Larry Highbaugh could do it all.
A college track-and-field athlete who excelled in sprints, he played defensive back, wide receiver and returned kicks for Edmonton while also selling Eskimos souvenirs on Game Day.
Eskimos Equipment Manager Dwayne Mandrusiak compared Highbaugh to former NFL defensive back Deion Sanders and the Esks’ exciting former star kick-returner Henry (Gizmo) Williams in an article in The Globe and Mail after Highbaugh passed away in March 2017.
“He was flamboyant and he was so athletically gifted,” Mandrusiak said.
A three-time CFL All-Star (1973, ’74 and ’77), Highbaugh is one of only six players in league history to play in nine Grey Cups (he won six championships, including all five in the Eskimos’ historic title run from 1978-82).
He began his 13-year CFL career with the BC Lions in 1971, playing 22 games before getting released late in the ’72 season. The Eskimos quickly scooped him up and Highbaugh rewarded them with four interceptions in his first three games.
Highbaugh owned the league record of 66 career interceptions when he retired after the 1983 season, but often complained that he was overlooked as a CFL All-Star because teams avoided throwing the ball to his corner of the field.
He owns the Eskimos’ records for longest punt return (116 yards in 1975) and the two longest kickoff returns (118 yards in ’76 plus 109 yards in ‘75) – all three against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers – and ranks third in team history with 2,190 punt-return yards. He is second only to Henry (Gizmo) Williams with 4,189 kickoff-return yards despite also being a full-time cornerback and part-time receiver. His three kickoff-return touchdowns is also a club record.
A born entertainer, Highbaugh used to be a one-man volleyball team, playing against all-girl high school teams (no spiking allowed) during the off-seasons. He also played with the Eskimos basketball team and ran a sporting goods store in Sherwood Park before moving to Snellville, Ga., where he coached, served as a referee and taught autistic students for more than 20 years.
Highbaugh, who played 174 games with the Eskimos, was added to the Eskimos Wall of Honour in 1996 and inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2004.