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Vic Chapman

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Vic Chapman
No. 85, 75, 74
Born:(1932-04-28)April 28, 1932
Vancouver, British Columbia
Died:December 21, 1987(1987-12-21) (aged 55)
Ottawa, Ontario
Career information
Position(s)P, E
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight200 lb (91 kg)
CollegeUBC
CJFLVancouver Blue Bombers
High schoolKing George High School
Career history
As player
1952Calgary Stampeders
1954–1958BC Lions
1959–1962Edmonton Eskimos
1962Montreal Alouettes
Career highlights and awards
2x WIFU All-Star (1957, 1958)

Victor Garbutt Chapman (April 28, 1932 – December 21, 1987) was a Canadian press secretary who worked for Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the British royal family. He previously played professional football with the Calgary Stampeders, BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Football

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Early career

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Chapman was an all-star halfback at King George High School. He enrolled University of British Columbia and played right end for the UBC Thunderbirds football team, but left the team after one game and joined the Vancouver Blue Bombers junior football team.[1][2] Chapman signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 1952, but was released on September 5 and rejoined the Blue Bombers.[3][4]

BC Lions

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In 1954, Chapman joined the expansion BC Lions. He was the team's punter and averaged 38 yards on 100 punts.[5] He was resigned for the 1955 season and averaged 42.3 yards per punt while also playing wingback.[6][7] He averaged 42.4 yards per punt in 1956.[8] In 1957, Chapman averaged a Western Interprovincial Football Union-leading 42.4 yards per punt, scored three receiving touchdowns, and intercepted four passes, including a pick six against the Stampeders.[9][8][10] He played for the Western Interprovincial Football Union team in the 1957 All-Star Game. His two singles were the only points the West scored in the 20–2 loss.[11] In 1958, quarterback George Herring replaced Chapman as the team's primary punter.[9] That year, Chapman had a career high 368 receiving yards and scored the Lions' only touchdown in a 10–8 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[8][12] He once again appeared in the All-Star Game, where he kicked three singles in the West's 9–3 victory.[13]

Edmonton Eskimos

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On March 4, 1959, the Lions traded Chapman to the Edmonton Eskimos for linebacker Ted Tully.[9] He was the team's punter and averaged 40.7 yards on a career-high 132 punts.[8] He averaged 40.7 yards per punt again in 1960 and was a member of the Eskimos team that played in the 48th Grey Cup.[8][14] In 1961, Chapman caught 17 passes for 299 yards, but lost the punting job to Bobby Walden.[15] He returned to Edmonton for the 1962 season and had 2 catches for 21 yards and averaged 42.5 yards on 73 punts.[8]

Montreal Alouettes

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On September 25, 1962, the Eskimos traded Chapman to the Montreal Alouettes for the team's first round pick in the 1963 CFL draft. Edmonton needed a roster spot to make room for Gino Fracas, who was coming off of the injury list, and saw Chapman, who did not play much on offence, as expendable.[15] Chapman chose to retire, as he did not want to move or commute to Montreal.[16] However, he joined the Alouettes for a road game in Winnipeg and for the Eastern Finals.[17]

Post-playing career

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In 1964, Chapman joined CFRN-TV as a salesman and sports announcer.[18] He was also a color commentator for the CFL on CTV's western broadcast crew.[19] In 1967, he was the project officer for the Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant, a 3,300-mile canoe race organized to promote the Canadian Centennial.[20][21]

Press secretary

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Prime minister's office

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Chapman worked for the John Turner campaign during the 1968 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election. Turner lost the election to Pierre Trudeau, who hired Chapman as an assistant press secretary during a reorganization of the prime minister's office that July.[22] He organized the logistics for the prime minister's official tours and campaign trips.[23][24][25] In 1969, he assisted press secretary Roméo LeBlanc during John Lennon and Yoko Ono's visit with the prime minister.[26] He accompanied Trudeau when the Prime Minister met with President Richard Nixon at the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in 1969 and the White House in 1970.[27][28] In 1970, he arranged a date between Trudeau and Barbra Streisand.[29][30] In 1973, he helped organize the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which was in Ottawa.[31] Chapman was loaned out to the Department of External Affairs for Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and Queen Elizabeth II visits to Canada.[29] He resigned from the prime minister's office effective February 4, 1974, to join a newly-formed public relations firm, Intertask Ltd.[32]

Post-government career

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Chapman founded Intertask with parliamentary reporter Paul Akehurst. The company managed a variety of aspects of Habitat I, organized a series of conferences to explain the Anti-Inflation Act, and produced a series of films on government practices for the National Film Board.[33][34] Chapman left Intertask in December 1976 to start his own consulting business.[33] He helped promote the 1979 Can-Am Bowl, a college all-star game pitting seniors from the United States against seniors from Canada played at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.[35]

British royal family

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Chapman was the media organizer for British royal family during their tours of Canada. He handled Prince Charles' 1977 and 1979 trips, Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee tour, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 1979 visit, Princess Margaret's 1980 tour, and Elizabeth II's 1982 visit.[33][36][37][38][39][40] During the Queen's 1978 tour, Chapman got into a physical confrontation with a military policeman at CFB Namao after the soldier shoved one of Chapman's female assistants.[41] During her 1982 visit, he removed reporter Claude Papineau from the press pool after he broke custom and directly quoted the Queen in an article.[40]

