Hugh Campbell once aspired to be a schoolteacher and mentor, even during the 1960s when he earned the moniker “Gluey Hughie” as a sure-handed receiver with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Campbell may not have taught school, but the American-born Canadian Football Hall of Famer has touched the lives of countless students of the gridiron during an illustrious four decades in professional football and, at age 60, continues to make an impact as president and chief
executive of the Edmonton Eskimos.

As a player, Campbell rarely dropped the ball.
As a coach, he fashioned the highest winning percentage in Canadian Football League history (.769).

And, judging by the Eskimos’ rock- solid status as the CFL’s hottest box office hit, Campbell, one of the most respected men in Canadian football, still has a firm grip on the pigskin.

Edmonton Eskimos photo
Esks’ CEO Hugh Campbell can’t imagine life without football – and the CFL Hall of Famer keeps his eye on the ball from the team’s corner office.

1. As an all-round athlete in high school in Saratoga, Calif., why did you choose football?
“I think that if someone had to guess what sport I might have gone on and played professional in, they
probably would have guessed baseball.”

2. Was baseball the ultimate dream then?
“No. I never dreamed big enough to play professional sports. I grew up hoping I could play high school sports, because I worshipped those players when I used to go to the games as a little kid. In my last season of high school baseball, I was offered a contract to sign with the New York Yankees (as a second baseman). But then the football recruiters started talking to me and I chose Washington State, because I knew I could get the academics that I was looking for and I’d have a chance to play in an offence I thought I could succeed in.”

3. Did you ever regret not signing with the Yankees?
“That was an easy decision because my father would have kicked me in the rear. He was determined that I go to a good school, because he knew only a few could make it in
professional sports. Education was way more important to my father. He said: ‘That’s what you’ll use for the rest of your life.’ ”

4. Who has had the greatest influence on your life?
“I can’t narrow it down to one individual. There were several people. First my parents, and then all my coaches had a huge influence on me, particularly my high school coaches.”

5. How do you reflect on your six years as a receiver in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders?
“Those are very fond memories. The group of players and coaches that were there at that time had a great deal of success and we went to three consecutive Grey Cups and made the playoffs every year. The team hadn’t made the playoffs for years before we got there. That was the golden era for Saskatchewan football with people like George Reed, Ron Lancaster and many other fine players who liked it there, stayed there and weren’t trying to get out of their contracts to go to some other team. I think the people of Saskatchewan look back at that as a time when players were there, knew why they were, and they were the same ones who were there last year and thought they would be there next year.”

6. Was it during that era when you really learned about
winning?
“No, that happened in high school. We (Los Gatos) were the smallest high school in our league and, in my senior year, we won the championship in every single sport except for
basketball. In football, baseball, track, tennis and golf, we took first place. We all liked our coaches there, they made us work and we learned a lot.”

7. What made the Edmonton Eskimos’ five-in-a-row Grey Cups dynasty team so great?
“The people were good players and good people and they became a good team. They went to the Grey Cup six consecutive years and they may not have been the best of friends off the field, but they were friends. That made them all kind of unite and they stuck together and played hard week after week. There was a time when they went 72 consecutive games without losing two in a row. They also went several years without losing a game by more than 10 points. So they didn’t go and lay an egg every once in a while.”

8. What made you successful as a coach with that team?
“The only place where I’ll give myself any extra credit in being good, I think, was at giving everybody else a situation where they could show their ability. I wasn’t making everybody conform to a pre-designated pattern. I gave them a chance to show their stuff, so to speak. So it brought the best out of everybody.”

9. What are your memories of your three years as head coach of the National Football League’s Houston Oilers where you didn’t enjoy the success you were used to?
“I had a good experience there. I met a lot of good people and it also revalidated for me the Edmonton experience because, when I got there, many of the players that I’d had in Edmonton were superior to some of the players I had in Houston. And so it just told me that we played a pretty good brand of football here. On the negative side, it was a team that needed a complete overhaul and, when you do an overhaul, there’s always a little dip because you end up with so many players. It was a tough job but, as we all know in pro sports, most of the jobs that open up are tough because otherwise the previous coach would still be there.”

10. What is your proudest moment in football?
“I’m not good with those kinds of questions. I think I have an overall pride in the character of the people that I’ve coached and I hope that, as a coach, I helped bring that out in them.”

11. How has your experience at the field level helped you in the front office?
“I think I have an understanding of how . . . the minds of the players work, what their attitude is towards various events that may take place. I just think I have a good feel for that.”

12. What’s the key to successfully marketing sports in Edmonton?
“I think it’s a continual process. There is not a magical formula. It’s a roll-your-sleeves-up-and-work-at-it thing. I think the underlining factor, which I think the Eskimos, Oilers and hopefully the Trappers all have, is that you give a consistent pattern to the fans so they can look at it and say: ‘They’re trying to do things right and they’re working at it.’ If the fans have confidence that management is knowledgeable in what they’re doing and trying to do the right thing, then the fans will keep coming to games, even if some things backfire. If the fans think that there’s no consistency and no continuity, it becomes harder for the fans to stick with the program, because they don’t have as much pride in the unit.”

