Role American football player Name Ernie Pitts | Position(s) WR/DB Weight 87 kg CFL status National Height 1.88 m | |
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Date of birth (1935-03-08)March 8, 1935 Date of death September 24, 1970(1970-09-24) (aged 35) Died September 24, 1970, Denver, Colorado, United States NFL draft 1957 (Round: 8 / Pick: 92) | ||
Ernie Pitts (March 8, 1935 – September 24, 1970) was a Canadian Football League wide receiver and defensive back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions in a 14-year career in the CFL from 1957 to 1970. He won four Grey Cups with Winnipeg.
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College
Ernie Pitts played college football at Denver University.
Winnipeg
Ernie Pitts was a standout wide receiver who also played defensive back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1957 to 1969. For all those years except the last two, Ken Ploen was his quarterback . Together, along with Jim Van Pelt [1958-59], Pitts and Ploen were major factors in Winnipeg's six Grey Cup appearances (1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1965), including four victories: 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and two losses: 1957, 1965. His highest totals in caught passes was 68 in 1959 and 62 in 1962. In 1959, he scored 16 touchdowns. He once caught 5 touchdown passes in one game and scored on a 107-yard touchdown pass play. Evidence of his prowess on defense included 7 interceptions in 1968 and 5 more in 1969.
BC
Pitts ended his career with the BC Lions in 1970.
Sudden death
Pitts died after he was shot by his estranged wife in a domestic dispute in Denver Colorado.