Rocky DiPietro was the first Hamilton Tiger-Cat player I remember rooting for. What I mean is that out of all the players that I have cheered hardest for, Rocky DiPietro was the first.
DiPietro spent his entire 13-year career with the Tiger-Cats, and he was one of the greatest players to ever don the Black & Gold jersey. He was a 2-time Most Outstanding Canadian (1982, 1989), a two-time CFL All Star and member of the 1986 Grey Cup Championship team. He was also inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1997. DiPietro's accomplishments speak for themselves.
Like most players who dominated for the Cats and became a beloved member of the team, DiPietro played with tenacity and heart, as well as having that same blue-collar work ethic that endears players to the Ivor Wynne faithful.
While I don't have any personal memories of Rocky DiPietro like I do of other players, he is one of the CFL's all-time greats and was the player I first identified with when I began watching Tiger-Cats football as a kid. For those reasons, Rocky DiPietro lands at #5 on my list.
PREVIOUS: Grover Covington (#6)
I knew Rocky back when I was in high school. My basketball coach was his best friend. he was as great of a guy off the field as he was a great player on the field
ReplyDeleteRocky is currently a teacher at my high school in Port Colborne, Ontario. On top of that, he, along with another Ti-Cats alumni Terry Lehne, are members of the coaching staff for my Senior Boys Football team. Since Rocky has been a member of the coaching staff, the boys have seen much success, winning countless Division Championships, equally countless Regional Championships (The most recent in 2010) as well as 2 Provincial Championships (2003, 2008). He is an incredible person and I look up to him and hold him in very high regard.
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