John MacDonald 6'2" 237 lbs Defensive Tackle Simcoe Sabre Football Mcgill University Football CFL - Hamilton Tigercats

A Sabre Grows Into A Tiger Cat

John Macdonald was born in Hamilton, Ontario on August 30, 1978 and was raised in Simcoe. His mother is a Mohawk from Ohsweken, and his father is a Scottish-Canadian from Mount Hope. Until age 3, he lived in Caledonia then moved to Simcoe where he attended Simcoe Composite School from 1992-1997 for his high school years. He started his football career on our very own Simcoe Sabres Football Team. He went out in grade 9, however was intimidated by the age of the players and quit. This didn't stop him though. The next year he came out with a new confidence after having trained at Iron Masters’ Gym in Simcoe. He started on the offensive line in his grade 10 rookie year. His coaches in high school were Dave Abbey (1993-94), Mr. Morgan from 1995-1996 and Chris Harvey was his defensive coordinator. He only got better playing both ways and all special teams from grade 11-13. During his 4 years as a Sabre, he played offensive guard, defensive tackle, middle linebacker (in his last year) and also was the team’s long snapper.

His first year as a Sabre was in 1993. That year, the team went 1-6 and, in one match, lost 63-0 to Valley. The next year it all turned around as the Sabres were about to begin a rise to the top. In 1994, the Sabres won the Norfolk Bowl - beating Valley 26-21. In 1995, they lost the Norfolk Bowl; however, the next year, in 1996, they returned to the top by beating Valley 10-1 to win the Norfolk Bowl for the second time in 3 seasons. He says the best players he ever played with as a Sabre were Hank Dickson, Jason Snyder, Chris Lesage, Craig Maclean, Ryan Arsenault, John Wilson, Dwayne Sheppard, and future CIS All-Canadian Jim Merrick.

All of John's hard work was awarded. He received Best Linemen in his 1st,3rd & 4th years and Overall MVP in his 4th Year. It also paid off in other ways as he was recruited by McMaster, Queens, Wilfred Laurier, Waterloo, Windsor, University of Toronto, Guelph, McGill, Acadia, and Ottawa to play university football. In the end, he chose McGill University for its high academic reputation. He majored in English Literature and minored in Canadian History at McGill.

John made the McGill Redmen Football Team and played Defensive Tackle for five seasons. During those five years, Macdonald was a conference all-star and an All-Canadian. His last season he registered 28 tackles and 5 sacks (2nd in the league) in six games before suffering a season ending knee injury Oct 17. In his five years as a Redmen he became the all-time total tackles for loss leader with 31.5 in 33 games - sixteen of which were quarterback sacks. In the 2000 season he was awarded with his first major team award when he was presented the Willie Lambert trophy as most dedicated player. In his 2001 season he was presented with two major team awards. He was awarded the Touchdown Club trophy as most valuable lineman and the Willie Lambert trophy for the second straight year.

Once again, all his hard work and determination had paid off for him. The 23-year-old, 6'2" 273lbs Defensive Tackle was drafted 7th overall in the 2002 Canadian College draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He signed a three year contract with the Ti-Cats. John was the fifth McGill player since 1989 to be drafted in the 1st round of the CFL draft.

Macdonald wore #91 as a Tiger-Cat from 2002-2004. During his time as a Ti-Cat, John played in 42 regular season games and one playoff game (2004). He had 19 career starts, gaining 5 sacks and one interception. Macdonald started on a front four on defense as a nose tackle. He started with CFL All-Stars Johnny Scott, Tim Cheatwood, and Joe Montford. John was also very active in community appearances while he was with the Tiger-Cats. John MacDonald has since retired from the CFL to work for the Grand Erie District School Board. He has taught at SCS, Waterford, McKinnon Park (Caledonia), and is currently the Aboriginal Education Teacher Consultant for the school board.