13. With Calgary losing its Pacific Coast League baseball team, what’s it going to take to sustain the long-term viability of the Trappers as the only franchise in Canada?
“That’s a very tough situation. But we’re hoping to twist some of that to our favour by promoting the fact that we have such a high level of baseball (Triple A). The fans have pride in the team. Baseball is different from
hockey and football. With baseball, we’re selling more of a family experience and there’s not as much dependability on winning and losing as in hockey and football.”

14. What’s your goal for the 2002 Grey Cup at Commonwealth Stadium?
“Our first goal is that it’s an enjoyable experience. . . . We’re trying to market Canadian pride and Canadian football and we think if we can do that, people will turn out to see the game. We’ve value priced our tickets ($80, $140 and $165) which are considerably lower than the Grey Cup in Calgary a couple of years ago.”

15. So how crucial is it that the Eskimos are in the Grey Cup game?
“I’ve got two hats on. From a Grey Cup standpoint, it’s not important at all. From the Edmonton Eskimos’ standpoint, we want to be there. The last time we had the Grey Cup, Saskatchewan went and it was still a big financial success. And we know that if Calgary goes, it would be a big financial success. But it might be hard for us with the crossover (playoff) system, say if Montreal was playing Toronto. That scenario might cost us 10,000 tickets.”

Edmonton Eskimos photo
Hugh Campbell says fans need to have confidence in team’s management.

16. Why do you think the CFL has been able to weather so many financial crises?
“I think for one thing we have such a great product and an exciting game. The other thing is that we are wiry and tough as individuals. The people who own the teams are doing it for their love of Canada. If we were just a bunch of businessmen trying to make a profit, we wouldn’t be in this league, because it’s not a league where you can get rich. But it’s people who want to do something that’s enjoyable and provide quality entertainment for their community who I think are the most successful.”

17. If you hadn’t gotten into football, what do you think you’d be doing today?
“I would be teaching and coaching in high school because that was my goal, even after I was out of school for 10 or 15 years. I always thought that, as soon as I get fired from this, I’m going back to high school and be a teacher and coach. I used to look at my high school teachers and think: ‘These guys have a pretty good job.’ But I never accomplished my goal.”

18. So how do you feel about not achieving that goal?
“I think that I’ve gotten away without ever having to really work for a living. When I say I didn’t accomplish my goal, I am almost saying it in a reverse way. I’m saying that I’ve never had to pull out my hole card and do what I’d intended to do to make a living.”

19. What’s it like to have your son Rick in the fold as an assistant coach?
“He’s doing well. He earned his own way here and he definitely makes his own way. And if Tom Higgins (head coach and general manager) ever wants him to leave, he’ll have to leave. He works for Tom. He doesn’t work for me.”

20. How long do you hope to remain as president and CEO of the Eskimos?
“Well, they’ll probably have to carry me out of here on a rail or something, because I have a good job and enjoy the job so I have no intentions of leaving. But, ya know, some time when I can’t keep the pace up – and I hope that I see it first – somebody will put their arm around me and say it’s time for me to change.”

IN PROFILE: Hugh Campbell
* Born/Raised/Age: San Jose, Calif.; Saratoga, Calif.; 60.
* Title: President/CEO (since 1997), Edmonton Eskimos Football Club (which also owns the Edmonton Trappers Baseball Club).
* Education: Washington State University, Bachelor of Science (education), Physical Education and Masters degrees.
* Family: Wife Louise, four grown children, two grandchildren.
* Career: After starring as a wide receiver with Washington State University, Campbell, nicknamed ‘Gluey Hughie’ for his proficiency at hanging onto the football, played pro with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, scoring 60 career touchdown receptions in six seasons and logging 5,245 receiving yards over a six-year span. As head coach of the Eskimos, Campbell's teams won a Canadian Football League record five straight Grey Cups from 1978-82. As a player, coach, GM and president, Campbell has won eight Grey Cups out of 14 appearances. He coached three seasons in the U.S. – one with the fledgling United States Football League's Los Angeles Express and two with the National Football League's Houston Oilers – before returning to the Eskimos as general manager in 1986.
* Honours: Campbell was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in the builders category in 2000.
* Passions: Hiking, dirt biking.

THE ORGANIZATION: Edmonton Eskimos
* Brass: Hugh Campbell, president/CEO; Ernie Stevens, chairman; Tom Higgins, general manager/coach, chief operating officer. n Profile: The Eskimos are a community-owned team with a winning tradition that includes 11 Grey Cups. They will host the 2002 Grey Cup. Their favourite pastime is sacking the Calgary Stampeders' touchdown horse.
* Home: Commonwealth Stadium, capacity 60,081.
* Home Opener: July 4, 7 p.m., versus Ottawa Renegades.
* Web site: www.esks.com
*Address: 9023 111th Ave., Edmonton, AB T5B OC3.
* Phone/Fax: 780-448-1525, 780-429-3452.
* Tickets: 780-448-3757.