Bio

The 1970 team gave Ottawa its first appearance in the senior national championship game since 1902. In regular season play the team was 5-0-1 under head coach Bob O'Billovich. Then came a 32-15 victory over Bishop's to claim the Central Canada Intercollegiate Football Conference title, and a 24-11 win over UNB for the Atlantic Bowl. 

The Gee-Gees had several big come-from-behind wins, including overcoming a 17-0 deficit against Guelph to win the division title.

Claudio Vallee was the team's kicker, providing key field goals in many of the team's close games. Paul Paddon was honoured with the Hec Crighton trophy as the Canadian University football MVP. In his acceptance speech, Paddon noted: "My only regret is that there isn't room for 31 names on this trophy because without all of them I wouldn't be accepting this award now."

In the Vanier Cup game Dan Slee, Peter Ribbins, Michel Leveille, and Dale Potter all saw action on offence and defence as the team battled injuries.

Photo Gallery 

1970 Game Results:

W 24-16 at Laurentian, Sept. 19 - TDs by Ted Evanetz (2), Barry St. George (INT return)

T 28-28 vs Waterloo Lutheran at Lansdowne, Sept. 26 - TDs by Peter Ribbins (2 passes from Paddon), Michel Leveille (2 passes from Paddon)

W 25-7 at York, Oct. 3 - TDs by Jacques Burelle (pass), Leveille (pass), Ed Cain (pass) 

W 29-20 vs Carleton at Lansdowne (Panda), Oct. 10 - TDs by Evanetz, Leveille (pass), Eli Monsour

W 35-7 vs Windsor at Carleton Stadium, Oct. 17 - TDs by Evanetz (2), Leveille (pass), Jacques Burelle

Oct. 24 - bye week

W 29-24 vs Guelph at Lansdowne, Oct. 31 - TDs by Monsour, Leveille, Ribbins (2 passes) 

W 32-15 vs Bishop's at Lansdowne, Nov. 7 - TDs by Ribbins (pass), Greg Moses (2 passes), Dan Slee 

W 24-11 vs UNB at St. Mary's, Nov. 14 (Halifax, Atlantic Bowl) - TDs by Leveille, Ribbins, Burelle

L 11-38 vs Manitoba at Varsity Stadium (Toronto, National Championship), Nov. 21 - TD by Leveille (85-yard pass) 

1970 OIFC All-Stars:

Paul Paddon (CCFC MVP), Peter Ribbins, Michel Leveille, Dan Slee, Jim Tanguay

Team Roster:

Ron Armstrong, Eli Monsour, Ed Cain, Jaques Burelle, Ted Evanetz, Roy Moore, Michel Leveille, Gilles Sabourin, Martin Sevigny, Don Manders, Jean Gauthier, Guy Boivin, Guy Fortier, John Silverman, Claudio Vallee, Vince Brooks, Dan Slee, Barry St. George, Wayne Terry, Rod Bujold, Denis Benoit, Dale Potter, Neil Wyatt (co-captain), Bill Bunting, Peter Ribbins, Bruce Wright, Peter De Montigny, Mike Copeland, Brian Carpenter, Jean Gouin, Greg Moses, Paul Paddon (co-captian). 

Coaches and staff:

Bob O'Billovich (head coach), Jim Cain (line coach), Jim Conroy (defensive coach), Paul Calve (manager), Gerry Bourgon (trainer), Jacques Pallascio (publicity), Don Manders (publicity)

RECAP: Atlantic Bowl Next: Gee-Gees whip Gaiters, 32-15, to win football title

University of Ottawa Gee-Gees have a date down east Saturday... a date which could lead to an engagement in Toronto a week later. But Bob O'Billovich, freshman mentor of the Gee-Gees, admits his charges must be "a lot sharper" if they want to go all the way.

Saturday at Lansdowne Park, the garnet and grey-clad Ottawans "bombed" Bishop's University Gaiters 32-15 to capture the Central Canada Intercollegiate Football Conference championship. It was Ottawa's sixth consecutive victory of the season after opening the campaign with a tie against Waterloo Lutheran and it came in typical fashion - a come-from-behind performance.

