Five players, two builders, and three broadcasters were chosen for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) and Museum’s Class of 2023..Defensive end John Bowman and linebacker Solomon Elimimian were chosen in their first year of eligibility. Offensive linemen Josh Bourke and Lloyd Fairbanks and defensive back Larry Crawford will also be inducted as players. Former coaching great Jacques Dussault and the eighth commissioner of the Canadian Football League, Larry Smith, will also enter the hall..The Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum, located on the fourth floor of Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, ON., operates as a non-profit registered charity. Since 1963, it's been home to more than 80,000 Canadian football artifacts, ranging from equipment and trophies to photos and videos, spanning the rich history of the game..The Class of 2023 will be officially inducted on Friday, September 15, followed by the annual Hall of Fame Game the next day between Winnipeg and Hamilton..The media wing of the CFHOF will welcome Vicki Hall, a veteran sportswriter for the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald, long-time TSN producer Jon Hynes, and the late Chris Schultz, a well-known radio and television analyst, to its ranks. The Media Class of 2023 will be inducted on Grey Cup Sunday, November 19 .PROFILES.Bourke anchored Montreal Alouettes’ offensive line for nine seasons before playing another with the Toronto Argonauts. Across a 151-game career, Bourke was named East Division all-star seven consecutive seasons (2008-2014) and a CFL all-star in 2011 and 2012. He was named the league’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2011. He won Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010..Bowman played in 230 regular season games across 14 seasons with the Alouettes from 2006 to 2019. He is a nine-time Division All-Star and a two-time CFL All-Star (2010 and 2015). Bowman accumulated 134 quarterback sacks to rank seventh all-time. He led the CFL in sacks two seasons, including 2015 when he posted 19. He won cups with Bourke..Larry Crawford’s career spanned nine seasons and 134 games for the BC Lions and Argonauts. He was named a five-time division All-Star from 1983 to 1987 and a CFL All-Star four times. At retirement, his 4,159 punt return yards ranked second and 52 interceptions to rank fifth. His 12 interceptions in 1983 remain the fourth-highest single-season total in CFL history. He played in three Grey Cups and won with BC in 1985..Elimimian was Most Outstanding Rookie with BC in 2010 and won a Grey Cup with the team the following year. In 2014, he recorded a record 143 tackles to become the only defensive player in league history to be named Most Outstanding Player. In 2017, he broke his former record by recording 144 tackles. He was the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2014 and 2016 and was a six-time Division all-star and a four-time CFL all-star. He retired with Saskatchewan after the 2019 season and sits sixth all-time with 833 defensive tackles..Lloyd Fairbanks starred with the Stampeders for 11 total seasons, starting and finishing his 17-year career with the team. In between, he spent four seasons with Montreal and two with Hamilton. He was named his team’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman on 11 occasions. He is a seven-time Division All-Star and was a CFL all-star in 1979 and 1982. He retired with 257 games played..Larry Smith was selected first overall in the 1972 CFL Draft by Montreal before embarking on a nine-year career. He became the eighth commissioner of the CFL in 1992 and led the league through its expansion phase to the U.S., which culminated in the Baltimore franchise moving back to Montreal. He was the Alouettes’ club president from 1997 to 2001, and 2004 to 2010. Smith won Grey Cups as a player in 1974 and 1977 and as an executive in 2009 and 2010..Dussault played, then coached football, for five and-a-half decades at various levels, including two stints with the Alouettes.
