View source for Lui Passaglia

{{Short description|Canadian gridiron football player (born 1954)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL player
 |name=Lui Passaglia
 |full_name=
 |team=
 |image= [[image:Lui_Passaglia.png|200px]]
 |caption=Passaglia in 2001
 |import=no
 |position1=Placekicker
 |position2=Punter
 |position3=Wide receiver
 |birth_date={{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1954|6|7}}
 |birth_place=[[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]]
 |number=5
 |CIS=[[Simon Fraser University|Simon Fraser]]
 |high_school=[[Notre Dame Regional Secondary School|Notre Dame]]
 |Height_ft=
 |Height_in=
 |Weight_lbs=
 |CFLDraftedYear=1976
 |CFLDraftedRound=1
 |CFLDraftedPick=5
 |CFLDraftedTeam=[[BC Lions]]
 |other_title=Director of Community Relations
 |other_years1={{CFL Year|2001}}–{{CFL Year|2007}}
 |other_team1=[[BC Lions]]
 |playing_years1={{CFL Year|1976}}–{{CFL Year|2000}}
 |playing_team1=[[BC Lions]]
 |career_highlights=
* 3× [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[73rd Grey Cup|1985]], [[82nd Grey Cup|1994]], [[88th Grey Cup|2000]])
* 2× [[Dick Suderman Trophy]] ([[73rd Grey Cup|1985]], [[82nd Grey Cup|1994]])
* 4× [[Dave Dryburgh Memorial Trophy]] ({{CFL Year|1983}}, {{CFL Year|1984}}, {{CFL Year|1987}}, {{CFL Year|1998}})
 |CFLAllStar={{CFL Year|1979}}, {{CFL Year|1983}}, {{CFL Year|1984}}, {{CFL Year|2000}}
 |CFLWestAllStar={{CFL Year|1977}}, {{CFL Year|1979}}, {{CFL Year|1980}}, {{CFL Year|1983}}, {{CFL Year|1984}}, {{CFL Year|1992}}, {{CFL Year|1998}}, {{CFL Year|1999}}, {{CFL Year|2000}}
 |Awards=
 |Honours=
* [[BC Sports Hall of Fame]]
* [[BC Lions#BC Lions Wall of Fame|BC Lions Wall of Fame]]
 |Retired #s=[[BC Lions#Retired numbers|BC Lions #5]]
 |Records=
 |statlabel1=Games played
 |statvalue1=408
 |statlabel2=[[Field goal (football)|Field goal]]s made
 |statvalue2=875
 |statlabel3=Field goals attempted
 |statvalue3=1,203
 |statlabel4=Field goal %
 |statvalue4=72.7
 |statlabel5=Points scored
 |statvalue5=3,991
 |statlabel6=Longest field goal
 |statvalue6=54
 |CFHOF=lui-passaglia
 |CFHOFYear=2004
}}
'''Lui Passaglia''' (born June 7, 1954) is a Canadian former professional [[Canadian football|football]] player. He was the [[placekicker]]/[[Punter (football position)|punter]] for the [[BC Lions]] of the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL) for a record-breaking 25 years from 1976 to 2000, and scored more points in that time than any professional [[gridiron football]] player in history.  He is a member of [[Canada's Sports Hall of Fame]], the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]], the [[B.C. Sports Hall of Fame|British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame]], and the [[BC Lions#BC Lions Wall of Fame|BC Lions Wall of Fame]].  Passaglia's #5 jersey is one of nine [[BC Lions#Retired numbers|numbers retired by the Lions]].<ref name="BC Lions Retired Numbers (BC Lions)">{{cite web | url = http://www.bclions.com/index.php?module=page&id=3066 | access-date = 2006-08-20 | title = BC Lions Retired Numbers | publisher = BCLions.com}}</ref> In 2003, Passaglia was voted a member of the [[BC Lions#50th Anniversary Dream Team|BC Lions All-Time Dream Team]] as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration.<ref name="BC Lions Dream Team">{{cite web | url = http://www.bclions.com/index.php?module=page&id=3060 | access-date = 2006-09-10 | title = BC Lions Dream Team | publisher = BCLions.com}}</ref> In 2006, Passaglia was voted one of the CFL's [[TSN Top 50 CFL Players|Top 50 players]] (#30) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network [[The Sports Network|TSN]].<ref name="TSN Top 50 CFL Players">{{cite web | url = https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/feature/?fid=10865 | access-date = 2007-04-28 | title = TSN Top 50 CFL Players | publisher = TSN.ca | date = 2006-11-28}}</ref>

