A Year in Review: Fantuz enshrined in Chatham Sports Hall of Fame

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Before he was one of the best Canadian receivers in CFL history and a Grey Cup champion, before he had a Hec Crighton Trophy and his own brand of breakfast cereal and enough awards to fill a trophy case, Andy Fantuz wanted to be a two-sport university athlete.

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Then the McGregor graduate enjoyed a debut season for the ages with the Western Mustangs football team.

He set a Canadian university single-season record in 2002 with 1,300 receiving yards and was chosen the national rookie of the year.

“When I was in high school, of course I loved all sports. I probably liked high school basketball more than football and still am more fond of my memories from the basketball days,” said Fantuz, 39, who won two OFSAA basketball titles, “but when I got to university I had that breakout season in my rookie year and shattered all the records. (Football) really became a focal point of my life at that point.”

The six-foot-four Fantuz actually worked out with the Mustangs basketball team for a few weeks as a rookie. He soon realized if he focused on football, he might have a future on the gridiron.

“It was probably at that point where I realized, ‘OK, there’s something here,’” he said. “I really started to take it seriously as far as my habits and my off-season training.”

His final Mustangs season in 2005 earned him the Hec Crighton Trophy as national player of the year. Next came a 12-year CFL career that included five trips to the Grey Cup with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

His football field-long list of accomplishments landed Fantuz in the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.

He now lives in Oakville with his wife, Amanda, and their two daughters: four-year-old Abigail and one-year-old Scarlett. He’s a director with AthletiX Training Systems and runs a Scholars Education tutoring franchise.

Fantuz was a guest coach at the Ticats’ training camp last season. He wanted to learn more about the players and the coaching schemes to help in his job as an analyst on the Ticats audio network. But he also wanted to see if he’d like coaching.

“My wife and I, we always thought that the hours for coaching with her job would be difficult for us, but it was undeniable that I really enjoyed myself and I was happy,” he said, adding, “we’d be willing to try it out for a season or so … if the situation was right.”

Fantuz gives credit to his many coaches from Chatham, but he may have learned the most from Western’s Larry Haylor. The late Mustangs coach encouraged players to dare to be great, to challenge themselves, to risk failure.

“He helped me so much both on and off the field,” Fantuz said. “Things he taught me in football and in life really are things I use every single day. They’re just ingrained in me.”

He added: “I can always remember just going into his office and, no matter what he was doing, he would take the time to sit down with me and just ask me about my life. Nothing to do with football. That type of leadership and mentorship really went a long way.”

The sure-handed Fantuz finished his four-year Mustangs career with Canadian all-time records for receptions (189), receiving yards (4,123) and touchdown catches (41).

The Roughriders chose him third overall in the 2006 CFL draft.

“Even though at Western I was a high recruit (and) in Saskatchewan I was a high draft pick, I still went in there in learning mode,” he said. “Learn from everybody around me. Learn from all the coaches. Just try hard, take everything in, do my best and stay humble. I think that mindset paid off.

“I believe I got that mindset from my coaches in Chatham and even guys like Glen Mills at the Essex Ravens. I think that’s what was instilled in me. I was always looking up to other people.”

Fantuz played six seasons in Saskatchewan from 2006 to 2011, advancing to the Grey Cup three times in 2007, ’09 and ’10.

He was chosen the most valuable Canadian when the Roughriders won in 2007. (He won the award again in 2014 with the Ticats.)

“That was really special for me so early in my career,” he said. “Little did I know I would return to the Grey Cup four more times just to lose every single time, three of those losses in heartbreak fashion. Certainly don’t take anything for granted.”

Fantuz was the CFL’s top Canadian in 2010 after making 87 catches for a career- and league-best 1,380 yards. That season earned him a shot with the Chicago Bears in the 2011 NFL pre-season.

He rejoined the Roughriders for the 2011 CFL season before playing his final six years with the Tiger-Cats from 2012 to 2017. He made two more trips to the Grey Cup with Hamilton, losing in 2013 and ’14.

“Those years we went to the Grey Cup were very special even though we didn’t win,” he said.

Playing for the Ticats was also special because he was so much closer to home. Friends and relatives would leave Windsor in a party bus, pick up more folks in Chatham and London, and then tailgate in Hamilton.

“A family reunion every other weekend,” Fantuz said.

He retired in 2018 with career totals of 637 catches for 8,363 yards and 44 touchdowns in 148 regular-season games. He still ranks in the top 20 all-time in catches and top 40 in receiving yards.

Along with his many records and awards, Fantuz also owns two unique collectibles: a bobblehead from his Mustangs home finale and Fantuz Flakes cereal. Sales of the latter raised $65,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan.

CFL analyst Dave Naylor has a box of Fantuz Flakes on prominent display in his home office when he’s on TSN.

“I always give Dave his props for that,” Fantuz said. “It’s really cool that he keeps them up there for people to see and remember.”