A path well-traveled: The mirrored career paths of Fantuz, Butler

They’ll tell you it’s a coincidence—and it likely is—but the football career paths that Andy Fantuz and Craig Butler have followed are eerily similar.

The two were born on back-to-back days in December, Andy on December 18 and Craig on the 19th. Granted, it was five years apart, but this is where the connections began.

Both grew up in Southwestern Ontario, Andy in Chatham, where he began playing football at John McGregor High, and Craig in London, where he exploded onto the football scene playing quarterback and safety at St. Thomas Aquinas high school.

After high school, Fantuz and Butler each found their way to Western University, where they each played four years of university football for the Mustangs.

“Going to Western was great,” said Fantuz, “playing under Larry [Haylor]…he kind of whipped me into shape, not only on the field but just in life. He was a good man and a good mentor for me.”

Fantuz made quite the name for himself at Western, book-ending his career with the 2002 CIS rookie of the year award and the 2005 Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in the CIS. In his four CIS seasons, the receiver hauled in 189 receptions for 4,123 yards and 41 touchdowns, all of which were CIS records.

“Everybody knew who Andy Fantuz was at Western,” said Butler, who came through Western’s program two years after Fantuz graduated. “You knew what he did, I remember watching him play, I grew up in London and I’d go to Western games.”

Butler’s career at Western was highlighted by three Yates Cup championships, something which he credits to the strong recruiting of the coaching staff, and the winning culture that they created at the London, Ontario campus.

“We had a great coaching staff that just developed a winning atmosphere,” said Butler.

While Butler was was battling for Yates Cup championships in the purple and white, Fantuz was making a name for himself at the next level, after being drafted third overall in the 2006 CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Riders eased Fantuz into his role on the team during his rookie season, but he broke out in 2007, making 56 receptions for 978 yards in his second season in the league.

Under now-Ticats head coach Kent Austin, Fantuz, and the Riders won a Grey Cup in 2007, with the Canadian receiver bringing home the Canadian MVP award in the game. He looks back as his number one memory in Saskatchewan.

“Winning the Grey Cup and coming back and doing the parade in the freezing cold, seeing all the fans,” said Fantuz, when asked what his top moment as a Rider was. “That was something special.”

Fantuz followed up his breakout season with three more strong campaigns for the Riders, with Grey Cup appearances in 2009 and 2010. It was in that 2010 season, the best of Fantuz’s career when Butler was in his draft year at Western.

Butler grew up watching Fantuz at Western, but as his draft day approached, it was the five-year CFL veteran who was watching him play for the Mustangs.

“I actually remember watching film with the defensive coordinator and talking about him before the draft,” said Fantuz, “I was telling him that he should pick him up and he did. I was always a big Craig Butler fan.”

The two Western alumni linked up with the Riders for just one season, Butler winning the team’s most outstanding rookie award, while Fantuz split time between Saskatchewan and the NFL’s Chicago Bears. The following season, Fantuz took the next step in his career, returning to Hamilton to play for his childhood team.

“This was my home team growing up, my dad was a Ticats fan, I was a Ticats fan,” explained Fantuz. “At the time it happened, all the arrows pointed in that direction, and I’m very happy with the decision.”

Butler established himself as one of the premier Canadian defenders in the game, while Fantuz continued his professional success with the Ticats, logging his third-highest total yardage in the 2012 season.

The two met again in the 2013 Grey Cup, a game which Butler cherishes as his best memory at Mosaic Stadium, although he tiptoes around the subject in the current locker room.

“It’s not easy to talk about around here, but it had to have been that Grey Cup,” said Butler, thinking back on his time with the Riders.

Less than three months after that victory, and three years after Fantuz’s Saskatchewan departure, the Canadian safety packed his bags and followed suit, signing with the Tiger-Cats on February 11, 2014.

“When we made the switch, we had similar interests in coming here; the coaches, the location and being close to home,” said Butler, reflecting on the coincidence of both players’ journeys. “It’s weird, I’ve thought about it too before.”

And so the journey has come to an end for the two Canadian all-stars, or at least it’s stopped in Hamilton for the time being. The two have gotten to know each other better in their time with the Ticats, both fulfilling leadership roles on their respective sides of the ball.

“Me and Andy have a good relationship, we hang out and we talk,” started Butler. “We’re on different sides of the football, and it’s kind of refreshing when you can talk to a guy and it’s not necessarily just about football.”