it far more often than that. It was a great football team and a very close group of friends as well.
You’ve been involved with the Vanier Cup as both a player and a broadcaster. What was the experience like the first time you worked the game as a broadcaster as opposed to playing in it?
It really meant something to me because I'm very proud of where I came from. I genuinely love CIS football and I know that for most young men who have the opportunity to play, it represents four or five of the best years of their lives. I remember getting chills during the national anthem as if I were about to actually play in the game rather than just talking about it.
What did you study at Western and what career paths did you follow after graduation?
I studied Physical Education and French, and ended up teaching both at the high school level. That said, having spent 12 years playing in the CFL and almost as many in broadcasting, I'd say that playing football at Western provided me with most of my career opportunities since I graduated.
MORE ABOUT DUANE FORDE:
A two-time team MVP and two-time conference all-star, Duane Forde co-captained the 1989 Vanier Cup-winning Mustangs before moving on to a successful career in the CFL. Selected in the first round, sixth overall, in the 1991 CFL draft, he enjoyed a 12-year professional career with Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Hamilton, reaching five Grey Cup finals and winning twice with Calgary, in 1992 and 1998.
Forde didn’t go far from football once his playing days were over, working for seven years as an analyst with The Score and Rogers Sportsnet, before taking over his current role as a game analyst with TSN in 2008. A member of the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame, he is a staple on TSN’s CFL broadcasts, working alongside play-by-play announcer Rod Black.