Paul McCallum Retires as a Lion

The BC Lions Football Club is pleased to announce that kicker Paul McCallum will sign a one-day contract with the team in order to retire as a BC Lion.

McCallum, who dressed for 152 regular season games for the Lions over 11 seasons (’93 -‘94, ‘06-‘14) as well as 11 playoff games and two Grey Cups, enjoyed a historic and Hall of Fame-worthy 23-year, 339-game career both as a Lion and Saskatchewan Roughrider.

“Paul’s consistency and longevity make him one of the greatest kickers to have ever played in our league,” said GM and head coach Wally Buono. “He began his career in the shadow of Lui Passaglia and he finished his playing days as just one of two players in professional football to have ever recorded more than 3,000 points. I look forward to the day when I can be one of many to welcome him to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.”

After a handful of games with the club in the early 90’s following his junior days with the Surrey Rams, Paul returned to British Columbia as a free agent in 2006 following an 11-year run with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Enjoying a standout season that year nailing 84% of his field goals, Paul’s postseason heroics provided Lions fans with one of his most memorable games as he nailed all six field goal attempts tying a CFL record and accounted for 19 of the team’s 25 points on the way to the 2006 Grey Cup title.

“I am very proud of my CFL career and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending,” said McCallum. “I enjoyed some memorable years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the people of Regina will forever have a special place in my heart. Given my time there, it was not an easy choice to retire as a Lion, but growing up not far from the practice facility and having an opportunity to win two Grey Cups with my hometown team makes this the right decision for me and I couldn’t be happier.”

Seeming to only get better with age, McCallum did not miss a single playoff field goal attempt as a Lion; a 36-attempt run over nine seasons and 11 games from 2006 to 2014. He also collected his first two CFL-All Star selections in 2010 and 2011, 17 years after his first game as a pro. Perhaps most impressive was his 94% success rate on field goals in the 2011 Grey Cup year which featured a string of 30-straight successful attempts.

After concluding his 23-year CFL career with Saskatchewan last year, Paul walks away with the fourth-most regular season appearances in league history with 339 (Passaglia 408), the second-highest career point total 3,131 (Passaglia 3,991) and the second-most field goals 718 (Passaglia 875).

Paul’s amazing career will be acknowledged by the Lions at the team’s first regular season home game on Saturday, June 25 versus the Calgary Stampeders.