Bill Stukus

{{short description|Canadian football player}}

{{Infobox gridiron football person

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|5|15}}

| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada

| death_date = {{death date and age|2003|6|19|1916|5|15}}

| death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Births, Deaths, In Memoriam |date=July 5, 2003|page=B7}}

| team =

| number =

| status = Retired

| import = n

| position1 = Quarterback

| position2 = Safety

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 9

| weight_lb = 175

| college = St. Michael's

| playing_years1 = {{CFL Year|1936|1941}}

| playing_team1 = Toronto Argonauts

| playing_years2 = 1942–1943

| playing_team2 = Toronto RCAF Hurricanes

| playing_years3 = 1945–1946

| playing_team3 = Toronto Indians

| playing_years4 = {{CFL Year|1947}}

| playing_team4 = Toronto Argonauts

| playing_years5 = {{CFL Year|1949|1951}}

| playing_team5 = Edmonton Eskimos

| career_highlights =

• 4× Grey Cup champion (1937, 1938, 1942, 1947)
• Imperial Oil Trophy (1942)

| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|1939}}, {{CFL Year|1942}}, {{CFL Year|1945}}

| awards =

| honours =

}}

William Stukus (May 15, 1916 – June 19, 2003) was a Canadian football quarterback.

Stukus started with the Toronto Argonauts, winning a Grey Cup in 1937 and 1938, and being named an all-star.[https://www.cfl.ca/page/cfl-veterans CFL Veterans] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915185327/http://www.cfl.ca/page/cfl-veterans |date=2009-09-15 }} Perhaps his best season was in 1942, with the wartime all-military Toronto RCAF Hurricanes, when he was an all-star, won a third Grey Cup and was the Ontario Rugby Football Union Imperial Oil Trophy winner as MVP. He played with the Toronto Indians and then returned to the Argonauts in 1947, winning his fourth Grey Cup. He played 48 regular season and 17 playoff games for the Argos.2008 Toronto Argonauts Media Guide He finished his career playing three seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos.[http://home.ican.net/~argos/mariners/profiles/960814.htm PLAYER #69 - BILL STUKUS (1936-41, 47)]

While serving in the RCAF during the war, he also had the good fortune to play in the famed Tea Bowl, where the Canadian Army football team defeated the American Army team 16–6 at White City Stadium on February 13, 1944 in London, England.{{Cite web|title=The coffee & tea bowls: football classics: Canada vs. the United States in wartime London as Spitfires fly cover. - Free Online Library|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+coffee+&+tea+bowls:+football+classics:+Canada+vs.+the+United...-a0125648075|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}

Bill was one of the famed Stukus brothers. Bill and his brothers Annis and Frank played together in the offensive backfield of the 1938 Grey Cup champion Argonaut team.{{Cite web|date=2007-11-22|title=Home of The Game|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/2007/11/22/home_of_the_game.html|access-date=2021-06-08|website=thestar.com|language=en}}