View source for Roy Shivers

{{Short description|American football player and Canadian football executive (born 1941)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
|name=Roy Shivers
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1941|7|8}}
|birth_place=[[Halley, Arkansas]], U.S.
|death_date=
|College=[[Utah State University|Utah State]]
|Position=[[Running back]]
|DraftedYear=1965
|DraftedRound=19 / Pick 264
| AFLDraftedYear = 1965
| AFLDraftedRound = [[1965 American Football League draft#Red Shirt Round eight|Red Shirt 8]]
| AFLDraftedPick = 62
| AFLDraftedTeam = [[San Diego Chargers]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.profootballarchives.com/1965AFLDraft.html|title=1965 AFL Draft|access-date=March 23, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225154441/http://profootballarchives.com/1965AFLDraft.html|archive-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref>
|Awards=
|Honors=
|statlabel1=Games played
|statvalue1=85
|statlabel2=[[Rushing yards]]
|statvalue2=680
|statlabel3=[[Touchdown|Rushing touchdowns]]
|statvalue3=10
|statlabel4=[[Reception (American football)|Receptions]]
|statvalue4=38
|statlabel5=[[Receiving yards]]
|statvalue5=400
|statlabel6=[[Touchdown|Receiving touchdowns]]
|statvalue6=4
|career_highlights = 
* 4× [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[73rd Grey Cup|1985]], [[80th Grey Cup|1992]], [[86th Grey Cup|1998]], [[99th Grey Cup|2011]])
|playing_years1={{NFL Year|1966|1972}}
|playing_team1=[[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]]
|coaching_years1={{CFL Year|1983}}–{{CFL Year|1985}}
|coaching_team1=[[BC Lions]]<br>(Special Teams Coach)
|administrating_years1={{CFL Year|1986|1989}}
|administrating_team1=[[BC Lions]]<br>(Director of player personnel)
|administrating_years2={{CFL Year|1990}}
|administrating_team2=[[Calgary Stampeders]]<br>(U. S. Scout)
|administrating_years3={{CFL Year|1991|1994}}
|administrating_team3=[[Calgary Stampeders]]<br>(Assistant general manager)
|administrating_years4={{CFL Year|1995}}
|administrating_team4=[[Birmingham Barracudas]]<br>(General manager)
|administrating_years5={{CFL Year|1996|1999}}
|administrating_team5=[[Calgary Stampeders]]<br>(Assistant general manager)
|administrating_years6={{CFL Year|2000|2006}}
|administrating_team6=[[Saskatchewan Roughriders]]<br>(General manager)
|administrating_years7={{CFL Year|2008}}–{{CFL Year|2013}}
|administrating_team7=[[BC Lions]]<br>(Director of player personnel)
|administrating_years8={{CFL Year|2014}}–{{CFL Year|2017}}
|administrating_team8=[[BC Lions]]<br>(Football Operations Consultant, Scout)
|DatabaseFootball=SHIVEROY01
|CFHOF=roy-shivers/
|CFHOFYear=2022
}}
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[image:royshivers.jpg|right]] -->
'''Roy Shivers''' (born July 5, 1941) is a former professional [[American football]] [[running back]] and [[Canadian football]] personnel administrator, most notably as the first [[Black people|black]] [[general manager]] in professional football.<ref name="Maragos">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/shivers/ |title=Roy Shivers: Football First |last=Maragos |first=Costa |year=2004 |work=CBC.ca |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |accessdate=September 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118232503/http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/shivers/ |archive-date=January 18, 2008 }}</ref> He was a general manager for eight seasons with the [[Birmingham Barracudas]] and [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]] of the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL). He is a four-time [[Grey Cup]] champion as a director of player personnel and assistant general manager with the [[BC Lions]] and [[Calgary Stampeders]] (CFL) and he is a member of the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]]. He played for seven years in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) with the [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]].

