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They are three of the greatest offensive players in CFL history, each of them multiple Grey Cup winners and record setters who went head to head during much of the 1990s.
And now Doug Flutie, Mike Pringle and Michael (Pinball) Clemons will enter the Canadian Football Hall of Fame together as the headliners of its 2008 class, along with former offensive linemen John Bonk and Tom Sheppard in the builders category, according to league sources.
Flutie, Pringle and Clemons arrived in Canada after short stints in the NFL, although only Flutie's arrival was heralded. The 1984 Heisman Trophy winner joined the B.C. Lions in 1990, but didn't take over as the club's full-time starter until 1991.
The next season, Flutie jumped to Calgary. He led the Stampeders to a Grey Cup victory in 1992, followed by three consecutive 15-win seasons. In 1996, he jumped to the Toronto Argonauts and he and Clemons were teammates on the Grey Cup championship teams of 1996 and 1997.
By that time, Clemons was already established as a dynamic kick returner, running back and receiver whose versatility was outdone only by his unique running style and dynamic personality that made him one of the league's true household names.
Clemons also won the Grey Cup with Toronto, in 1991, before moving to the sidelines as the head coach midway through the 2000 season, eventually leading the Argos to a Cup title in 2004. He resigned as the head coach after last season to take an executive position with the club.
Pringle was the last of the three to retire, hanging up his cleats after the 2004 season, during which he smashed George Reed's career rushing record with 16,425 yards.
After playing briefly with the Edmonton Eskimos and the old Sacramento Gold Miners, Pringle joined up with Baltimore in 1994 — the first of six seasons in which he lead the CFL in rushing, including 1995, when he led the Stallions to a Grey Cup win over Flutie's Stampeders.
Pringle then moved with the team when it relocated to Montreal and revived the Alouettes name. There, Pringle established himself as the league's dominant running back through the late 1990s and early part of the current decade, becoming the first CFL back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 1998.
He completed his career with two seasons in Edmonton, winning the Grey Cup in 2003.
Pringle, along with Reed, owned a share of the league's career touchdown record until last season, when Milt Stegall of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers broke the mark of 137. Pringle continues to hold the league record for most rushing touchdowns in a season (19 in 2000 with Montreal).
Like Pringle, Flutie and Clemons own a good chunk of the CFL record book and are listed among its leaders in several offensive categories.
Flutie holds the record for single-season passing yards (6,619 in 1991) and most passing touchdowns (48 in 1994). Despite playing just eight seasons in Canada, he ranks sixth on the league's passing list and was the CFL's most outstanding player six times.
Clemons holds the CFL record for career all-purpose yards, as well as the single-season mark of 3,840, set in 1997. Clemons ranks second in career kickoff return yardage and second in punt-return yards.
Bonk, a four-time all-star, played offensive line for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg from 1972 to 1985, and was chosen as the league's outstanding offensive lineman in 1984, when the Blue Bombers captured the Grey Cup.
Sheppard has served a variety of functions for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, including acting as a club director from 1980 to 2005 and serving as the club president from 1987 to 1989.
