The Norm Fieldgate Trophy is a Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 trophy, awarded to the outstanding defensive player in the West Division

Canadian Football League West Division

The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.-Pre-1936:...

. Each team in the West division nominates a player, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of this trophy or the winner of the James P. McCaffrey Trophy

James P. McCaffrey Trophy

The James P. McCaffrey Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding defensive player in the East Division. Each team in the East division nominates a candidate, from which the winner is chosen...

 will also be the winner of the Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player award. The trophy is named after former BC Lions

BC Lions

The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...

 linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

, Norm Fieldgate

Norm Fieldgate

Norm "Mouse" Fieldgate is a former professional Canadian football player. Fieldgate played defensive end and linebacker with the Canadian Football League BC Lions for his entire 14-year career. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Fieldgate is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the BC...

.

The Norm Fieldgate Trophy, like the N. J. Taylor Trophy

N. J. Taylor Trophy

The N.J. Taylor Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, formerly awarded to the West Division champions. The winner of this trophy faced the winner of the James S. Dixon Trophy for the Grey Cup. Both the N. J. Taylor Trophy and James S. Dixon Trophy were retired in 2004.The N.J. Taylor Trophy...

, was originally given to the Western Division Champions. In 1978, the Fieldgate Trophy supplanted the Schenley Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award, which was previously awarded to the outstanding defensive player. In addition, the players that was listed from 1974 through 1977 were the West Division nominees for the Schenley Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. As part of the failed American expansion

CFL USA

The term CFL USA refers to the abortive expansion of the Canadian Football League into the United States in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1993 CFL season saw the addition of the first American team to the league, the Sacramento Gold Miners...

, the Fieldgate trophy was awarded in 1995

1995 CFL season

The 1995 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 42nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 38th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1995:...

to the North Division's outstanding defensive player.