==His early years==
Shivers grew up in [[Oakland, California]], in an area known as the projects. He was one of eight children. His father moved the family to the U.S. west coast to get away from the segregated south. Shivers suffered the pains of racism at a young age when he lost out a job to be quarterback for his high school team to a white person. In [[West Oakland]] black children were only allowed to play at DeFremery Park, the park could be considered as a national landmark for it has been home some of the best athletes and activists the world has seen. Shivers went to school with [[Bill Russell]], [[Frank Robinson]], [[Curt Flood]], [[Joe Morgan]] and [[Vada Pinson]]. He also grew up with the founding members of the [[Black Panthers]], [[Huey Newton]], [[Bobby Seale]] and David Hilliard. Shivers graduated from [[Oakland Technical High School]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Roy Shivers, Class of 1959|url=http://oaklandtech.com/staff/centennial/2016/02/22/roy-shivers-59/|website=School Historical Archive|accessdate=February 22, 2016|date=February 22, 2016}}</ref> in 1959, and left [[Oakland]] in 1960 to serve in the [[U.S. Army]].

==Football playing days==
In 1964, after serving four years in the army, Shivers went to [[Utah State Aggies football|Utah State]] where he became a star running back and then in 1966 was drafted first round in the supplemental draft to the [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]]. Shivers led the Cardinals in kickoff return yards with 27 for 762 yards with one returned for a touchdown.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/p-shiveroy001 |title=Roy Shivers |publisher=statscrew.com |access-date=September 18, 2022}}</ref>

==Coaching and managing==
Shivers played for seven years in the NFL before he began coaching at [[Merritt College]] in [[Oakland, California]]. He also coached at the [[University of Nevada]], [[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]] and the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]] (UNLV), after which he accepted a job as an assistant coach for the [[BC Lions]] in the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL).<ref>{{cite web|title=Shivers, Evans get call to Hall of Fame |url=https://www.stampeders.com/2022/06/21/shivers-evans-get-call-to-hall-of-fame/ |publisher=[[Calgary Stampeders]] |date=June 21, 2022}}</ref> Shivers stayed with the Lions for six seasons and rose through the ranks of the Lions' front office. In 1985, the Lions won the [[Grey Cup]]. In 1989, Shivers left for the [[Calgary Stampeders]] to become the team's U.S. scout. In 1991, he became the team's assistant [[general manager]]. Calgary won the [[Grey Cup]] in 1992. In 1995, Shivers left to become the General Manager of the expansion [[Birmingham Barracudas]], but the team folded after one season, as did the rest of the American expansion teams. Shivers returned to Calgary in 1996, again as assistant GM. Calgary won the Grey Cup again in 1998 under head coach [[Wally Buono]].

===Saskatchewan Roughriders===
Shivers became General Manager of the [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]] on December 24, 1999, with his first two years at the Riders' helm being a struggle on the field.<ref name=Fired/> This was to be expected as Shivers inherited a 3–15 team bereft of talent. The Riders also had 3 million dollars of debt (equal to the amount of credit the team had available to it) and was financially in dire straits. It was obvious that Shivers had to overhaul the team. Not surprisingly, there was 80% turnover in the team's 1999 starting roster. The only free agent signing with significant CFL experience was [[Calgary Stampeders]] backup quarterback [[Henry Burris]]. However, the inexperienced defence was the team's downfall as it ranked near the bottom of the league in most defensive statistical categories. The Riders posted a 5–12–1 record and missed the playoffs in their initial rebuilding year. Shivers had publicly proclaimed it would take three years to restore the Saskatchewan Roughriders to being an elite CFL team, so fans remained patient.

In year 2 of the rebuilding plan, 2001, the team got off to a rough start. Quarterback Henry Burris left the Riders and signed with the NFL's [[Green Bay Packers]], leaving the Riders without a viable quarterback. Although team defence was markedly improved, the offense struggled. The result was another poor record (6 wins 12 losses) and another year out of the playoffs.

