Aside from being the first London Beefeaters team to advance to a Championship game, the 1988 Beefeaters squad is remembered most for unbridled passion and commitment. After back-to-back 1-9 seasons, the 1987 team secured 4 wins setting the stage for an exciting 1988 year.
Lead by Head Coach Casey Conlon, the team finished the regular season with a 4-4 record, before going on a Cinderella playoff run to advance to the program’s first Ontario Football Conference Championship in London.
The team would produce 6 OFC All Stars: Martin Farrell (DB), Dave Sperandeo (DL), Mike Pierotti (OL) Myke Weis (WR), Colin Rous (RB) and current Beefeaters president Rob Annen (DL). Annen was also named Ontario Defensive Rookie of the Year and Ian Hayes was named Canadian Junior Football League Executive of the Year.
The team showed that the pride of the Beefeaters program was strong, setting a foundation for future years.
A man who has truly lived a football life, Tom started his career with the London Beefeaters in the 1976 season out of London Beal Secondary School.
For four seasons, Cudney was a dominate and dependable receiver for the Beefeaters and was voted an Ontario Conference All-Star in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. Cudney headed from the Beefeaters to the NFL, signing a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 1980 season.
Next, Tom moved onto the CFL spending time in both Toronto and Winnipeg before moving to the USFL in 1983 with both Tampa and Denver.
Transitioning to Coaching, Tom has spent time in the CFL with the Argonauts and Roughriders, the University level with both Western and Mount Allison, the NCAA level with various schools across all 3 divisions and several stops in Europe.
Cudney has also given his time back to local football levels with various high schools and the London Beefeaters.
One important side note is that Tom is responsible for giving Michael “Pinball” Clemons the “Pinball” nickname while coaching with the Toronto Argonauts.
A shut down corner from London Lucas Secondary School, Halbouni was also a threat on every kicking play for the Beefeaters in the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
The 2-time Ontario Conference All-Star, he was selected as the 2002 OFC Defensive Player of the Year and Returner of the Year.
Halbouni was also named to the 2001 CJFL All-Canadian Team at Defensive Back and the 2002 All-Canadian team at both Defensive Back and Returner.
In 2002 Halbouni was also awarded the Bob Gooder Award as Beefeaters Most Valuable Player and the team’s Special Teams Player of the Year.
Bill Geris served on the Beefeaters Board of Directors from the mid 1990’s well into the 2000’s
An instrumental part in the Beefs return to play in the mid 1990’s, Geris served as team president for several years, succeeding Dr. Doug Dittmer who moved on to be OFC President.
Dedicated to both the Beefeaters program and local sports, The London Beefeaters Rookie of the
Year Award is named after Bill.
In addition to his service on the Beefeaters board, Geris supported the team as a father, as both
of his sons, Mark and Dave, played for the Beefeaters with Mark being honoured as a CJFL All-Canadian in 1996.
Bill passed away in January 2023.