The Handoff

It is one of the most simple and common plays on a football field. The quarterback takes the snap from centre, turns, and holds the ball out for their teammate to secure. It happens continuously throughout the 60 minutes on the clock of every contest played, a fundamental strategy designed to meet the game’s main objective of gaining positive yardage.

But at Alumni Stadium, that innate motion of the field general giving the ball to a running back has a bit more meaning. The Hand-Off, the bronze statue unveiled in front of the Gryphons’ home in the Fall of 2018, immortalizes this ubiquitous play.

U of G graduate Robert Cram was commissioned to do the life-sized statue, created in the likeness of former star quarterback Theo Landers. Cram says that the project was one of the most satisfying points in his young career.

“The moment you see it completed is amazing,” says the Toronto-based father of two and owner of Robert Cram Workshop. “It’s unbeatable.”

Cram says that Stu Lang, who commissioned the work, had a clear vision of what The Hand-Off should represent.

“If you are visiting the stadium, you can interact with it,” says Cram. “We didn’t want to put it on a podium. It needed to be at ground level and pretty much at scale so people could approach it and touch it. It wasn’t above you.”

Landers was the perfect choice as a model for the prominent statue. The Burnaby, BC native had an incredible impact on the program in his time at Guelph. Landers was a leader, the orchestrator of the offence who did indeed dish the ball out to his Gryphon teammates. He was one of the faces of the team in recent years and like the piece itself, has a commanding presence.

In the summer of 2018, Landers got word that The Hand-Off would be made in his image. Cram, who was asked to create the statue in late 2017, had already submitted a maquette, which is a six-inch model of the proposed work. The two worked together for a few sessions in the Toronto studio, taking pictures, doing some 3D scanning, and engaging in conversations on football and its movements.

“It was a fun experience,” Landers says. “It was cool to see it upload in 3D on the computer, while he was tracing me with the camera.

“Robert was very easy going and had great energy. We spoke about football and the quarterback position specifically. I asked lots of questions about the statue-making process and all that went into it as it was completely new to me.”

 “Theo was a great coach and consultant to make sure it was true to football,” says Cram. “He was so kind and was just incredibly helpful.”

Cram worked on the statue constantly for approximately one full year. He had to perfect the mould, making constant refinements, and then finish the metal in the patina style that highlights the green and brown in the bronze work. The opportunity has meant a lot to Cram, who like his mother Lynne, graduated from the U of G. And after The Hand-Off was unveiled in 2018, he followed that up with Sudden Garden, a bronze work featuring four deer in downtown Guelph.

“It was nice to come back to a place I used to live,” says Cram. “It made me feel incredibly proud. I’m connected to Guelph having those two permanent works there.”

Landers has also graduated (with a degree in Human Kinetics) and is on to the next stage of his life. But those memories of being a part of Gryphon Football will persist. He calls the experience a “privilege” and the fact that his form is the foundation of The Hand-Off is just another unique element of the time he spent here.

“It wasn’t until recently when I started to reflect that I realized one day, I’ll have kids and take them to the stadium and show them the statue,” says Landers.

“I am humbled to represent the Gryphon Football program legacy.”

Written By: David DiCenzo