Don Narcisse

Donald Narcisse (born February 26, 1965) is a former wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Texas Southern University. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League as an undrafted free agent in May, 1987. He was released by the Cardinals at the end of training camp. He then signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent on September 1, 1987.

A relatively small player at and , Narcisse was effective at short-yardage plays, often in situations needing a first down. He was rarely injured, which, combined with his strong on-field performance, led to his holding or sharing several records. He had over 1,000 receiving yards for seven consecutive seasons from 1989 to 1995 including a career-high 1419 yards in 1989. Despite his consistency, the Roughriders were frequently an average team in the middle or bottom half of the standings. He played alongside Ray Elgaard and Jeff Fairholm, and together they were among the best groups of receivers in the league.

At the time of his retirement, he was first all-time in career receptions, third in career receiving yards, and his eight seasons with more than 1000 yards put him in a first-place tie for that record as well. Narcisse holds the professional football record for most consecutive games with at least one reception in every game (216). He is considered one of the greatest players in Roughriders history and one of the league's greatest receivers.

Narcisse was a popular and respected man due to his positive and warm nature towards fans, players and media. His community involvement became much appreciated throughout his career. His most well-known contribution was the "Catch For Kids" program with SaskEnergy on behalf of Kidsport Saskatchewan which began in 1998. The program has evolved to include a charity Saskatchewan Roughrider player calendar, as well as charity bowling event which today raises more than $100,000 annually for Kidsport. That same season, the Leader Post newspaper ranked him as No. 7 on their list of 50 greatest Roughrider players. He won a Grey Cup with the Riders in 1989 and reached the finals again in 1997. After spending his entire career with the Roughriders, Narcisse retired at the conclusion of the 1999 season.

In 2000, Narcisse coached for the San Antonio Matadors of the Spring Football League.

In 2003, Narcisse was voted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders Plaza of Honour. Three years later in 2006, Narcisse was among 185 players nominated for The TSN/CFL 50 Greatest Players list. He was not voted into the top 50. He was among the 135 players Honour Roll of those who didn't make the list. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

CFL 13 seasons: 1987–1999

Regular-season stats

216 games, 919 receptions, 75 touchdowns, 12,366 yards 8 – more than 1,000 yard seasons, 2 – more than 900 yards seasons 34 – more than 100 yard games Led CFL in receptions (123) – 1995

Playoffs stats

Grey Cup: 2 games, 12 receptions, 158 yards, 1 TD Overall: 9 games, 41 receptions, 560 yards, 2 TD

Awards & Honors

Grey Cups – won > 1989, lost > 1997 CFL All-Star: 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998 Division All-Star: 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1998 Roughriders nominee for Most Outstanding CFL Player in 1995 Molson Cup – Roughriders Most Popular Player – 1994, 1995, 1998

Records

1st – (11) – Most seasons with pass reception in all games 1st – (216) – Most consecutive games with pass receptions, regular season 2nd – (216) – Most games with pass receptions, regular season Tied 2nd – (15) Most pass receptions in a regular-season game 3rd – (123) Most pass receptions in a regular season 3rd – (7) – Most consecutive more than 1,000 pass receiving yard seasons 4th – (919) – Most pass receptions, all-time regular season

U.S. college In senior season at Texas Southern > 88 receptions, 1,074 yards 1986 NCAA Division I-AA receiving crown Named First-Team NCAA Division I All-American, All-Southwest Conference

+ CFL career statistics Year Rec Yrd Avg Lg TD 1987 25 319 12.8 43 1 1988 21 288 13.7 22 0 1989 81 1419 17.5 74 11 1990 86 1129 13.1 47 9 1991 76 1043 13.7 59 7 1992 80 1034 12.9 65 7 1993 83 1171 14.1 44 9 1994 72 1004 13.9 40 8 1995 123 1288 10.5 40 8 1996 66 906 13.7 77 4 1997 64 950 14.8 47 5 1998 95 1215 12.8 44 7 1999 47 600 12.8 31 1 Total 919 12366 13.5 77 75