==Early life and amateur career==
After playing [[quarterback]] at [[Notre Dame Regional Secondary School]] in [[East Vancouver]], Passaglia, not straying far from home, accepted an athletic scholarship to local [[Simon Fraser University]] in suburban [[Burnaby]], British Columbia.<ref name="Canadian Football Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia">{{cite web | url = http://www.cfhof.ca/members/lui-passaglia/ | access-date = 2006-08-20 | title = Canadian Football Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia | publisher = Canadian Football Hall of Fame}}</ref> At Simon Fraser, Passaglia played [[wide receiver]] as well as [[placekicker|kicker]]/[[Punter (football position)|punter]].<ref name="B.C. Sports Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia">{{cite web | url = https://bcsportshall.com/honoured_member/lui-passaglia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927064610/http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?person_id=36&stype=searchname&keyword=passaglia&type=ind&sport_id=41&year_=2006&category_id=team | url-status = live | archive-date = 2007-09-27 | access-date = 2006-08-20 | title = B.C. Sports Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia | publisher = B.C. Sports Hall of Fame}} </ref>  As a member of the [[Simon Fraser Clan football|Clan]], Passaglia recorded 175 career points, won All [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] District 1 honours twice, and was named an All-Northwest All-Star.<ref name="B.C. Sports Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia" /> Passaglia was the fifth-overall selection of the [[BC Lions]] in the [[1976 CFL season]] [[Canadian College Draft]], as a kicker and wide receiver.<ref name="Lui Passaglia - Director of Community Relations (BC Lions)">{{cite web | url = http://www.bclions.com/index.php?module=staff&func=display&staff_id=23 | access-date = 2006-08-20 | title = Lui Passaglia - Director of Community Relations (BC Lions) | publisher = BCLions.com}}</ref>

==Professional career==
Passaglia caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in his first [[Canadian Football League|CFL]] game on July 22, of the [[1976 CFL season]] against the [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]].<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)">{{cite web | url = http://www.geocities.com/cfl_historical/Passaglia.Lui.htm | access-date = 2006-08-20 | title = CFL: A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions) | publisher = CFL: A Historical Look (Fan Site)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807012530/http://geocities.com/cfl_historical/Passaglia.Lui.htm|archive-date=2009-08-07}}</ref> His only other career touchdown came on a one-yard run in his final home game at [[BC Place Stadium]], on November 4, of the [[2000 CFL season|2000 season]], again against the Roughriders.<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" /> Between those two touchdown "bookends," Passaglia arguably became one of the most consistent performers in Lions', CFL, and professional football history.<ref name="B.C. Sports Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia" /><ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" />

[[Image:Lui Passaglia and Damon Allen with Grey Cup.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|Lui Passaglia and teammate [[Damon Allen]] with the [[Grey Cup]] in January 2001]]
Passaglia played the most CFL regular seasons at 25, the most CFL regular season games at 408, and scored the most points in regular season play with 3,991 points, all with one team:  the BC Lions.<ref name="Lui Passaglia - Director of Community Relations (BC Lions)" /> Passaglia was the first player to score 200 points in a season ([[1987 CFL season|1987]]), with 214 points.<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" />

Passaglia holds (or held) many CFL regular season records at the time of his retirement including total points scored (3,991), most converts at 1,045 (560 consecutive—he missed only three), most field goals at 875 (of 1,203 attempted), best single season field goal percentage at 90.9% (40 of 44 in [[2000 CFL season|2000]], his final year of play), and most single points at 309.<ref name="Canadian Football Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia" /> Passaglia is the second all-time CFL punt leader with 3,142 for 133,826 yards (behind [[Bob Cameron (Canadian football)|Bob Cameron]]), with the second highest average in a season ([[1983 CFL season]]) of 50.2 yards ([[Jon Ryan]] had a higher average in the [[2005 CFL season|2005 season]]).<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" /> The record he held for single-season field goal percentage has since been surpassed at least twice in the time since his retirement, with Paul McCallum originally breaking the record in 2011 and Rene Parades coming a close second in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-01-10 |title=Stampeders sign kicker Rene Paredes to contract extension |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/stampeders-sign-kicker-rene-paredes-to-contract-extension/article7170947/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref> In CFL playoff games, Passaglia holds records for most points with 210, is tied for most field goals with 48, and has the longest recorded punt of 89 yards.<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" />

As a Lion, Passaglia was named a [[Canadian Football League West Division|CFL Western Division]] All-Star nine times, and was a CFL All-Star four times ([[1979 CFL season#1979 CFL All-Stars|1979]], [[1983 CFL season#1983 CFL All-Stars|1983]], [[1984 CFL season#1984 CFL All-Stars|1984]], and [[2000 CFL season#2000 CFL All-Stars|2000 seasons]]).<ref name="Canadian Football Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia" /> Passaglia was a member of three of the Lions' [[Grey Cup]] seasons ([[1985 CFL season|1985]], [[1994 CFL season|1994]], and [[2000 CFL season|2000 seasons]]), winning the [[Dick Suderman Trophy]] as the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian twice ([[73rd Grey Cup]] and [[82nd Grey Cup]]).<ref name="Canadian Football Hall of Fame - Lui Passaglia" />  Passaglia is the longest-playing Lion in team history, appearing in a total of 408 games, overtaking Leos' great [[Al Wilson (offensive lineman)|Al Wilson]]'s previous mark of 233 games.<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" />

