Grover Covington
| No. 77 | |
 Grover Covington - Photographed by Mike F. Campbell | |
| Date of birth | March 25, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Monroe, North Carolina |
| Career information | |
| CFL status | International |
| Position(s) | DE |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| College | Johnson C. Smith |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1981–1991 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| CFL All-Star | 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 |
| CFL East All-Star | 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 |
| Career stats | |
Grover Covington (born March 25, 1956) is a former Canadian Football League defensive end for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Grover Covington didn't begin playing football until his junior year of high school, but was good enough to earn a scholarship to Johnson C. Smith University, an NCAA Division II school in Charlotte, North Carolina.[1]
Professional career
Covington's career began in 1981 as a free agent signing by the Montreal Alouettes. However a pre-season trade that year sent him to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where he played his entire career.[2] Covington was a seven-time CFL All-Star and often led the league in quarterback sacks. He won the Schenley Award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player once and also led the Tiger-Cats to a Grey Cup victory in 1986. He finished his career with 157 sacks, a CFL record. In 1995 Covington was inducted along with former teammate Chet Grimsley into the Johnson C. Smith University Sports Hall of Fame. (Grimsley's 2011 book The White Golden Bull: How Faith in God Transcended Racial Barriers includes a chapter on the relationship between the author, a white student at the historically black university, and Covington.)[3] Covington was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and, in November 2006, was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#28) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
Life after retirement
Covington lives in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada with wife Natalie and three children. Their son Christian Covington graduated from Rice University while attending the school on a full-scholarship for football. He is now a professional football player for the Houston Texans in the NFL. Their daughter Asianna attends the University of Georgia on a full-ride scholarship for track and field. Their daughter Autumn attends Cornell University on a full-ride scholarship for track and field as well.