A little over a year ago on an episode of Podskee Wee Wee, my co-host Mike Graham and I began a campaign to try to drum up the support to get Rob Hitchcock inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

We dubbed it #HitchForHall (we even made a t-shirt).

After it was announced that Rob Hitchcock would be inducted into the Ticats’ Wall of Honour — should we make a #HitchForWall shirt? — it seems like as good a time as ever to further push for Hitchcock’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

The Ticats put out a short video of some Rob Hitchcock highlights, as well as one of former teammates talking about how great Hitchcock was interspersed with some other highlights, and it reminds you of the type of impact he had on the game. Going across the middle against the Ticats back in those days simply was not an option. If you did, you would likely run into a Mack truck wearing a No. 42 jersey.

But just as impressive as those hits were are the numbers Hitchcock put up in his 12 seasons in the CFL (all but three games of which came with the Ticats).

He’s the team’s all-time leader in tackles, both combined and defensive, and he is tied for the all-time lead in special teams tackles. Let that sink in for a second. In the long, storied history of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the name atop the list of tackles is Rob Hitchcock.

The fact that he was not just a defensive stalwart, but a strong special teams player should help push Hitchcock into the Hall of Fame. It is quintessentially CFL, especially for a Canadian player, to excel in multiple areas of the game. Hitchcock doing so just further buttresses his Hall of Fame candidacy.

He’s also second all-time in team history for interceptions, and fourth all-time for games played with the Ticats. He didn’t just hit you in the mouth, but he found ways to get turnovers and he did so for a long period of time. The standard he set at the position is one players today are still trying to reach. He is, for my money, one of the greatest safeties in CFL history, and his numbers show it.

He finished his career as a two-time league all-star, a three-time division all-star, and was Hamilton’s top Canadian three times and top defensive player once. He has a Hall-worthy résumé, and yet he remains unelected to the Hall.

While Mike and I will very likely rejoice on the next Podskee Wee Wee at Hitchcock’s induction into the Ticats’ Wall of Honour, it is not the final step for Rob Hitchcock. #HitchForHall is still a go and will be until No. 42 takes his rightful place in the hallowed halls of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.