Passaglia retired from the CFL following the Lions' 28–26 [[88th Grey Cup]] victory over the [[Montreal Alouettes]] in the [[2000 CFL season|2000 season]], where he kicked the winning points in the game.<ref name="CFL:  A Historical Look - Lui Passaglia (BC Lions)" /> In the [[2003 CFL season|2003 season]], Passaglia was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team, at the [[placekicker|kicker]] and [[Punter (football position)|punter positions]], as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration.<ref name="BC Lions Dream Team" /> In November 2006, Passaglia was voted #30 of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network [[The Sports Network|TSN]].<ref name="TSN Top 50 CFL Players" />

Passaglia's last-second field goal in 1994's [[82nd Grey Cup]] game at BC Place, which clinched the championship for the Lions over the [[Baltimore Football Club]], was named the greatest play in BC Lions history in 2007.<ref name="Greatest play">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bclions.com/index.php?module=newser&func=display&nid=18192|title=Greatest play in BC Lions history - Number 1|access-date=2007-07-20|publisher=bclions.com|date=2007-07-19}}</ref>

By the time of his retirement, Passaglia had been a member of the Lions for over half of its then-47-season history. Consistently a fan favorite, home crowds consistently chanted his given name in a long drawn-out manner (such that it sounded like an extended ''"Loo..."'') whenever he came on the field, particularly when attempting crucial field goals.

===CFL statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Season !! FGM !! FGA !! FG % !! Long
|-
| 1976 || 28 || 49 || 57.1% || 50
|-
| 1977 || 40 || 53 || 75.5% || 48
|-
| 1978 || 37 || 44 || 84.1% || 50
|-
| 1979 || 32 || 45 || 71.1% || 50
|-
| 1980 || 31 || 46 || 67.4% || 54
|-
| 1981 || 27 || 40 || 67.5% || 45
|-
| 1982 || 26 || 35 || 74.3% || 48
|-
| 1983 || 43 || 59 || 72.9% || 52
|-
| 1984 || 35 || 48 || 72.9% || 54
|-
| 1985 || 37 || 55 || 67.3% || 54
|-
| 1986 || 39 || 56 || 69.6% || 49
|-
| 1987 || 52 || 66 || 78.8% || 49
|-
| 1988 || 13 || 20 || 65.0% || 46
|-
| 1989 || 37 || 51 || 72.5% || 53
|-
| 1990 || 25 || 39 || 64.1% || 50
|-
| 1991 || 44 || 59 || 74.6% || 54
|-
| 1992 || 28 || 38 || 73.7% || 49
|-
| 1993 || 25 || 47 || 74.5% || 52
|-
| 1994 || 28 || 36 || 77.8% || 46
|-
| 1995 || 45 || 62 || 72.6% || 49
|-
| 1996 || 36 || 53 || 67.9% || 50
|-
| 1997 || 35 || 45 || 77.8% || 50
|-
| 1998 || 36 || 46 || 78.8% || 51
|-
| 1999 || 30 || 47 || 63.8% || 47
|-
| 2000 || 40 || 44 || 90.9% || 49
|}

==Post-playing career==
Following his years playing with the Lions, Passaglia worked for seven years as the Lions director of community relations. He resigned from the Lions at the conclusion of the 2007 CFL season to devote his time to his family property development business.  Passaglia was replaced as BC Lions director of community relations by fellow Lions great and former teammate,  [[Jamie Taras]].<ref name="Lui Passaglia - Director of Community Relations (BC Lions)" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/passaglia-to-end-long-tenure-with-b-c-lions-1.680033|title=Passaglia to end long tenure with BC Lions|date=2007-08-30|publisher=CBC News|access-date=2008-12-22}}</ref>

Passaglia has lived in the city of [[Coquitlam]] for over 20 years.<ref>Richard Stewart: [http://www.richardformayor.com/endorsements.html Endorsements]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved on 15 March 2009</ref>

In 2006, [[Simon Fraser University]] granted him an honorary degree and he delivered a convocation address.<ref name=cbc14>{{cite news|title=Lui Passaglia battling stage 3 colon cancer|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/lui-passaglia-battling-stage-3-colon-cancer-1.2711534|agency=CBC Sports|date=July 18, 2014}}</ref>

In 2014, Passaglia revealed that he was receiving [[chemotherapy]] for stage 3 [[colon cancer]]. By going public, he intended to fundraise for research and treatment.<ref name=cbc14 />

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://www.lionbackers.com/lui.html Lui Passaglia]
*[http://www.lionbackers.com/luibio.html Lui Passaglia bio]
*[http://www.lionbackers.com/luinumbers.html Regular season statistics]
*[http://www.lionbackers.com/luiponumbers.html Playoff statistics]

{{BC Lions}}
{{73rd Grey Cup}}
{{82nd Grey Cup}}
{{88th Grey Cup}}
{{Dick Suderman Trophy}}
{{Canadian Football Hall of Fame members}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passaglia, Lui}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:BC Lions players]]
[[Category:Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Canadian football placekickers]]
[[Category:Canadian football punters]]
[[Category:Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Coquitlam]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Simon Fraser Red Leafs football players]]
[[Category:Simon Fraser University alumni]]
[[Category:Canadian football people from Vancouver]]