In 1982, Chapman was named assistant press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, a post traditionally filled by an appointee from a Commonwealth country.[42] He also served as the press secretary for the Prince and Princess of Wales.[29] In 1987, he was refused entry to a Madrid conference where Prince Charles was scheduled to speak due to a misunderstanding over official passes. He was let in after intervention from British Embassy staff.[43] During that same trip, Chapman expressed unhappiness over the Spanish press' disclosure of off-the-record remarks made by Prince Charles and warned that it "would put in jeopardy future media receptions".[44] He resigned in 1987 after he was diagnosed with cancer.[45]

Personal life

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Chapman's 28-year-old wife, Mary, died on September 2, 1970, after a brief illness.[46] In 1982, he married his fourth wife, Cecile, whom he had lived with for eight years.[29][47] It was reported that the marriage took place because the Queen would not approve of their cohabitation, a charge Chapman denied.[47] Chapman was the father of seven children.[29]

Death

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In December 1987, Chapman entered the Ottawa Civic Hospital cancer clinic for treatment for lung cancer.[45] He died on December 21, 1987.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Vic Withdraws UBC Grid". The Vancouver Sun. September 25, 1950. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ "B.C. Junior Champion Blue Bombers Arrive Tonight; Play Here Saturday". The Calgary Herald. November 3, 1950. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Minor Injuries Hit Stampeders". The Calgary Herald. September 6, 1952. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  4. ^ Young, Alex (September 11, 1952). "Grid Seers Puzzled". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Isbell Sets New Record". The Leader-Post. November 4, 1954. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Lions Sign Kickin' Vic". The Vancouver Sun. May 14, 1955. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Two Canadians Sign With Lions". The Calgary Herald. May 30, 1956. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Vic Chapman". Stats Crew. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Richards, Jack (March 4, 1959). "Leos Trade Chapman For Tully". The Sun. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  10. ^ Boyd, Denny (October 8, 1957). "Lions (Hic) Off Wagon". The Vancouver Sun.
  11. ^ "Chapman Earns Points". The Vancouver Sun. December 9, 1957. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Lions Clip Bombers 10-8 Eskimos Beat Stampeders". The Montreal Gazette. October 13, 1958. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  13. ^ Sullivan, Jack (December 8, 1958). "West Trumps East - But Weather Beats Both". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Esks Take All Kinds To Produce Fine Club". Edmonton Journal. November 25, 1960. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Chapman traded to Montreal club". The Leader-Post. September 26, 1962. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Chapman retires". The Leader-Post. October 1, 1962. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Chapman Rejoins Montreal Squad". The Calgary Herald. November 9, 1962. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  18. ^ Pawson, Hal (March 20, 1964). "The Journal of Sports". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Western Grid Televiewers Will See 31 CFL Games". The Calgary Herald. June 23, 1966. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Safety comes first". The Phoenix. June 19, 1967. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Canoe Pageant Akin To Rally On Water". The Calgary Herald. May 12, 1967. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  22. ^ "PM seeking sensitivity with shuffle". The Phoenix. July 30, 1968. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  23. ^ Hammond, Terry (June 18, 1968). "Trudeau Plays It Coll in Hectic Tour". The Sun. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  24. ^ Hall, Robert (September 5, 1970). "With Pierre – no dull moments..." The Windsor Star. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  25. ^ Calamai, Peter (September 14, 1972). "Getting the settlers through wouldn't faze these trailmen". The Calgary Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Lennon, Yoko visit Trudeau". The Leader-Post. December 23, 1969. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  27. ^ Hull, Robert (June 28, 1989). "Meeting of leaders dramatic". The Windsor Star. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  28. ^ "Pens handed out, but no details". The Windsor Star. December 7, 1971. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  29. ^ a b c d e f Hurst, Lynda (December 22, 1987). "Royals' aide Vic Chapman was 'consummate PR guy'". Toronto Star.
  30. ^ "Streisand watches escort at work". The Leader-Post. January 30, 1970. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  31. ^ "Defeated Liberals still prominent". The Leader-Post. January 30, 1973. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  32. ^ "Interest Conflict Denied". The Calgary Herald. January 12, 1974. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  33. ^ a b c "Formed aide gets contracts". The Leader-Post. October 26, 1977. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  34. ^ "Displaced Info-Can workers get priority". Ottawa Citizen. January 16, 1976. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  35. ^ Phillips, Randy (November 15, 1978). "Several Can-Am Bowl 'grads' playing big professional roles". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  36. ^ "Prince Charles takes off for sunnier climes". The Globe and Mail. April 9, 1979.
  37. ^ "New wagon master". The Montreal Gazette. April 25, 1977. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  38. ^ "Nova Scotians unfurling flag for Queen Mum and the clan". The Montreal Gazette. June 22, 1979. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  39. ^ Antonelli, Marylu (July 25, 1980). "Gracious Meg put skulkers at ease". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  40. ^ a b Fotheringham, Allan (April 17, 1982). "Royal visit reveals lack of courtesy". The Windsor Star. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  41. ^ "Press aide shoving probed". The Windsor Star. August 2, 1978. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  42. ^ "Press secretary for Queen". The Phoenix. June 15, 1982. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  43. ^ "Royal Aide In Rough House". Evening Times. April 22, 1987. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  44. ^ "Palace Warns after royal chat to press is leaked". The Glasgow Herald. April 23, 1987. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  45. ^ a b Evenson, Brad (December 14, 1987). "Royalty's former press secretary in hospital with lung cancer". The Ottawa Citizen.
  46. ^ "Chapman's wife, 28, dies". The Leader-Post. September 3, 1970. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  47. ^ a b "Marriage Story Is Called 'Nonsense'". The Hour. August 19, 1982. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
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