Royal Copeland (Canadian football)

Royal Copeland

Date of birth	(1924-10-12)October 12, 1924
Place of birth	North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Date of death	August 8, 2011(2011-08-08) (aged 86)
Place of death	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Career information
Position(s)	Running back
High school	Humberside (Toronto)
Career history
As player
1943–1944	Toronto HMCS York Bulldogs
1945–1949	Toronto Argonauts
1950–1951	Calgary Stampeders
1952–1956	Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star	1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950
Awards	Jeff Russel Trophy (1949)
Honors	4× Grey Cup champion - 1945, 46, 47, 52
Career stats
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1988

Royal Copeland (October 12, 1924 – August 8, 2011) was a Canadian football running back who played at the elite level from 1943 to 1956.

Copeland won four Grey Cups with the Toronto Argonauts. Along with Joe Krol they were known as the Gold Dust Twins. Copeland is the only player to score a touchdown in three consecutive Grey Cup games: 1945, 1946, and 1947. He became a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

During the Second World War when the Argonaut football operations were suspended, Royal Copeland played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) in 1943 with Toronto Navy HMCS York.