Sam Cvijanovich

Sam Cvijanovich is a former linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen during the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship. He has been named “the hardest hitter I’ve ever coached” by head coach Bob Shoup. Nicknamed "Jawbone", Cvijanovich was six foot and 205 lbs. He was later named NAIA District III Player of the Year in both his junior and senior years at Cal Lutheran.[2] He was later drafted to the Canadian Football League after his collegiate career and was selected as the CFL Rookie of the Year in 1974 as a middle linebacker with the Toronto Argonauts. He set a record for interceptions by a linebacker as a rookie and played three seasons for Toronto before being traded to Vancouver. He ended his 1977 season and retired due to foot injuries.[3]

Samuel Joseph Cvijanovich
No. 51
Born:May 26, 1950
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)Linebacker
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
CollegeCal Lutheran
Career history
As player
1974–1976Toronto Argonauts
1977Ottawa Rough Riders
1977BC Lions
Awards
Honors
  • Cal Lutheran Athletic Hall of Fame

Early life

Sam Cvijanovich is a graduate of Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, California. While at Santa Clara he played football, basketball, and baseball under his father Lou Cvijanovich, who coached varsity teams in all three sports.[4]

College career

Cvijanovich played college football at California Lutheran College (1970–1972), where he was a second-team all-star in 1970. He was inducted into the Cal Lutheran Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.[5]

Professional career

Cvijanovich played three years with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL (1974–1976), playing 43 games and wearing number 33. In 1974, he won the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award[6] on the strength of his 7 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. He later played for the Ottawa Rough Riders, and seven games for the BC Lions, in 1977.

Personal life

In 1980, Sam Cvijanovich purchased a biker bar in Oxnard with his brother Steve Cvijanovich and reopened it as a sports bar called Sam's Saloon.[4]

References
  1. "When They Were Kings : Cal Lutheran Threw a Little Magic into Its Ethnic Mix to Win National Title in 1971". Los Angeles Times. 18 October 1996.
  2. "That Championship Season : In 1971, Cal Lutheran Outraced Tensions to NAIA Title". Los Angeles Times. 21 November 1985.
  3. "WHERE ARE THEY NOW? SAM AND STEVE CVIJANOVICH : TOAST OF THE TOWN : Former Santa Clara Athletes Score Points as Saloon Owners". Los Angeles Times. 18 August 1990.
  4. Henson, Steve (August 18, 1990). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW? SAM AND STEVE CVIJANOVICH : TOAST OF THE TOWN : Former Santa Clara Athletes Score Points as Saloon Owners". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  5. "Sam Cvijanovich '72". Cal Lutheran Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame. California Lutheran University. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01.
  6. "CFL Outstanding Rookie". Player Awards. CFL.ca.
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