Gabriel Amavizca

Gabriel Amavizca Ortiz (born January 11, 1993) is a Mexican professional gridiron football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UDLAP, Universidad Madero and BUAP. Amavizca was also part of the Artilleros Puebla of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), a professional spring football league in Mexico.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Amavizca and the second or maternal family name is Ortiz.
Gabriel Amavizca Ortiz
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1993-01-11) January 11, 1993
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:191 lb (87 kg)
Career information
College:UDLAP
BUAP
CFL draft:2019 LFA / Round: 3 / Pick: 26
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
CFL status:Global
Player stats at CFL.ca

In June 2019, Amavizca became the first CFL global player ever to score points in a regular season match.[1]

Early years

Amavizca was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, but moved to Puebla when he was eight years old. He started playing gridiron football at the age of 11, after practicing other sports such as baseball, tennis and association football. In high school, he received a scholarship to play football at the ITESM Puebla.[2]

College career

Amavizca first enrolles in the UDLAP's college football program, the Aztecas, one of the most prestigious in Mexico, where he played for the 2013 season. On that season, the team won the CONADEIP Championship. Later, he moved to the Universidad Madero Tigres Blancos (White Tigers), where he played for the 2014 season. After retiring for one season due to personal motives, he came back and played his last two college years for the BUAP, where he also earned a major in Business Administration.[2][3]

Professional career

Amavizca played for the Artilleros Puebla of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional for the 2019 season He became the first player of Artilleros to score points. .[4]

He was selected by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the 2019 CFL-LFA Draft as the team's third pick (26th overall).[5] Amavizca attended the training camp with the Blue Bombers, but was released by the team on June 8, 2019 during the pre-season. Three days later, on June 11, he was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[6]

On June 22, 2019, Amavizca became the first global player to score points in a CFL regular season game kicking two converts during his team's 64–14 win over the Toronto Argonauts.[1][7][8] He dressed in the first seven games of the season before being placed on the team's practice roster. He ended the 2019 season on the practice roster and was released at the end of the year.[9]

References
  1. "CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at Week 3". CFL.ca. CFL. June 26, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  2. ""Los tiempos de Dios son perfectos": Gabriel Amavizca". El Sol de Puebla (in Spanish). July 22, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  3. "Ex jugador de Lobos de futbol americano busca ser titular en la CFL de Canadá". BUAP.mx (in Spanish). August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  4. "Gabriel Amavizca Ortiz". LFA.mx (in Spanish). LFA. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  5. "Bombers Select Three Players in Inaugural CFL/LFA Draft". bluebombers.com. Winnipeg Blue Bombers. January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  6. "Tiger-Cats sign global kicker Amavizca-Ortiz". ticats.ca. Hamilton Tiger-Cats. June 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  7. "2019-06-22 Game Tracker – Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Toronto Argonauts (2567)". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  8. Barnes, Dan (June 26, 2019). "Interest in CFL's global players sparks imminent Mexican streaming deal". canada.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  9. "Transaction – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
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