Tim Petros, former Stampeder and restaurant owner, dead at 58
Former running back opened Tim's Gourmet Pizza, following in his father's footsteps
Tim Petros, a former CFL running back turned restaurateur, has died at age 58.
Petros played for the Calgary Stampeders from 1984 to 1990. In his 100 career games, he accumulated more than 2,200 running yards, 18 touchdowns and 141 catches for 1,007 yards, the Stampeders said in a release Monday.
He was a fifth-round selection for the Stamps in the 1983 CFL draft, and before that played for the University of Calgary Dinos — where he set a rushing record at the Vanier Cup that still stands today, the Dinos wrote in a tribute to Petros on Twitter.
He, along with the rest of the team that won the Vanier Cup in 1983, was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Calgary Athletic Hall of Fame.
🏈 The Dinos send our sincere condolences to the Petros family after Tim's passing.<br><br>Tim was the first Vanier Cup MVP at UCalgary, setting a rushing record in 1983 that still stands today. <a href="https://t.co/arZenbpOAH">https://t.co/arZenbpOAH</a>
—@UCDinosAfter he retired from football, he worked at his father's restaurant — Nicks' Steakhouse and Pizza, located across the street from McMahon Stadium — before starting his own pizza business.
He originally sold the pizzas around Calgary at farmers markets, before opening Tim's Gourmet Pizza in Cochrane in 2013.
Petros's pizza business and philosophy behind his craft was the subject of a short film that screened at the Calgary International Film Festival in 2015.
Petros is survived by his wife Laura, his son Nik and daughter Jordan.
"As good a football player as Tim was, he was a better friend, father and husband," former quarterback Greg Vavra said in a release posted to the U of C website.