ROB VANSTONE: 2026 Plaza inductees set a remarkable template

Three new Plaza of Honour members. One common path.

Rob Bagg, Dan Clark and Paul McCallum did not take the express route to the CFL or, more specifically, to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

But each of them overcame the odds to not only star for the Green and White, but also enjoy exemplary careers that are being recognized on Saturday with formal induction into the Roughriders’ shrine.

Although Clark is entering the Plaza in his first year of eligibility, that is a rare example of himself, Bagg or McCallum being fast-tracked.

Clark and McCallum ascended to the CFL from the junior football ranks. Bagg enjoyed a decade-long stay with the Roughriders despite being bypassed in the 2007 draft.

“It shows that there’s more than one path,” Clark noted during a Thursday morning media conference at Mosaic Stadium. “The common thing is hard work.”

And talent. That is an essential ingredient.

But in each case, the 2026 Plaza inductees extracted the absolute most from their natural ability.

McCallum, for one, played his final CFL game at age 46. The year before, he spent most of the season with the Roughriders, extending an affiliation with the team that included the tail end of two seasons (1994 and 1995) and full-time service from 1996 to 2005.

The second-leading scorer in Roughriders history, McCallum entered the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

Not bad for someone who didn’t even play the non-soccer version of football until age 20, as a member of the Surrey Rams.

One fine day, McCallum and some other junior players visited a B.C. Lions practice. They ended up meeting with then-Lions Director of Player Personnel Bill Quinter, who had been the Roughriders’ General Manager in 1985 and 1986.

“He said to me, ‘You know, kid, you’ve got a lot of ability, but you need to put in a lot of work,’ ” McCallum recalled. “He said, ‘I think you could do this.’

“I had given up on soccer. That was my thing when I was a kid and I was disappointed in it not working out. But when I talked to Bill Quinter, I thought, ‘He must know what he’s talking about.’

“When he said that to me, that sort of flicked the switch for me to put in the extra effort and work. All I focused on was getting better.”

The same applies to Clark, who starred for the Regina Intercollegiate Football League’s Thom Trojans before joining the Regina Thunder and excelling in the junior ranks.

In 2009, the 19-year-old Clark attended his first CFL training camp. He subsequently spent time on the Roughriders’ practice roster in addition to playing for the Thunder. Double duty was also the drill in 2010.

Having graduated from the Thunder, Clark was a practice-roster player throughout the 2011 season. He finally cracked the Roughriders’ active roster in 2012. For the next 10 years, he was entrenched as a Roughrider.

A Grey Cup champion alongside Bagg in 2013, Clark was the All-CFL centre six years later.

Plaza of Honour induction was inevitable — in the appraisal of everyone but Clark.

“To say I’m humbled is probably an understatement,” he said. “I feel like I don’t deserve to be up here, but it’s coming to light as I see Bagger. Are you kidding me? I’m sitting beside Paul McCallum. These are both legends who I’ve had the opportunity to play with.

“I’m excited to share the opportunity with my wife and my kids. I’m excited for the honour.”

From the platform in Mosaic Stadium’s media room, Bagg was able to speak to an audience that included his family.

His message is must-listen, must-read material for anyone who experiences adversity.

After being overlooked in the CFL Draft, Bagg signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent out of Queen’s University in his hometown of Kingston, Ont.

Arriving at training camp with absolutely no fanfare, he proceeded to make the team — only to inform Head Coach Kent Austin and GM Eric Tillman of the plan to return to Queen’s for one more season.

The Roughriders of 2007 proceeded to win the third championship in franchise history. Bagg, meanwhile, enjoyed a banner swan-song season at Queens. One fine day, he erupted for 341 receiving yards.

Bagg rejoined the Roughriders the next year and remained a part of the equation until 2018.

There were times, though, when the affiliation was threatened.

Coincidentally, Bagg will formally enter the Plaza — as will McCallum and Clark — at halftime of Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Alouettes.

The game will be played 16 years to the day after Bagg suffered a knee injury that triggered a career-threatening chain of events.

He missed the Roughriders’ final six games of the 2010 season, including the team’s second consecutive Grey Cup appearance.

The 2011 season was a complete write-off.

Bagg returned to the lineup in 2012, but his comeback season was limited to three games.

Finally, in 2013, he was back for good.

On July 27 of that year against the Austin-coached Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Bagg caught five passes for 125 yards to help the Roughriders win 37-0. He collaborated with Darian Durant on touchdown passes of 60 and 28 yards.

Sandwiched in between was Clark’s first of two career TD receptions as a Roughrider.

Saskatchewan’s 35-13 rout of the host Calgary Stampeders in the 2013 Western Final was sparked by Bagg’s three-yard, first-quarter TD reception that put the visitors ahead for the duration.

A home-field Grey Cup win followed one week later at historic Mosaic Stadium.

At the very same venue, McCallum was part of a B.C. side that provided the Roughriders’ toughest test of the 2013 post-season. The Lions led 25-16 after three quarters before Durant memorably willed Saskatchewan to a 29-25 first-round playoff victory.

Nobody could have suspected at the time that McCallum would resurface in Riderville.

He rejoined the Roughriders in Week 2 of the 2015 season, wearing green once again for a July 5 home game against the Toronto Argonauts.

Clark snapped the ball on the Roughriders’ first play from scrimmage.

Bagg promptly recovered a fumble to avert a Roughriders turnover. Instead of surrendering the football, the Roughriders embarked on a march that concluded deep in Argos territory.

McCallum punctuated the drive with a nine-yard field goal.

Later in the game, Bagg scored his first CFL rushing touchdown.

Clark was part of an offensive line that allowed only one sack — providing plenty of time for Kevin Glenn to amass 477 passing yards.

McCallum kicked four field goals in an equal number of attempts.

The classic contest went into overtime before Toronto eked out a 42-40 win.

The victorious quarterback, following his third CFL start: Trevor Harris.