At a young age, my uncle Sandy Poce always had the passion to take on one of the sports he always cherished.
Football always meant much more for my uncle. It would lead to his desire to pick up shoulder pads and a helmet and make a name for himself on the field.
“I started playing when I was 16 as a junior, in Grade 11 at Westview Centennial Secondary School” on Oakdale Road in North York, Poce said.
Coming off of a semi-final appearance in his senior year, my uncle would be key to his high school team’s success in his final year as he delivered for them on both sides of the ball.
“In Grade 13, I played both wide receiver and also defensive back,” he said.
His play would not go unnoticed as it would help his team win the North York Football Championship. He was selected to play in the Metro Toronto Bowl, an all-star game for all the top players from Metro Toronto high schools.
Team photo featuring Humber football alumni #15 Sandy Poce. Metro Toronto Bowl All-Star game at Varsity Stadium in June 1973. Photo credit: Courtesy/Sandy Poce
“There was no better feeling. In that game (North York Football Championship), I scored a 40-yard touchdown, intercepted two passes, caught about five punts and kickoffs and ran them back,” Poce said.
“It was the best game I ever played,” he said.
After those achievements, my uncle deservingly earned a scholarship in September 1973 to continue his football career with Humber College.
My uncle would get to keep his two starting positions at Humber playing wide receiver and free safety. He would look to make an impression right away.
“We had recruited some really good players and quite a few from my high school team, so we thought we were good,” Poce said. “We won our first game. I scored a few touchdowns, made a number of catches, and we were off to the races,” he said.
Humber started its season 1-and-4, but my uncle always gave his best on the field, no matter the outcome.
“We started off having a great team,” Poce said. “I would have to say that I tried to pick up the slack and was one of the better players, but injuries really hurt us.”
The bad luck would not go away.
Humber’s football season ended early because injuries pushed the team to the breaking point.
Although Humber was only able to play half a season, my uncle was able to show off his skills, holding plenty of records for his play.
“I had records at Humber for number of catches, number of yards, punt return yards, kickoff return yards and interceptions,” he said.
His valiant play would end up getting him selected to the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association All-Star team as a defensive and offensive player. This record still holds up to this day.
“Being an all-star meant a lot considering I had won it and only played half a season and then had coaches from other colleges calling me to come play for their schools after Humber folded,” Poce said.
“After that, I was also scouted by Greg Barton, who was scouting for the (Toronto) Argos and asked to come for a tryout but decided against it,” he said.
The All-Star team would be my uncle’s last experience playing football. It was also the last season for Humber College, which ended its program that year.
My uncle would also finish his football career. “Mostly size” was a key reason he decided not to continue.
It has been 51 years since Humber College has had the opportunity to throw a touchdown. My uncle said he would love to see a football program return.
“It would be nice, but I don’t think it will ever happen,” Poce said.
Brian Lepp, Humber’s head of athletic communications, said he would love to return a football team to the wide variety of sports at Humber, but the cost might be an issue.
“Of course, I would want Humber to have a football team obviously because it’s my favourite sport,” Lepp said.
“The issue with football is that it’s too expensive, insurance-wise. Equipment-wise, you’re looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
Although Humber is not likely to acquire a football team any time soon, my uncle will always be in the books of the college’s history and a record that he holds aside that makes it even better.