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Oh, Canada: Sixkiller Wore No. 5 When He Auditioned for a QB Job in Toronto

The former University of Washington quarterback followed his pro football dream north of the border. See how this opportunity turned out.
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The Canadian Football League was not a good fit for Sonny Sixkiller. It was a numbers game.

When he showed up for the Toronto Argonauts' training camp, the ex-University of Washington quarterback received jersey No. 5 while an old USC nemesis, Mike Rae — the guy who beat the Huskies with a game-winning field goal three years earlier in Seattle — pulled on No. 6.

In 1974, Sixkiller was one of six quarterback candidates battling for one of 32 Toronto roster spots, 15 of which were reserved for American players.

While the CFL game was played differently, with the quarterback required to run as well as he could pass, Sonny felt more welcome with the Args than he did with the Los Angeles Rams.

For starters, Sixkiller signed a two-year contract. That seemed to indicate that Toronto had plenty of confidence in his ability to make the team, which was guided by former Buffalo Bills coach John Rauch. 

"I was getting Sixkiller all along when his name came up," Rauch told the beat writers. "I was for it because I had seen him play several times. He had a flair for putting the ball out there and seemed to enjoy quarterbacking and throwing."

Before reporting in July 1974, after sitting out the previous season, Sonny took care of pressing personal business. He married his longtime girlfriend Denise Warner in her hometown of Yakima, Washington. They met at the UW. 

Sixkiller settled on Toronto as his next pro football opportunity because the Argonauts were in need of a quarterback — Joe Theismann had left them to sign with the NFL's Washington Redskins.

There was just one problem with his pursuit of a job north of the border.

"I never got close to Argonauts coach John Rauch," Sixkiller said. 

Sonny played briefly in Toronto's exhibition opener against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, completing 2 of 3 passes for 13 yards in a 25-25 tie.

In the second exhibition game, he hit on 4 of 7 passes for 84 yards in a 27-17 victory over Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

That night, Sixkiller's favorite UW passing target, Tommy Scott, was in a Winnipeg uniform, seeking a job. Similar to Sonny, he had failed to latch on with the NFL and sat out a year. Manitoba was a good place for him. He would spend 11 highly productive seasons in the league and enter the CFL Hall of Fame. 

Sonny received a chance to play close to home, drawing 17 snaps in a 21-15 win over the B.C. Lions on a wet night in Vancouver. The Seattle press corps came up to see him in action. He responded with a couple of big plays.

He threw a 46-yard pass to one Roy Beechey to set up a field goal and he ran 20 yards to set up another three-pointer, turning into that double-threat CFL quarterback as required. He split time behind center and completed 3 of 6 passes, compared to Rae's 4-for-11 effort.

Sixkiller felt confident afterward, telling those familiar faces holding notepads as much.

"I think I've made the club, but you never know," Sonny said. "I think everyone on our club is confident they'll make it. It's too bad some guys have to be cut."

Once they got back to Toronto, Rauch let him go.

It was nothing personal. Argonauts had made Rae the No. 1 quarterback and traded for a veteran named Jim Lindsey. Sonny's release was front-page news in Seattle again.

"He had some problems, but so did all of our quarterbacks with the wet ball," Rauch said of Sonny's B.C. outing. "He's got to learn about manipulating all that motion offense that we use in Canadian football. It's more demanding on the quarterback than the NFL."

Unlike his NFL opportunity, Sixkiller felt blindsided this time. Unlike other UW quarterbacks Bob Schloredt and Warren Moon, the CFL cast him aside.

"It was weird," he said. "I threw the ball really well. It was totally unexpected in a way."

The timing of it wasn't good at all.

The new Denise Sixkiller arrived in Toronto to live just two hours before Sonny got dropped.

"I never seemed to be at the right place at the right time," Sixkiller said. "The Rams were set at the quarterback slot before I arrived and Toronto never gave me a shot at winning the job. All I asked was to let me show what I can do."

Sonny, however, wasn't done with pro football yet.

It would take another year, but he had a job waiting for him 4,600 miles away.

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