Jake Ireland has been selected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Class of 2013. Jake officiated his first CFL game in June of 1979 and worked 555 games through his brilliant career, which drew to a close after he refereed the 96th Grey Cup in Montreal in 2008. That was his 15th Grey Cup, and 12th as a referee. Four of those games, from 1985 to ’88, came in succession, a rarity in the modern era.
Being an official named to the Hall of Fame is another rarity.
“I was always of the belief that we’re supposed to be not noticed and it seems somebody noticed.”