By Canadian Press

Argos mourn death of former CFL defensive tackle Baylis, a four-time all-star

Feb 26, 2025 | 1:08 PM

TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts say they are saddened to learn of the death of Jearld Baylis Sr., who was a dominant defensive tackle over his 10 CFL seasons.

Baylis was a CFL all-star in 1987 for the Argos, who offered their condolences in a statement Wednesday.

Baylis died at age 62 on Dec. 30, though it appears that the Canadian football world is only recently learning of his death.

It’s also unclear where Baylis was living at the time, but a celebration of his life was held Feb. 1 in Milwaukie, Ore.

What’s crystal clear, though, is the six-foot, 260-pound Baylis was a dominant player in the CFL.

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He was named a league all-star four times and was its top defensive player in 1993 after recording a career-high 11 sacks with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

During his time in Canada, Baylis played for the Toronto Argonauts (1986-89), B.C. Lions (1990-91), Saskatchewan (1992-93) and Baltimore Stallions (1994-95).

Baylis began his pro football career in the USFL with the New Orleans Breakers in 1984 and remained with the franchise after it moved to Portland. Following his release, the native of Jackson, Miss., made the move north to Toronto.

Baylis was part of a huge deal in 1990 that saw Toronto trade him, quarterback Rick Johnson, linebackers Willie Pless and Tony Visco, receiver Emmanuel Tolbert and defensive back Todd Wiseman to the B.C. Lions for quarterback Matt Dunigan. Dunigan would guide the Argos to a Grey Cup title in 1991 and be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

After missing the 1990 campaign due to injury, Baylis played the ’91 season with the Lions before being released and ultimately joining the Roughriders.

After being named the CFL’s top defensive player in 1993, Baylis joined Baltimore as a free agent. In 1994, the team became the first American-based franchise to reach the Grey Cup — dropping a 26-23 decision to the Lions at B.C. Place Stadium on Lui Passaglia’s game-ending 38-yard field goal.

Baylis and Co. earned their redemption the following season. Baltimore defeated the Calgary Stampeders 37-20 in the Grey Cup game played in very windy conditions at Regina’s Taylor Field. The contest was a battle between two clubs that posted identical 15-3 regular-season records.

The Stallions became the first — and only — American franchise to capture the CFL championship. It marked Baylis’s first Grey Cup victory in what proved to be his final season in Canada.

Months later, the Stallions would relocate to Montreal.

Baylis was also a dominant player at Southern Mississippi, where he was a four-year starter and earned the moniker The Space Ghost. In 1982, Southern Mississippi ended coach Bear Bryant’s 59-game home win streak at Alabama, a game that saw Baylis register 18 tackles.

However, NFL teams passed on Baylis due to his size. But Rick Cleveland, a sports columnist with Mississippi Today, remembered being told by Kent Hull — a former Mississippi State and Buffalo Bills centre who died in 2011 at the age of 50 — that Baylis was the best player he ever faced.

“Block him?” Hull said rhetorically to Cleveland. “Hell, most times I couldn’t touch him.

“He was just so quick. You had to double-team him, and sometimes that didn’t work either.”

Over this CFL career, Baylis registered 210 defensive tackles, three special-teams tackles, 42 sacks and 10 fumble recoveries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2025.

The Canadian Press