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Michael “Pinball” Clemons

Canadian Sports Hall-of-Famer | General Manager, CFL’s Toronto Argonauts

Michael Clemons
Our Greatest Risk is Playing it Safe
Interview - The Hour
Interview - Farm Credit Canada
The Defining Moment
Interview - Ivey Leadership Series
Michael
Michael Clemons
Our Greatest Risk is Playing it Safe
Interview - The Hour
Interview - Farm Credit Canada
The Defining Moment
Interview - Ivey Leadership Series

Few people exemplify the qualities of personal excellence, teamwork, community leadership, and overcoming the odds better than CFL legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons. With boundless energy, Clemon’s talks centre on the potential for each of us to achieve anything we set our minds to. Unabashedly emotional and impactful, he shows audiences how to put heart into everything they do.

Clemons joined the National Football League in 1987, and CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 1989. He was nicknamed “Pinball” because of his running style — his diminutive size and extraordinary balance allowed him to “bounce” between defensive players, drawing comparisons to a pinball machine.

Clemons won the Grey Cup in 1991, 1996, and 1997 with the Argonauts, and was honoured with the CFL’s “most outstanding player” award in 1990, after setting the single-season record for all-purpose yards. He played his last game as an Argonaut in 2000, before becoming head coach of the team in the same year. He led the football club to six consecutive East Division Finals, including the 2004 championship, concluding his coaching tenure with 68 wins — the second highest in the team history.

In 2007, Clemons stepped down as head coach to become the chief executive officer, and in 2009, he was appointed as the vice-chair of the team. In 2019, Clemons was named the 20th general manager of the Toronto Argonauts.

Clemons is also the founder of the Pinball Clemons Foundation, a non-profit organization that empowers youth through education. Since it’s founding in 2007, it’s been responsible for the construction of a hospital in Uganda, over 200 schools in developing countries, two orphanages in Haiti, and locally awarded more than 200 scholarships.

In recognition of his work, Clemons received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Meritorious Service Cross, and is a member of the Order of Ontario. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

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Client reviews

  • The event went very well, and Michael’s presentation was outstanding! We also really appreciate how he took the time to incorporate what our members do into his presentation. We really enjoyed having him at the conference, and he was kind enough to hang around for a bit after his session to meet and take pictures with delegates.

  • We have had several speakers over the past two years, but you are the best! Your passion, energy, humility and great sense of humour really resonated with the group–I know they left the room pumped!

  • Thanks for the opportunity to have Mike Clemons come and speak to our team. He was simply amazing! I knew he would be a very inspirational speaker to have join us for this meeting and I am so pleased he was able to help us out.

  • I have received many messages of thanks from our Principals stating just how much they appreciated Michael’s presentation. His message touched the hearts and minds of our group. His personal and professional insights had a profound impact. His stories brought a sense of hope and inspiration to the entire group. These stories helped us to laugh and brought us to tears. He touched the audience deeply with his thoughtful and upbeat themes. Michael is truly a gifted speaker.

  • I knew Michael was going to be great, but he exceeded all expectations. He was absolutely amazing. The nicest man I have ever met. Everyone commented on how touched they were by his speech. The room was filled with laughter and tears. His stories were touching and hit close to home for a lot of us. I have never seen my team as excited about something has they were after Michael’s visit! I will be recommending Michael to friends and family, and other organizations as well. We were extremely pleased and blessed to have him attend our meeting.

  • Michael was absolutely amazing and did exactly what we asked him to do with the Closing message, he took the delegates on a roller coaster ride of emotion and left every one of the delegates on a high when they left the conference. He was so dynamic and touching at the same time. He was able to relate to the delegates and the importance of what they do for their organizations and communities. His message hit the mark. Michael was an absolute delight to work with.

  • The experience with Michael was amazing. He is such a great speaker and so inspiring. He had the entire group motivated and was a great kick start to our 2 day event. He is a class act all the way and spent extra time talking with everyone and posed for pictures. Well worth it.

  • Pinball was as high energy and as gracious as I’ve seen him in the past.  He engaged the audience and I think everyone enjoyed him.  He was very generous with his time as well.

  • Michael was amazing. The time he took to meet with EVERY person in attendance — and then both sets of high school students/coaches we invited — was phenomenal. His message was wonderful and the overwhelming feedback was that all those in attendance were thrilled to have met him and heard him speak. He and Diane were lovely to be with, and they both stayed until the very last guest left. He even helped the venue staff clean up afterward. We couldn’t have been more pleased and privileged to have had them both come and be such an integral part of the day.

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