Despite the victory which sends the Gee-Gees to the Atlantic Bowl in Halifax for the second time - Matt Anthony's squad made it in 1960 - Oby was a bit concerned following the game.

"We were pretty flat," he observed. "Sure we scored enough points to win and our defence played brilliantly at times, but there were too many mistakes out there. Physical mistakes can be overlooked but mental ones are bad. I just hope they got it out of their system."

The Gee-Gees clash with University of New Brunswick in Halifax and both Bruce Coulter, whose team played an exhibition against UNB earlier in the year, and Oby point out it "won't be any picnic. It's a tough league."

New Brunswick took the Bluenose Football Conference crown Saturday by whipping University of Prince Edward Island 25-7. It was their sixth straight victory and a repeat conference triumph.

Coulter's Gaiters quickly established a strong running game with Larry Smith, Mike Bookalam and Ron Perowne devouring large tracks of real estate with a series of draws, sweeps and reverses.

Nine plays after the opening kickoff, quarterback Bill MacDonald, who was successful on 12 of 24 pass attempts for 94 yards, flipped s seven-yard toss to Smith in the end zone. Charlie MacLean converted and the tempo appeared set.

Then the Gee-Gees got their hands on the ball.

Dan Slee, filling in offensively for injured running back Ted Evanetz as well as taking his regular stint on defence, fired a 32-yard halfback option pass to Jacques Burelle. Pivot Paul Paddon's initial aerial was incomplete but his next pitch, a 34-yarder, was snared by Pete Ribbins in the end zone.

Claudio Valle's convert attempt was blocked so the Ottawans still trailed but the gap had been narrowed. 

Late in the first quarter Greg Moses, who played a sparkling game at tight end, plucking off two passes for 76 yards, scored his first of two touchdowns on a 53-yard toss from Paddon. Ron Armstrong hit Slee with a two-point conversion pass and Ottawa never looked back.

Valle, who converted two of the Ottawa majors added single on a wide field goal attempt for the only second quarter scoring and Ottawa left the field at the half with a 15-7 edge.

Paddon, who clicked on nine of 16 tosses for 209 yards, threw a 23-yard strike to Moses early in the third quarter then displayed his punting prowess with a 63-yard single. Slee notched the other Gee-Gees major with a five-yard burst off tackle early in the final quarter.

MacDonald notched Bishop's other TD, slipping over on a two-yard keeper capping a seven-play march from midfield midway through the third stanza. His two-point conversion pass to Perowne concluded their scoring.

The Ottawa defensive unit with Neil Wyatt, Mike Copeland, Wayne Terry, Gilles Sabourin, Barry St. George, Bill Bunting, Dale Potter, Martin Sevigny, Jim Tanguay, Vince Brooks and Armstrong each exhibiting spotlight-grabbing moves, did much to throttle the Bishop's air attack although frequent blitzing enabled the visiting runners to move freely. Their efforts resulted in a safety when MacDonald was smothered in the end-zone attempting to pass.

Injuries played a key role in the Bishop's defeat. Smith, who amassed 59-yards in nine carries, suddenly pulled a hamstring early in the second quarter and was done for the day. Defensive end Rick Southam, a doubtful starter due to an arm injury, twice was helped from the field after bruising tackles and finally left the game in the third period.

"We took a bit of a physical beating," Coulter admitted, "but some of the boys weren't up to snuff before the game started."

Then, as a note of warning to the victors, he added: "Ottawa will have to play a lot better in Halifax if they expect to beat UNB." To which Oby and assistants Jim Cain and Jim Conroy could only mutter a fervent "Amen."

Note: This article originally appeared in The Ottawa Citizen on Monday, November 9 1970. It was written by Bob Ferguson.

RECAP: Typical Triumph: Gee-Gees make College Bowl

HALIFAX - University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, a team described by head-coach Bob O'Billovich as being "short in depth but long in talent," remains the sole undefeated team in Canadian college football following Saturday's 24-11 triumph over University of New Brunswick Red Bombers in the Atlantic Bowl.

The Gee-Gees, who entered the game as five-point underdogs, hiked their season's slate to 7-0-1 on the rain-swept St. Mary's Stadium field to earn a berth in next Saturday's College Bowl championship for the Vanier Cup at Toronto's Varsity Stadium against the defending champion University of Manitoba.

