Normie Kwong. Gerry James.

Those two names represent the sum total of Canadians who have rushed for more yards in a CFL season than the Stampeders’ Jon Cornish has so far in 2012. And since Kwong and James both starred in the 1950s, we can say that Cornish is fashioning the most productive season by a home-grown player that a couple of generations of CFL fans have ever seen.

On Friday against the Edmonton Eskimos, Cornish rocketed past the 1,000-yard milestone for the season with a 73-yard touchdown scamper. That made him only the eighth Canadian in league history to surpass that mark.

By the time Friday’s game was over, Cornish had accumulated 180 yards for the game and 1,127 yards for the season, passing the single-season totals of such Canadian stars as Ron Stewart, Sean Millington, Bob Swift, Jerome Messam and Orville Lee.

Now, only the half century-old totals of Kwong — a Calgarian and recent addition to the Stampeders’ Wall of Fame — and James — a two-sport star with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Maple Leafs — stand between Cornish and the best rushing total by a non-import.

Kwong owns the two best seasons by a Canadian — 1,437 in 1956 and 1,250 in 1955 — while James has the next two  — 1,205 in 1955 and 1,192 in 1957.

Best rushing seasons by a Canadian

With five games to go, Cornish needs 311 yards to become the all-time leader in the category of most rushing yards by a Canadian, although it should be pointed out that Kwong and James achieved their numbers during a 16-game season compared to the current 18.

But any way you slice it, it’s been a remarkable season for Calgary’s No. 9, particularly over the past eight games. Since the start of August, Cornish has averaged 116 yards per game and produced four of the best dozen rushing performances in the CFL over the past three seasons including the top two.

Best single-game rushing totals since 2010