Tom Cousineau. Johnny Rodgers. Joe Theismann. Terry Metcalf. Sandy Stephens. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. Doug Flutie. Ronnie Knox. Granny Liggins. Anthony Davis. Fred Biletnikoff.
And now....Ricky Williams...maybe.
It's possible that the former New Orleans Saint No. 1 pick could be running around the Toronto Argo practice fields at UTM as soon as Monday.
The possibility has the usual suspects in the usual tizzy.
There is a long list of big names from U.S. football who have, "fled north of the Canadian border," as American sports broadcasters are so fond of saying.
It's always interesting to note the superiority complex that many American sports "authorities" have about the CFL.
Remember listening to WGR in Buffalo a few years ago when the announcer was condescendingly announcing that Jeff Garcia, "a refugee from the CFL," was going to start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. The contempt in the voice was unmistakable.
Of course, Garcia went on to become a big star, just like so many of the other Ice Bowl "refugees" from the wilds of Canada, people like Bud Grant, Joe Kapp, Warren Moon, Marv Levy, Joe Horn and the list goes on and on.
The arrival of the undersized, overachieving Flutie in Buffalo set off a veritable border war on call-in shows from (mostly) Canadians supporting Flutie and (mostly) Americans who supported California surfer-dude Rob Johnson as pivot.
The competition amounted to a Titanic battle between the football inferiority complex of our country and the football superiority complex of theirs.
Williams presents an interesting case in the ongoing, unresolvable and pointless debate about the leagues.
The directionally-challenged former Dolphin, who only knows north-south, could be a mammal out of water in the CFL.
Conventional wisdom suggests Ricky will have more trouble on the wider field. But then, as we all know by now, Ricky doesn't believe in conventional wisdom.
Social anxiety disorder. Being traded for another team's whole draft. Studies in holistic medicine. Strolls on the beach in India. Interviews with Mike Wallace. Court decisions that make you pay back $8.6 million to the team you quit on without notice. Those things change a guy.
If Ricky needs help adjusting to the quicker, more wide-open Canadian game, he has a mentor. He can just ask Pinball, can't he?
A little swivel-step here, a spin move there and Ricky will soon be returning missed field goals 120 yards in the snow.
Of course, if Coach Clemons really wants to help, he needs to pin a great nickname on his new ball player.
Crazy Legs was taken and Crazy Dreads is out of date. If he grows the right facial hair, he could be The Galloping Goatee. Leo Lewis, another great runner, was the Lincoln Locomotive, so how about the Texas Tornado for Ricky? No, too cutesy by half.
Might as well go with the straight goods. Ricky "Lone Wolf" Williams, it is. Has a northern flavour and will give the Argoooooooooooooos fans something else to howl about.
Will Ricky actually ever play in Canada?
One is tempted to answer with the pat, "You Never Know."
With Ricky, however, YOU NEVER KNOW.
After all, the man is still mastering the art of being Ricky. His theme song is Different Drum by the Stoned Ponies.
Like the argument about the value of the CFL and the NFL, in the end, it really doesn't matter.
As sure as football is football, Ricky will be Ricky. Sit back and enjoy the show while it lasts.