In 2002, Shivers made an important trade as the Roughriders' acquired [[Edmonton Eskimos]] starting quarterback [[Nealon Greene]]. While not a dominant quarterback by any means, Nealon's ability to manage the game and limit mistakes was the finishing spark that helped the Roughriders qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

Since 2002, the team has eliminated its $3 million debt,<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.riderville.com/modules.php?name=News&file=news_dispatches&archive1=0&sid1=1655 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028135807/http://www.riderville.com/modules.php?name=News&file=news_dispatches&archive1=0&sid1=1655 | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 28, 2006 |title = Riderville &#124; the Official Site of the Saskatchewan Roughriders}}</ref> aided mostly by hosting the Grey Cup Championship Game, and by the provincial government forgiving over $1 million of debt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=newser&func=display&topicnum=&nid=9033&writer=0|title=CFL.ca - Official site of the Canadian Football League|website=CFL.ca|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2018}}</ref> Nevertheless, rising attendance also played a significant part as Shivers had restored respectability to the Riders which excited the fans to come out in greater numbers. The Riders had also made the playoffs in four straight years, including two Western Division Finals in a row (2003–2004).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.riderville.com/1254-2/|title=Team History - Saskatchewan Roughriders|work=Saskatchewan Roughriders|access-date=May 19, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> However, in the later years of the franchise under Shivers' helm as GM, the team seemed to hit a wall or ceiling of progress, and their record stagnated instead of improving.

===Controversies mount and stagnation===
Mired in back to back .500 seasons (winning percentage-wise) in the years 2004 and 2005, the Riders exited the playoffs early and were seen by most fans as not living up to their expectations. Many blamed the coaching, while others pointed their fingers back to when Shivers failed to re-sign Henry Burris, who moved onto success with the rival [[Calgary Stampeders]]. This upset many Rider fans greatly, as the Calgary Stampeders ended up rebuilding rapidly, going from being a poor team in the 2004 season to a second-place finisher in the Western Conference of the CFL in season 2005. Rider fans began to voice their displeasure at the time it was taking the Riders to achieve similar goals, like finishing first or second in the West, and hosting a home play off game. This was compounded by starting quarterback, Nealon Greene, becoming increasingly inconsistent in the 2005 season, as Head Coach Danny Barrett dropped him for poor play in favour of Marcus Crandell, their back up quarterback.

Discontent grew even further with various off-the-field incidents involving the Rider players during and following the 2005 season. [[Trevis Smith]], a starting Rider [[linebacker]] on the defence, was charged with [[aggravated sexual assault]] on October 28, 2005, accused of having repeated sexual encounters with women, one from [[Regina, Saskatchewan]] and one from [[British Columbia]], despite knowingly being [[HIV|HIV-positive]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/riders-keith-charged-with-assault-1.593149|title=Riders' Keith charged with assault {{!}} CBC News|work=CBC|access-date=May 19, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> It was one of the biggest controversies and embarrassments ever faced by the Roughriders in their history as it made national headlines from coast to coast. Many people pointed the finger at Shivers once again, whether right or wrong, seeing Shivers as an unwilling figure in instituting a player code of conduct. The naysayers and blamers felt Shivers should have more control over his team's behaviour. Shivers defended himself by saying what happened with Smith was a societal problem, not a football one.

Further tarnishing the team's image was the arrest of [[Kenton Keith]], a Riders [[running back]], for aggravated assault at a Regina nightclub, on July 12, 2006.<ref name=":0" /> Again, fans and citizens were upset with the Riders and Shivers, and viewed the team as becoming out of control in the community. However, even with a code of conduct for players reportedly in the works and soon forthcoming,<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Riders proposing conduct rules|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/riders-proposing-conduct-rules-1.628981|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312132412/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2006/07/13/sask-conduct.html|archive-date=March 12, 2007|access-date=April 8, 2021|website=www.cbc.ca}}</ref> others maintain that personal individual responsibility supersedes the control Shivers or any other Riders' management should have over the players. This is precisely the argument put forward by Shivers, as he views many of these things as societal issues, and not football ones.

