GUELPH – Guelph Gryphon football players are well-schooled in their program's past. And no evening on the calendar embodies that deep connection more than the Gryphon Football Gala. The eighth edition of the annual spring event, held Saturday, May 5 at Creelman Hall, was one to remember. Distinguished alumni from the distant and recent past were recognized, including a couple notable players from the 1970s and a quintet of Gryphons from last year's Grey Cup-winning Toronto Argonauts. The program also welcomed in its new interim head coach and by the end of the evening, a gala record of over $35,000 was raised to assist in program funding for present and future players.
 
"It was an awesome night," said newly-appointed head coach Todd Galloway, who addressed all of the guests in attendance, including Mayor Cam Guthrie and University of Guelph President Dr. Franco Vaccarino. "There was so much positivity in the room. It was fun to be a part of.
 
"Our alumni are so important to us. It was great to see so many generations of them present."

 
One of the highlights of the evening was the recognition of two well-known Gryphon Football players from the past. Donald Ziraldo, a former Gryphon quarterback, the co-founder of Inniskillin Winery, and a Member of the Order of Canada, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Kicker and wide receiver Gerry Organ, a member of the U of G Athletics Hall of Fame and the Ottawa Rough Riders franchise record holder for most career points (1,462), was the Honorary Jersey recipient this year.
 
Organ, who played with Ziraldo during their tenure in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was humbled to be honoured. Emeritus coach Stu Lang told Organ that the honour was long overdue. It was even more special that Organ's wife Lore introduced him Saturday night.
 
"Those four years there were life changers for both Lore and I," said Organ, who is now a minister. "They were amazing. We went from where we were to what we became because of four years of exposure to sports, and each other."
 
Before the event, Organ took a tour of the university with the group and memories flooded back to him. He met Lore on campus and eventually proposed to her on the hill behind the Alumni Stadium field. Lore showed clips of Organ during his days as a Gryphon, when he was just a young varsity player with no idea what the future held for him. After finishing at Guelph, he tried out for the Rough Riders expecting to be back to Lore in two weeks.
 
"I got yanked out of a normal life when I made the Ottawa Rough Riders," Organ said about his post-Guelph life, which included two Grey Cup victories. "That wasn't expected. All of a sudden, for 12 years you're wrapped up in a professional career and it doesn't give you the same opportunity to go to all of the events at your alma mater. It was a separation of sorts but we tried to stay connected."

 
Ziraldo talked about how his time as a Gryphon football player helped lay the foundation for his successful career as an entrepreneur. His duties as a varsity quarterback included detailed preparations but he was also forced to adapt quickly on the field, both of which are traits he's had to draw on as a famous winemaker.
 
While Organ and Ziraldo represented a past generation of Gryphons, five recent players – Alex Charette, Jeff Finley, Curtis Newton, Jake Reinhart, and Cam Walker – were able to spend a couple meaningful days in Guelph in their role as Grey Cup champions. The five former players were all members of the 2017 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, who defeated the Calgary Stampeders 27-24 last November. And they were centre stage again Saturday night.
 
"The Gryphon Argos is what we're calling them" said Galloway, who accompanied his former players on school visits with the Grey Cup leading up to the gala. "Seeing them get their moment was special. They talked about their Grey Cup experience and how their time at Guelph helped prepare them for it.
 
"Five guys all on one team from one U SPORTS school that won a Grey Cup – I don't know if that will happen again," said Galloway.

 
By night's end, the guests and sponsors, including gold level donors DVSport Software and Frontier Landscaping, were part of a night that will have a lasting impact on Gryphon Football.
 
Randy Dimitroff played a critical role in launching the event eight years ago. A member of the 1984 Vanier Cup champion Gryphons, Dimitroff has been impressed with the evolution of the gala.
 
"Each year, we just get better and better," he said. "This year, moving it back to the university at Creelman Hall was the best thing we ever did. The guests loved it.
 
"The connections are what's important. And we are fortunate to have great alumni and community support."
 

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* Note: The Toronto Argonauts will host a CFL preseason game versus the Ottawa RedBLACKS at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium on Thursday, June 7. Tickets for the game are available now (both online, as well as in person at the Client Services desk in the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre). The exhibition game will feature a total of five former Gryphon football players (Jake Reinhart, Jeff Finley, Cam Walker, Alex Charette & Andrew Pickett).