The Toronto Argonauts and General Manager and CFL Hall of Famer Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemens agreed to a contract extension on Wednesday.
The 58-year-old from Dunedin, Florida, was named the 20th General Manager in Argonauts history on October 8, 2019. Since his hiring, he has guided the Argonauts to a 33-15 record winning three consecutive East Division titles for the first time since 1984 and winning the Grey Cup in 2022. This year, the Argonauts are off to their best start in franchise history with an 11-1 record.
“What can I say about Pinball Clemons that hasn’t already been said,” said Argos President Bill Manning. “He has known tremendous success with the Argos, first as one of the greatest CFL players of all-time, then as a Grey Cup winning coach, and now a Grey Cup winning general manager.”
Before Clemens became the General Manager in 2019, Toronto won eight games in two seasons. In his first season, the Argonauts won 14 games in 2021 and 11 games in 2022 on their way to defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 109th Grey Cup in Regina.
“When Pinball took over as general manager in late 2019, he talked about building bridges and he has done just that, creating unity throughout the organization that is the foundation of our success, said Argos President Bill Manning. “Pinball is also a great human and someone who I am blessed to work with and hold in the highest regard. This extension is well deserved, and our future is very bright with Pinball leading the way.”
As a player, Clemens played twelve seasons with the Argonauts from 1989 to 2000 after spending one season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1987. He had 1,107 carries for 5,341 yards, 31 touchdowns, 682 catches for 7,015 yards, 46 touchdowns, 300 kick returns for 6,349 yards, 610 punt returns for 6,025 yards, eight touchdowns, 32 missed field goal returns for 708 yards, one punt for 28 yards, and completed 5 of 9 passes (55.6%) for 85 yards in 185 career games.
He won three Grey Cups, two-time CFL All-Star, three-time CFL East All-Star, Jeff Russel Trophy winner (1990), CFL Most Outstanding Player of the Year (1993), and the Tom Pate Memorial Award (1996). His number 31 was retired by the Argonauts.
After his playing career ended, Clemens became the President and Head Coach of the Argonauts in 2001. He served the position for two seasons before becoming the General Manager while still coaching the team in 2003. In 2004, Clemens made history when he became the first African-American coach to win the Grey Cup in 2004 over the B.C. Lions 27-19 in Ottawa.
Clemens coached the team for eight seasons with a 68-55-1 record and a 6-5 playoff record. After coaching, Clemens became the Chief executive officer in 2008 and later Vice chairman from 2009 to 2019. As a Vice chairman, the Argonauts won two more Grey Cup championships in 2012 and 2017.
The Argonauts (11-1) host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-7) this Saturday at 7 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
