Bronislaus "Fred" Kijek was a Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 champion and All-Star fullback in the early days of Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

. He was also an excellent punter and flying wing.

The son of Joseph Kijek and Mary Buita, Kijek was a well traveled football player. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he played with his hometown Hamilton Tigers

Hamilton Tigers

The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team, and a member of the National Hockey League , based in Hamilton, Ontario, that played from 1920–1925. The Tigers were formed from the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton interests. After years of struggling, the franchise...

, the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 (playing five regular season and 2 playoff games), the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes

Toronto RCAF Hurricanes

The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes was a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. They won the 40th Grey Cup....

 (with whom he won his first Grey Cup

30th Grey Cup

The 30th Grey Cup was played on December 5, 1942, before 12,455 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto.The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8 to 5....

), and the Camp Borden RCAF Fliers. He played for the Toronto Indians

Toronto Indians

The Toronto Indians were a football team from Toronto, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. After the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers moved to the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in 1941, the Indians began play in the ORFU...

 for a couple of seasons, and then joined the inaugural Montreal Alouettes

Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

 team in 1946. He won his second Grey Cup

37th Grey Cup

The 37th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 1949 before 20,087 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto. Montreal Alouettes defeated Calgary Stampeders 28-15...

 with them in 1949, his "terrific" punting being a key to victory. He returned home for his final two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...

.

Kijek was twice an Ontario Rugby Football Union

Ontario Rugby Football Union

The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...

all star. He died on March 21, 1986.