Maurice Moe (The Toe) Racine
Sport: Football
Year Inducted: 1968
Another of the multi sports athletes, Maurice Moe “The Toe” Racine was born October 13th, 1937 in the city of Cornwall.
He attended St. Lawrence High School where he starred playing both basketball and football under legendary coach Art Anderson.
Moe was the city of Cornwall’s Athlete of the Year in 1957. During the winter months from 1957-63, Moe played broomball with the family team “Racine Cities Service” in Cornwall’s North End League. He was feared for having one of the hardest shots in the area. From the mid fifties and for ten years, he played in the city basketball leagues and refereed basketball at the high school level in Ottawa.
Known as the “Mountain” during his high school playing days, at 6’3″ and 240 pounds, Moe was a fixture on the offensive and defense. He began carrying the ball for the Saints helping lead Anderson’s teams to three EOSSAA High School football Championships 1955-56-57. Three years later the big kid who grew up on Belmont Street in Cornwall’s east end was kicking off, in the 1960 Grey Cup game in Vancouver.
In 1958, Moe was offered a tryout with the Cleveland Browns, and entertained a few college offers, but opted to attend the Ottawa Rough Riders camp. He played for St. Anthony in the Little Big Four, where he was converted to the tackle position. In 1959 Moe stayed with the Rough Riders where he would play a Rough Rider record 213 regular season games missing only nine games due to injury.
He was an Eastern All-Star four times at the offensive tackle position 1962 – 1965 – 1966 and an honorary addition to the team in 1972.
After never kicking in High School, in 1960, he began handling the kicking duties and eventually Moe “The Toe” became his trademark nickname. He set a CFL record for field goals in 1962 and for the longest field goal in 1967. Moe finished second in league scoring three times (1962-64 & 65) until finally winning the “Big Four” Eastern scoring title in 1966 with seventy-one points. Moe would score 392 points in six seasons as the Rough Riders Kicker and recorded another 64 play-off points.
He was a part of five Grey Cup teams with the Rough Riders winning four times in 1960-1968-1969 and 1973.
Prior to Moe’s last home game against Montreal on October 20th, 1974, the Rough Riders and the city of Ottawa held Moe Racine day when his number 62 was retired.
Moe won the Gil O’Julien Trophy as Ontario & Quebec’s Best French Canadian Athlete (Football) in 1962 and three times, he won the Palestre National medaille d’Or and he was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.
Moe was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2014.
Moe married Donna Donihee, and they have four children, youngest son Bruce had a fifteen year professional hockey career.
Moe Racine died March 4, 2018.