Triumphant return for Stinger

Concordia football coach Gerry McGrath attended what was the biggest football game in Calgary punter Burke Dales’ professional career on Sunday at Olympic Stadium and Dales would have it no other way. Dales started his football career as a receiver before moving to the defensive side of the ball where he played defensive end, linebacker, safety and defensive half back.

Concordia football coach Gerry McGrath attended what was the biggest football game in Calgary punter Burke Dales’ professional career on Sunday at Olympic Stadium and Dales would have it no other way.
Dales started his football career as a receiver before moving to the defensive side of the ball where he played defensive end, linebacker, safety and defensive half back. However, during his career at Concordia he blew out his shoulder and was forced to punt.
That’s when McGrath, who was a kicker in the CFL from 1980 to 1986 with the Montreal Alouettes and Concordes, Toronto, Ottawa and Saskatchewan, taught Dales how to kick and become the team’s kicker and punter.
“I have a lot of respect for Gerry McGrath,” Dales said. “I was a bit antsy to be just the kicker and punter, but it all worked out in the end and I tip my cap to him because he has made me who I am today.”
Dales was a Quebec All-Star in his final three years with Concordia in 1999, 2000 and 2001. In his last year, he was also named as a CIS All-Canadian punter.
The next year, he went to Pittsburgh Steelers training camp to try and crack the NFL. He was one of the final cuts that year, and he says that although he didn’t make the team he learned a lot.
“It was a real eye-opener for me. At the time the Buffalo Bills and the Steelers were the two teams I cheered for growing up,” he said. “The next thing I know, I was in a meeting with [quarterback] Kordell Stewart, and [running back] Jerome Bettis and [former Steeler head coach] Bill Cowher was talking about how we were going to beat New England the first week of the season.”
“It was like a dream,” he said. “It was a great experience and a real springboard for my career.”
Dales and his teammates defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the 96th Grey Cup 22-14, and Dales admitted to having a vision in week three back in July when the Stampeders were in town to play the Alouettes.
“When we were in Montreal, there was one day when we practiced at the Olympic Stadium,” Dales recalls. “And I had a gut feeling. I don’t know if it was instinct, but I had a feeling then that we would be in the Grey Cup against Montreal.”
Dales’ road to the Stampeders was one with a couple of roadblocks. The Collingwood, ON native went to Alouettes training camp in 2003 and got cut after they brought in Matt Kellett who was both a kicker and a punter to replace the retired Terry Baker.
After that, he decided to move to Calgary and start a business in website development. But he wasn’t able to stay away from football.
“I still had the itch to play, and there was an opportunity in Calgary. They were looking for a punter so I tried out with seven other guys,” he said. “They signed me the following week and the rest is history. I really owe a lot to the organization because they gave me my start, allowed me to develop into a punter and were willing to put up with my growing pains and now I’m here in the Grey Cup.”
Dales comes from an athletic family. His sister Stacey played five years in the WNBA and now works as a sideline analyst for ESPN. His cousin is Jason Arnott who plays for the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
The 31-year-old is known affectionately by his teammates as “Sausage Fingers” among other nicknames. “He has the most nicknames out of anyone I’ve ever seen,” says teammate Wes Lysack.
Dales says the chance to play for and win the Grey Cup in Montreal is incredible.
“It’s absolutely more special,” he said. “I love this city. It’s my favourite city on Earth. I’ve been to a lot of cities, I’ve lived in a lot of cities, but every time I get to Montreal I get goosebumps and the hair stands up on my arms. It is really wild to be back here and I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world.”

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