===A mixed record===
Shivers' first major decision as the Riders' General Manager was to hire his [[Coach (sport)|coach]] [[Danny Barrett (American football)|Danny Barrett]], a man with no prior CFL head coaching experience, or head coaching experience at any level. "The one thing I did right was (hire) Danny Barrett. He's a good young black coach. Most of our guys are young black kids. We've got a head coach our people like to play for", Shivers said.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam030724/col_jones-sun.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20030811075524/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam030724/col_jones-sun.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 11, 2003|title=(no title)|website=Canoe|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2018}}</ref>

Shivers had been known to speak his mind on issues facing his team and was not afraid to criticize players when he perceived a lack of effort or poor play. This served to motivate the team often. One situation which some fans view as controversial in Shivers' tenure is his failed negotiations with quarterback [[Henry Burris]]. Burris was a free agent in the spring of 2005 after the team narrowly lost the Western Final to the BC Lions the previous November. Burris was uncomfortable with the then back-up quarterback Nealon Greene remaining on the roster. He wanted a commitment to be named the clear starting quarterback for the Riders. Despite being offered the richest contract in club history at the time, Burris chose to accept a more lucrative offer from the Calgary Stampeders. It was never clear if Burris was actually promised the starting quarterbacking position with the Riders, as many contradictory statements were made regarding this matter. Burris also maintained that the Riders offered him less money than Shivers had publicly stated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=newser&func=display&topicnum=&nid=9609&writer=0|title=CFL.ca - Official site of the Canadian Football League|website=CFL.ca|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2018}}</ref> Many{{who|date=September 2012}} point to the failure to re-sign Burris, rightly or wrongly, as being the beginning of the end for Shivers as the general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

===Fired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders===
Shivers was fired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders' [[board of directors]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.riderville.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=30 |title=Riderville &#124; the Official Site of the Saskatchewan Roughriders |access-date=August 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822055049/http://www.riderville.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=30 |archive-date=August 22, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as there was a concern that the Riders had regressed, a lack of progress was being made in signing players who would be free agents in 2007 to extensions, plus Shivers was not comfortable with the new power structure of the Riders to be implemented in 2007. At the time of his firing, the board of directors, led by the [[President (corporate title)|President]] and [[CEO]] Jim Hopson,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riderville.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=32 |title=Riderville {{!}} The Official Site of the Saskatchewan Roughriders |website=www.riderville.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718054934/http://www.riderville.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=32 |archive-date=July 18, 2006}} </ref> openly expressed their displeasure at the lack of progress on thirteen soon-to-be Rider free agents not being signed for the 2007 season. In total, 30 Riders were about to enter the option years of their contracts in season 2007, with not one of them signed to future contracts halfway into the 2006 season.<ref name="cfl.ca">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=newser&func=display&topicnum=&nid=10983&writer=0|title=CFL.ca - Official site of the Canadian Football League|website=CFL.ca|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2018}}</ref> Many balked at this statement, however, as other CFL teams also had a large number of players going into their option years in season 2007. However, alarm bells were also being sounded as the Riders were also committed to $4.5 million in salary, well over the new $3.8 million salary cap to be instituted by the CFL in 2007.<ref name="cfl.ca"/>

With Shivers publicly refusing to accept forthcoming changes for the 2007 season in the Rider power structure, a clash was bound to happen. Hopson, the board of directors agreed, would be given powers that would supersede Shivers in the organization. Shivers went on record in April 2006 as saying that he would not work for Hopson as he did not trust or like him. "I told them in April that I would not work for Hopson", Shivers told the ''[[Regina Leader-Post]]'' on the Monday after being informed of the club's decision to have Hopson supersede him. "I can work with him, but I can't work for him because I dislike him and I don't trust him."<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Tillman to meet with Roughriders|url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=174991&hubname=|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312083436/https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=174991&hubname=|archive-date=March 12, 2007|access-date=April 8, 2021|website=www.tsn.ca}}</ref>

Thus, Shivers was fired from his post as general manager on August 21, 2006, with the board unanimous in its decision to fire Shivers.<ref name=Fired>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/riders-fire-gm-shivers-1.580614 |title=Riders fire GM Shivers |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=August 21, 2006}}</ref>

During his era as Riders' general manager, Shivers lived part-time in Regina, the home of the Roughriders during the season.