The victory came in the best of garnet and grey tradition - a come-from-behind affair engineered by coaches O'Billovich, Jim Conroy and Jim Cain and executed with precision by pivot Paul Paddon, Michel Leveille, Pete Ribbins, Jacques Burelle and Claudio Valle.

"It was a solid team effort" acknowledged defeated coach Dan Underwood most graciously as he swallowed defeat's bitter pill for a second straight year. "Ottawa played a strong game in every department. Their defence was extremely tough, Paddon hit his receivers with key pitches and their choice of plays kept us completely off balance. They're most deserving champions."

Typical of Ottawa's pattern of play in all but one outing this season, the Gee-Gees fell behind in the first quarter. John Mitchell booted a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the first quarter, after failing on an earlier attempt from the 27. 

This was all the incentive Ottawa needed.

With fullback Eli Monsour, the day's top ground gainer with 74 hard-earned yards on 14 carries, setting the pace, Gee-Gees advanced to their 50 before Paddon was forced to punt. New Brunswick put the ball in play on their own 20 and on the first play the onrushing Ottawa defence jarred Bob Kay loose from the football with an alert Wayne Terry recovering on the UNB 25.

The Ottawa offensive front wall, small by some standards, proved very effective in containing the New Brunswick blitz and Paddon fired a pay-dirt pass to Leveille whose speed had put him 10-yards behind the defenders. Valle converted and the path to victory had been paved.

Dan Slee, Ottawa's all-star defensive back, who was pressed into two-way service as a replacement for Ted Evanetz who sustained a torn achilles tendon in the Guelph division title tussle, was himself lost to the garnet and grey cause when he twisted an ankle in the second quarter. The injury isn't serious and he's expected to be ready for next week's Canadian final.

Young Eddie Cain, the St. Joseph's High School grad and only science student on the Ottawa roster, replaced Slee and turned in a fine effort going both ways.

With less than a minute remaining in the half Paddon flipped a screen pass to Ribbins and the big end, a promising pro prospect, demponstrated his powerful running talents by breaking two UNB tackles and romping 30 yards for the major. Again Valle converted.

A booming 65-yard punt by Don Kay gave the Red Bombers their fourth point in the third quarter but Valle replied with a 12-yard three-pointer to increase the Ottawa edge.

Quarterback Peter Merrill, a 6'1" Lachine, Que., product was forced into playing catch-up football and filled the air with passes, many of which were either batted down or plucked off by the alert Gee-Gees defence. Merrill attempted 39 passes, completed 13 and had two intercepted for 159 yards. Joel Irving, working on the halfback option, clicked on both passes he attempted for an additional 50 yards while Pete Hardings's lone attempt was snared by Martin Sevigny and let to Valle's field goal.

Briefly in the final stanza the Red Bombers appeared on the verge of putting thier offence together as Merrill guided his charges on a 10-play 81-yard touchdown drived capped by a bullet-like 28-yard toss to fleet-footed Rick Kaupp who led all receivers with 109 yards on five catches. Mitchell converted and UNB fan hope rose appreciably.

The hope, however, soon died as Paddon hit Burelle, the diminuitive speedster with the vaumn-cleaner hands, on the Red Bombers 40 and the fleet flanker raced in for the socre. Valle's conversion ended the scoring.

Gee-Gees displayed a balanced offence with 131 yards on the ground and a like total through the air. New Brunswick netted 303 yards, 209 through the air, 94 on the ground.

Paddon connected on 11 of 21 passes and had one intercepted.

Augmented by the amusing, if somewhat discordant, Pete Graham's University of Ottawa All-Studs band, the 200 or so students from the Ottawa campus gave lively support to their favourites.

Pierre Benoit, wearing a variety of hats - as a city controller, president of the Gee-Gees booster club, a member of the 1960 unsuccessful U of O Atlantic Bowl entry and an alumnus, summed up the sentiments on the uneventful return flight yesterday by saying:

"We're bloody proud of you all. You're number one. We've always thought so. Now you have one game left to prove it to the rest of the country. Good luck."

Note: this article originally appeared in The Ottawa Citizen on Monday, November 16, 1970. It was written by Bob Ferguson.