Dan Federkeil

Dan Federkeil is one of Medicine Hat’s most decorated athletes. At the time of induction, Dan is one of five men from Medicine Hat to have played in the Canadian Football League and is the only player from Medicine Hat to make it to the National Football League. He is one of only 10 players in the world to have earned both a Super Bowl ring and a Grey Cup ring.

Dan began his football career playing for one of the first Hawks bantam football teams in Medicine Hat. He soon moved on to play basketball and football with the Hat High Mohawks. Dan was a Rangeland Football Conference All-Star and led his team to the Provincial Final in 2000.

Dan made his University of Calgary Dinos debut as the youngest player ever to dress in the school’s history, after turning 17 just two months earlier. He continued to play five seasons on the defensive line at the University of Calgary and was a second-team CIS all-star in both 2003 and 2005. In 2005, Dan was a finalist for the J.P Metras Trophy as the top lineman in Canadian university football, and was selected as the Dinos’ male athlete of the year.

Dan was drafted fifth overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2006 Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft, but instead signed with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). Interestingly, the late Cal Murphy scouted Dan for the offensive line in Indianapolis, even though his experience was on defense. Dan went on to play special teams once he made the playing field. That year, the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI and gave Federkeil his coveted Super Bowl ring. Dan retired from the NFL in 2009, having played in 26 regular season games, starting in three regular season games and one playoff game.

In 2013, Dan returned to football when the Calgary Stampeders acquired his rights from the Toronto Argonauts who had drafted him in 2006. He went on to play 59 games with the Stampeders in five years, culminating in four playoff games and three Grey Cup games, which, in 2014, the Stampeders won against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He announced his retirement from professional football a second time in February of 2018.

As his career unfolded, Dan continued to guest coach for the Hat High Mohawks and attend team banquets when available. In 2012, Dan established the Judith Louise Federkeil Memorial Football Award in memory of his mother. The award supports a graduate of Medicine Hat High School who goes on to study at the University of Calgary and is a member of the Dinos football team.

Dan is known for being very private, and is not one to flaunt his accomplishments. He describes himself as an athlete at heart, trying and excelling at almost any sport. When attending the University of Calgary, and while playing football for the Dinos, he tried out for the basketball team and made it, however, the university prevented him from playing on both teams.

Recently, in 2024, Dan was also inducted into the Dinos Hall of Fame at the University of Calgary.