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B.C. Lions Will Continue Looking For Sale After David Braley's Death

Braley (l) was inducted into the Canadian Football HOF in '12 and received the Order of Canada last yearGETTY IMAGES

CFL B.C. Lions Owner David Braley died yesterday at the age of 79, and a key member of the organization said that the team "will continue to work with Braley’s estate" on a sale of the franchise, according to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver PROVINCE. Lions President Rick LeLacheur indicated that Braley in recent year "had talked about selling" the team. LeLacheur: "David had spent a lot of time making sure we knew what his desires were." Ewen notes Braley will "always be looked upon as a champion for the Lions and the CFL." He owned the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from '89-92 before he "took over a cash-strapped" Lions team in late '96. Braley also owned the Toronto Argonauts from '10-14, and "somehow managed to make having two teams in one league, at one time, make sense for that period." LeLacheur said of Braley, "When I think over the history of the CFL, he's right up there at the top" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 10/27). Braley was inducted into the Canadian Football HOF in '12 and the athletic center at McMaster Univ. in Hamilton bears his name. He also received the Order of Canada last year "for his contributions to the CFL, and for his entrepreneurial and philanthropic leadership in his community" (CP, 10/26).

KEY FIGURE IN LEAGUE'S HISTORY: Former Saskatchewan Roughriders President & CEO Jim Hopson said, "David did as much as anyone to ensure the survival and growth of the CFL." In Regina, Rob Vanstone writes one can "only imagine how many tens (hundreds?) of millions of dollars he sacrificed to allow the Tiger-Cats, Lions and Argonauts to remain in business" (REGINA LEADER-POST, 10/27). In Toronto, Steve Simmons writes, "No one ever owned more parts or put more of his own money into the CFL than the self-made Braley, while inadvertently and sometimes single-mindedly preventing the league from flourishing." He was "one of the most important figures in Canadian football and maybe the Canadian sport the past half century, and certainly one of the most polarizing. The CFL "couldn't have made it through all these years and all these tumultuous situations without him." Former Argonauts VP David Bedford: "Without him, there isn't a league. This is a sad day for anyone who cares about Canadian football." Former CFL Commissioner Tom Wright: "David left an indelible mark on the league" (TORONTO SUN, 10/27).

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