WALLY BUONO - GENERAL MANAGER AND HEAD COACH

Wally Buono enters his third season with the BC Lions, after having a successful second season (13-5) as the Lions Head Coach and General Manager. Buono led the Lions to a West Division Championship in 2004, with arguably the two best quarterbacks in the league. A model of consistency with a history of winning, Wally’s teams have reached 12 consecutive playoffs from 1990 to 2001and have amassed a regular season record of 177-91-2, putting him second only to Don Matthews in all-time CFL wins.

Wally was honoured as Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1993, and has won nine Division titles.

Born in Potenza, Italy, in 1950, Wally moved to Canada in 1953 with his family, later playing minor football in Montreal. He attended Idaho State University and was a linebacker for the Bengals. Wally returned to Canada and played 10 seasons with the Montreal Alouettes as a linebacker and punter, playing in 152 games. Shortly after his retirement, Wally tried his hand at coaching, landing an assistant position with the Montreal organization in 1983. Four years later, Wally found himself in Calgary where he worked under Lary Kuharich until 1990 when Stamps’ President Norman Kwong hired him as Head Coach of the Stamps.

Aside from being an accomplished CFL coach, Wally is a noted contributor to the community, being recognized for his work with the Paul Harris award in 2001. In this past off-season, Wally had successful heart by-pass surgery and has, consequently, dedicated much of his time as an ambassador of the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation and spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. For the last year, Wally, after being diagnosed with angina, has been sharing his story as a spokesperson for Making the Connection TM, a program dedicated to the ongoing education of Canadians about the dangers of high cholesterol and its link to heart disease. Wally is also actively involved with Operation Christmas Child, giving presents of clothing and toys to children of impoverished nations. Wally and his wife Sande have four children, Amy, Dana, Christie and Michael and one Bichon Shih-Tzu named Heidi.