By Stampeders.com staff

Marc Boerigter’s career in Calgary was relatively brief, but it was certainly remarkable.

He arrived at McMahon Stadium in 2000 and immediately had sportswriters scrambling to figure out where in the world Hastings College — Boerigter’s alma mater — was located. (For the record, it’s in the Nebraska city of Hastings, which also happens to be Boerigter’s hometown).

Boerigter joined a veteran-laden receiving corps that included such standouts as Allen Pitts, Travis Moore and Vince Danielsen.

In spite of his unassuming football background and the high-profile competition for the attention and passes of Stamps quarterback Dave Dickenson, Boerigter unexpectedly made a big impact as a CFL rookie as he hauled in 63 balls for 1,092 yards — the first Stamps rookie since Terry Vaughn to top 1,000 yards — and eight touchdowns. The six-foot-three pass-catcher was Calgary’s nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie award.

Boerigter wasted no time making an impression with the Stamps. On the first day of training camp, his 40-yard time was so fast that the coaches made him run it again because they were sure there had been a malfunction with the stopwatch.

In his first pre-season game, he scored a pair of touchdowns. In the final game of his first stint with the Stamps, the 2001 Grey Cup, he also caught a touchdown as the Stamps upset Winnipeg for a championship.

Marcus Crandell, the man who threw the Grey Cup TD pass to Boerigter, earned game MVP honours that day but the receiver also received some votes thanks to his four catches for 114 yards.

In two seasons with the Stamps, Boerigter caught 111 passes for 2,123 yards and 19 touchdowns. With that kind of skill set — speed, size and sure hands — it was just a matter of time until the National Football League came calling and so he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and caught eight touchdown passes as an NFL rookie in 2002.

Boerigter’s NFL career was derailed by a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2004 season and he eventually wound up back in the CFL in 2007 when he rejoined the Stamps. He played just six games for Calgary — including a contest against the Toronto in which he had a 70-yard touchdown reception — before being released.