Henry Burris is known by many as 'Smiling Hank' because of, you guessed it, his incredible smile that is more than contagious and can light up a room.

Behind that smile, though, is one of the fiercest competitors in CFL history.

Burris had to silence the numerous doubters multiple times of the course of his Hall of Fame-worthy career, and along the way he also had to deal with devastating injuries, one of which almost kept him out of last year's Grey Cup.

Many football fans might not know Burris' incredible story and what he had to overcome over the course of his career.

Luckily for those fans that don't know the story of his career, Burris told it in incredible detail to The Players' Tribune.  In the process, he also became the first CFL Players' Tribune contributor.

In the excellent piece, Burris talked about going undrafted out of Temple and finally getting an opportunity in Calgary in his third season in the CFL.

All was going well and he was one of the best young players in the league, but an injury hindered his progress in a game against BC.

I remember feeling so hyped as I ran out onto the field, ready to win the game. This was my chance to really prove myself to the entire league.

Then…

Pop.

In the third quarter, I made a cut on the old-school astroturf and felt my knee buckle. Non-contact injury. I had torn my ACL.

We lost the game, and my career suddenly appeared to be going on a very different path. Before that pop, I was starting to emerge as one of the best young players in the league. But with that one play, my season was over and my contract was up. Three years spent in Calgary and all I really had to show for it was a serious knee injury.

Burris bounced back from the torn ACL so well that he actually ended up signing with the Packers in 2001.  A season later, he spent time with the Bears and then was assigned to the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe.

Embedded Image
Getty Images/Craig Jones

While playing in Europe, though, Burris suffered another torn ACL.

During the third quarter of the game, I stepped up in the pocket and threw a 12-yard hook route.

Pop.

Uh-oh.

My ACL was done. Again.

Everything moved pretty quickly after the injury. The romantic proposal went completely out the window. I left Europe almost immediately to begin an intense rehab process in Birmingham, Alabama. When I finally did propose a few weeks later, I was able to get down on one knee, but since I was wearing a big brace on the other leg, I had to position my leg straight out to one side, like a kickstand. It looked awful. I’m actually really lucky she said yes.

Burris made his way back to Saskatchewan after recovering and that's when the doubters emerged.

“How much do you think you have left?”

That’s a weird question to hear before you even hit the age of 30.

From the day I left college, I had to deal with my fair share of detractors. But that is simply the way it goes for a quarterback. Durability, decision-making, mechanics, pocket presence … it all goes under a microscope. And most of the time it feels like the majority of analyses are spent determining what a player can’t do.

It becomes a real driving force in the back of your mind, that constant desire to prove other people wrong. And the thing is, that can never go away. That fire is what tells you that you still have it.

That drive helped Burris win his first Grey Cup with Calgary after 10 years in the CFL, but the win didn't stop naysayers from questioning if he was the right person to lead Calgary.

Burris couldn't lead Calgary to another Grey Cup win and he moved on to Hamilton where he led them to the championship game in 2013, only to lose badly.

His last stop was Ottawa and everyone thought it was the end for Burris, especially after his first season (2-16).  Burris' drive to deliver a title and silence the naysayers, though, helped him lead the REDBLACKS to the Grey Cup in 2015.

Embedded Image
Getty Images/Trevor Hagan

The loss didn't kill his confidence or drive, though, and a year later, he made it back to the big stage in the final year of his contract in Ottawa.

It felt like the stars had aligned. Playing on that stage was a blessing, but on top of that, we were facing Calgary, where I started my career. To bring things full circle, the Stampeders were coached by Dave Dickenson, the very quarterback who mentored me 16 years earlier.

I remember looking around the stadium during warm-ups, just taking everything in, knowing it would be the last time I ever saw a crowd from this point of view. It was all leading up to this. It was like the only thing missing was–

Pop.

Hell no. Same knee. Proposal knee. 13 years later. During warmups before the most important game of my career.

I went back to the trainer’s room and found out that I had torn cartilage.

“Can you play?”

Actually, I don’t remember if the trainer or anyone even asked that. I didn’t care if my leg was broken, I was going to find a way to play. I didn’t really need it for anything after that day, anyway. I’d use a cane or something. Wrap me up, inject me, whatever. I was no longer out just to prove the critics wrong, I wanted to prove my own knee wrong. I hated my knee for betraying me in that moment more than I had ever hated anyone bashing my football ability.

This was the championship game. And I was the quarterback. I had to play.

Burris played and was named Grey Cup MVP for his incredible performance to topple his former team.

He silenced the doubters, went out on top and overcame numerous injuries, including one in the biggest game of his life.

 

Burris walked away from the game, but he made sure to thank everyone who helped him along the way in his Players' Tribune piece.

"From my first days in Calgary 20 seasons ago, I can say that it has been a privilege to be able to put so many years into the Canadian Football League. I am so grateful to have been embraced by this country, and to have found a home here in Ottawa to share with my wife, Nicole, and our two sons, Armand and Barron. As I look back over the landscape of my career, there’s nothing I would change about the way it all happened, and I just want to say, to everyone who contributed, both positively and negatively, along the way, “Thank you.”

I wouldn’t be who I am without you."

Make sure to head over to The Players' Tribune and read the full piece here.

(H/T: The Players' Tribune)