Rick Klassen Rick Klassen is a former defensive lineman who played 10 years in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions from 1981 – 1987 , 1989 – 1990 and Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1988 . In 2003 , Klassen was voted a member of the B . C . Lions All - Time Dream Team , at defensive tackle , as part of the team ' s 50th season anniversary celebration . On July 19 , 2007 , he was inducted onto B . C . Lions Wall of Fame at BC Place Stadium as a part of the 1985 Grey Cup championship team . College career . Klassen was recruited by Simon Fraser University as a running back from Sardis High School and played his four years of college football with the Clan . Klassen chose to play his football at SFU because , during the 1970s and 1980s , it was considered the best football school in Canada . It has produced over 160 football players that have gone on to play pro football . In his freshman year , Klassen served as the Clan ' s backup running back , behind all - star Rick House but , during off - season training between his freshman and sophomore year , he went from 195 to 225 pounds and was immediately switched to the Clan ' s offensive line . He spent the rest of his three years at SFU at offensive guard . Early CFL career . Klassen was drafted in 1981 as an offensive guard by the British Columbia Lions as a territorial draft pick . Eight games into the 1981 CFL season , head coach Vic Rapp saw Klassen ' s potential on the defensive side of the ball and he switched him to defensive tackle after defensive lineman Rick Goltz suffered a season - ending injury . In the 1981 Western Semi - Final , his first ever CFL playoff game , Klassen picked up three sacks against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and helped the Lions win 15 - 11 in an upset at Winnipeg Stadium . The next week in Edmonton , Klassen played in his first ever Western Final . B . C . almost pulled off the unbelievable but fell short against the Edmonton Eskimos dynasty , as Warren Moon hit Brian Kelly for a late touchdown to beat the Lions , 22 - 16 . Klassen played at the defensive tackle position until the 1983 season , when newly hired head coach Don Matthews put him at rush end in his 3 - 4 defense . In 1984 , however , when Matthews , former Edmonton defensive co - ordinator , traded for James " Quick " Parker from the Eskimos , Klassen again switched positions . He was put back inside at defensive tackle , where he stayed for the rest of his CFL career . In June 1983 he retired from football due to a contract dispute , but returned nine - days later . Career highlights . Klassen played in two Grey Cup games during the B . C . Lions ' glory years during the mid - 1980s , where he played the two best games of his CFL career . His first Grey Cup experience came in 1983 when the Lions hosted the championship game during the first year of BC Place ' s existence . That year , the Lions hosted the Western Final for the first time since their 1964 Grey Cup championship and beat Winnipeg , 39 - 21 . In the 71st Grey Cup , the Lions built up a 17 - 7 half - time lead but , unfortunately , weren ' t able to maintain the lead , eventually losing to the Toronto Argonauts 18 - 17 in front of 59 , 345 fans at BC Place . Klassen was a force at defensive end during the 1983 Grey Cup , earning 2 . 5 sacks and the Grey Cup ' s Most Valuable Canadian . Two years later , Klassen was given another shot at winning the Grey Cup . B . C . got back to the Grey Cup in 1985 in what might be considered the greatest Lions team in club history . The team breezed through the 1985 CFL season , finishing with a club - record 13 - 3 mark to finish first place in the West Division and host their third consecutive Western Final . The Leos dominated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at BC Place , winning it 42 - 22 . In the 73rd Grey Cup , B . C . continued its dominance against the Hamilton Tiger - Cats " en route " to a 37 - 24 victory at Olympic Stadium in Montreal , ending a 21 - year drought . Klassen again played an outstanding game at defensive tackle , pressuring and sacking Hamilton quarterback Ken Hobart twice during the game to earn what would be his only Grey Cup championship . But his heroic effort at Olympic Stadium was overshadowed by the play of James " Quick " Parker , who was named the Grey Cup ' s Most Valuable Player on Defence . Klassen finished his CFL career second all - time in Grey Cup sacks with 4 . 5 , only behind Tyrone Jones . The next two years , the B . C . Lions were close again but weren ' t able to get past the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1986 and 1987 Western Finals , losing 41 - 5 at Commonwealth Stadium in 1986 and 31 - 7 at BC Place in 1987 . In the years following their 1985 Grey Cup victory , the Lions faced some hard times off the field and Klassen soon found himself in Saskatchewan . General Manager Bob Ackles left the Lions in 1986 for a job with the National Football League ' s Dallas Cowboys and the team proceeded to hire Joe Galat as its new General Manager . After a 3 - game losing streak mid - way through the 1987 CFL season , Don Matthews was fired as the Lions head coach by Galat and replaced by Larry Donovan . In 1988 , after spending the first seven seasons of his career with B . C . , Klassen was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the off - season after Galat was hired . Klassen spent one season in Regina , where he helped bring Saskatchewan out of its dark years and led the Roughriders to an 11 - 7 record and their first home playoff game since 1976 . Saskatchewan was beaten by Klassen ' s old team , the B . C . Lions , 42 - 18 in the Western Semi - Final and the Roughriders had yet to host a home playoff before hosting Calgary in the Western Semifinal during the 2007 CFL season . Klassen returned to his home in B . C . for his final two season with the Lions . He announced his retirement after the 1990 CFL season .