===BC Lions===
On January 28, 2008, Shivers was hired as the director of player personnel for the [[BC Lions]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Roy Shivers officially joins Lions Den |url=https://www.bclions.com/2008/01/28/roy_shivers_officially_joins_lions_den/ |publisher=[[BC Lions]] |date=January 28, 2022}}</ref> This reunited him with Lions GM/Head Coach Wally Buono, with whom he worked during their tenure with the Calgary Stampeders in the 1990s.

On June 21, 2022, it was announced that Shivers would be enshrined in the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] in the Class of 2022 as a builder.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/2022/06/21/canadian-football-hall-of-fame-welcomes-distinguished-class-of-2022/ |title=Canadian Football Hall of Fame welcomes distinguished class of 2022 |publisher=[[Canadian Football League]] |date=June 21, 2022}}</ref>

==CFL GM record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
|-
!Won!!Lost!!Ties!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !!  Result
|-
![[1995 Birmingham Barracudas season|BIR]]||[[1995 CFL season|1995]]
||10||8||0||.556||3rd in South Division|| 0 || 1 || Lost in semi-finals
|-
![[2000 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]||[[2000 CFL season|2000]]
||5||12||1||.305||4th in West Division|| - || - || Missed Playoffs
|-
![[2001 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]|| [[2001 CFL season|2001]]
||6||12||0||.333||4th in West Division|| - || - || Missed Playoffs
|-
![[2002 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]|| [[2002 CFL season|2002]]
||8||10||0||.444||4th in West Division|| 0 || 1 || Lost in semi-finals
|-
![[2003 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]|| [[2003 CFL season|2003]]
||11||7||0||.611||3rd in West Division|| 1 || 1 || Lost in Division Finals
|-
![[2004 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]|| [[2004 CFL season|2004]]
||9||9||0||.500||3rd in West Division|| 1 || 1 || Lost in Division Finals
|-
![[2005 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]|| [[2005 CFL season|2005]]
||9||9||0||.500||4th in West Division|| 0 || 1 || Lost in semi-finals
|-
![[2006 Saskatchewan Roughriders season|SSK]]|| [[2006 CFL season|2006]]
||4||5||0||.500||3rd in West Division|| - || - || Fired mid-season
|-
! colspan="2"|'''Total'''
||'''62'''||'''72'''||'''1'''||'''.463'''||'''0 Division<br />Championships'''||'''3'''||'''5'''||
|}

==Personal==
Shivers lives in [[Henderson, Nevada]] with his wife, Carol Brown. They have three daughters (Rommy, Renne and Nicole), a grandson (Nicholas) and a granddaughter (Nico).

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bclions.com/page/staff-roy-shivers BC Lions profile ]

{{San Diego Chargers 1965 draft navbox}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1965 draft navbox}}
{{73rd Grey Cup}}
{{Saskatchewan Roughriders managers}}
{{Canadian Football Hall of Fame members}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shivers, Roy}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:African-American coaches of American football]]
[[Category:African-American coaches of Canadian football]]
[[Category:African-American sports executives and administrators]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:American sports executives and administrators]]
[[Category:BC Lions coaches]]
[[Category:Calgary Stampeders personnel]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League executives]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League general managers]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League scouts]]
[[Category:Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches]]
[[Category:Merritt Panthers football coaches]]
[[Category:Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the Las Vegas Valley]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Las Vegas]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Oakland, California]]
[[Category:Saskatchewan Roughriders general managers]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players]]
[[Category:UNLV Rebels football coaches]]
[[Category:Utah State Aggies football players]]
[[Category:Oakland Technical High School alumni]]