Ben Zambiasi

Ben Zambiasi
No. 31
Date of birth (1956-09-19) September 19, 1956 (age 68)
Place of birthValdosta, Georgia, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)Linebacker
US collegeGeorgia
NFL draft1978 / round: 10 / Pick 271
(By the Chicago Bears)
Career history
As player
1978–1987Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1988Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1978–1982, 1985
CFL East All-Star1978-1982, 1984-1986
Career stats

Benjamin Ray Zambiasi (born August 19, 1956) is a former linebacker for the University of Georgia and in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Zambiasi was born in Valdosta, Georgia, and attended high school at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon playing on three state championship football teams there.[1] He played for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1974 to 1977.[2] While at Georgia Zambiasi led the Bulldogs with 467 career tackles tackling 173 in 1977.[3] He later graduated from the University of Georgia in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree. He was drafted by the NFL's Chicago Bears in the 10th round, 271st overall, in 1978, but ended up coming to Canada after training camp.[4]

Zambiasi played 10 years with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1978–1987) and one year with the Toronto Argonauts (1988).[2][5] He played in 4 Grey Cup games winning one championship in the 74th Grey Cup. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 1979 and was an all star 8 times.[6] He was selected to the University of Georgia Bulldogs' Team of the Century and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Wall of Honour in 2002. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.[2] In 2014 Zambiasi was inducted into the Georgia-Florida game Hall of Fame. [7]

References

  1. ^ "Ticat legend Ben Zambiasi is heading to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame". The Hamilton Spectator.
  2. ^ a b c "Ben Zambiasi". Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum.
  3. ^ "Zambiasi Dogs SEC Legend". BuckBelue.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  4. ^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Mark Harding (September 30, 1988). "How Ben Zambiasi became an Argo Pitch for a job coincided with Landry's vanishing". Toronto Star.
  6. ^ "Ben Zambiasi". CFLapedia.
  7. ^ "Nashvillesportsmix.com". nashvillesportsmix.com.
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