Doug Specht played in the Canadian Football League for the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 1960s and early ’70s. He won two Grey Cups before a broken neck sustained in an automobile accident sadly ended his career.

Specht was born on February 7, 1942 in Windsor.

Specht graduated from Corpus Christi High School, which is today known as F. J. Brennan. Fresh out of school, Specht was an outstanding played for Windsor AKO in 1962, which attracted the attention of Brigham Young University in Utah. Specht earned a football scholarship to BYU and represented the school in ’63 and ’64.

Specht signed with the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders ahead of the 1965 professional season. He quickly became the team’s starting centre and stayed in the job until ’71. During his years with the Rough Riders, Specht reached the Grey Cup Game in ’66, ’68, and ’69, winning the latter two.

In 1966, Specht’s strong play saw him named an Eastern Canadian All-Star at centre as his Rough Riders won the Eastern Division championship. The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated Ottawa 29-14 to take that year’s Grey Cup.

In 1968, Specht’s Rough Riders defeated the Calgary Stampeders 24-21 at Toronto’s CNE Stadium to lift the CFL’s championship trophy. They repeated the feat in the following year’s Grey Cup Game, when they defeated Saskatchewan 29-11 at the Autostade in Montreal.

Unfortunately, Specht was involved in an automobile accident in 1972. He suffered a broken neck, which brought his impressive football career to a premature close.

Specht continues to live in the Ottawa region.