Category: Winnipeg

  • The CFL Scores in Saint John

    The Canadian Football League has long pined for a presence in Atlantic Canada. In fact, Halifax has been granted not one but two conditional expansion franchises, the emphasis on “conditional” as neither attempt materialized. When Moncton opened its new stadium in 2010 there was some chatter about the Hub City being a home for a future CFL team. While no expansion team has been forthcoming, Moncton has hosted three regular season CFL games. And of course, there have been regular season games played in Halifax and Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, as well.

    “CFL Tickets Go On Sale May 1.” Saint John Times-Globe, 23 April 1986, p. 29.

    But the CFL actually made its debut in the Maritimes back 1986 when Saint John, New Brunswick hosted an exhibition game between the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The game, played at the then newly constructed Canada Games Stadium, drew a crowd of over 11,000 fans who saw the Bombers down the Als 35-10.

    “10,000 Assured for CFL Game.” Saint John Telegraph-Journal and Evening Times-Globe, 6 June 1986, p. 31.

    It appears the game was designed to take the CFL on the road and expose the product to a new market rather than to test the waters for a prospective expansion site. In fact, CFL Commissioner Doug Mitchell seemed to go out his way to temper any expansion expectations. Still, New Brunswickers embraced the CFL and the players enjoyed the Atlantic hospitality.

    Munford, Bruce. “Thousands Flock to See Bombers Blast Montreal.” Saint John Evening Times-Globe, 9 June 1986, p. 15.

    The Bombers were quarterbacked by veteran Tom Clements, who had his way with the Montreal defence. A scary moment occurred early in the game when Montreal’s Nick Arakgi suffered a broken vertebrae when he was hit after reaching up high for an overthrown pass by Montreal quarterback Joe Barnes. He was taken to the hospital and ended up missing the entire 1986 CFL season.

    Saint John Mayor Elsie Wayne was ecstatic about having the CFL in her city. She presented Winnipeg head coach Cal Murphy with a trophy called the Saint John CFL Cup after the game.

    A Labatt’s ad sponsoring the CFL game in Saint John. (Saint John Telegraph-Journal, 6 June 1986, p. 71.)
    An ad promoting the CFL game in Saint John. (Saint John Telegraph-Journal, 6 June 1986, p. 72.)

    The CFL’s success in Saint John in 1986 prompted the league to return the following year for another exhibition game. This time, Montreal played the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Ti-Cats won 14-13 in what turned out to be the last game for the Montreal Alouettes who folded a couple weeks later.

    Kelly Ryback was the original “Buzz”, the mascot of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Here are his personal reflections of the event.

    The ’86 trip was a career and life highlight!

    I had never been to an ocean or feasted on lobster. I was on the advance team in Saint John Wednesday through Sunday.

    We stayed at the Hilton on the harbour, ate lobster, mussels, and frog legs several times. We were hosted by Labatt’s with summer student valets. One became a friend for life, still 39 years later.

    Meeting Mayor Elsie Wayne in her office was a hoot and she later hosted a fine reception where we were all presented with City of Saint John ties.

    The crowd of 12K+ was fantastic and it was a bright, sunny day.

    An absolutely incredible event.

    A souvenir t-shirt from the 1986 CFL game in Saint John and a City of Saint John tie.
    Photo provided by Kelly Ryback.

  • Canada’s First National Commissioner of Football

    As the CFL formally introduces Stewart Johnston as its new Commissioner this week, Canadian Football History looks back at the very first CFL Commissioner: Gerald Sydney Halter.

    G. Sydney Halter, the CFL’s First Commissioner

    Sydney Halter was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He held various roles, including treasurer and president, in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers organization before being named the Commissioner of the Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1953.

    “Appointment of Sydney Halter.” The Calgary Herald, 31 March 1953, p. 25.

    In 1956, he became the Registrar of the Canadian Football Council (CFC), a newly formed umbrella organization for both the WIFU and the eastern Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (the “Big Four”).

    Well regarded in football circles across the country, Sydney Halter was named “Canada’s first national commissioner of football” when the Canadian Football League was established by the CFC in 1958. By the way, I totally think the CFL should adopt “National Commissioner of Football” as the official job title for its top role.

    Described as a chain-smoking bachelor or “loner” by some, Sydney Halter wielded quite a bit of power in his role as Canada’s professional football boss. The article below (click on them to enlarge) is lengthy but well worth the read. It portrays Halter as a straight shooter and touches on how he didn’t hesitate to deliver fines to players and teams – or fans who interfered in the game. Apparently, home fans tackling opposing players from scoring touchdowns was a thing. Yikes.

    O’Brien, Andy. “Czar of Our $7,000,000 Grid Industry.” The Hamilton Spectator, 8 March 1958, p. 90.
    O’Brien, Andy. “Czar of Our $7,000,000 Grid Industry.” The Hamilton Spectator, 8 March 1958, p. 91.

    Sydney Halter served as the CFL’s commissioner until 1966. He was an early advocate for an interlocking schedule between the East and the West. A lawyer by profession, he also served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and held leadership positions in other Canadian sporting organizations outside of football.

    Sydney Halter is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1966, as “the architect of the modern-day Canadian Football League.” He died in 1990. He was Jewish and was inducted posthumously into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

  • The Blue Bombers of Western Football

    The Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Boxing legend Joe Louis. Labatt Breweries. And the Toronto Blue Jays. Believe it or not there’s an interesting connection between these four entities spanning several decades.

    The Winnipeg Football Club was established in 1930. They were originally called the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club but dropped the “Rugby” from the team’s name not long after being formed. The team was unofficially known simply as the Winnipegs or the ‘Pegs for short. In the early days, the club wore green and white uniforms before quickly adopting blue and gold as their team colours. This colour choice plays an important part of the story as you will see.

    In 1935, Winnipeg travelled east to Hamilton and beat the hometown Tigers 18-12 in the Grey Cup. The victory gave the Winnipegs the distinction of becoming the first western team to win the Grey Cup championship. Enthusiastic crowds welcomed home the Winnipegs, and businesses lined up to congratulate the new champions of “Canadian rugby.”

    Hudson's Bay Company advertisement congratulating the Winnipegs on their 1935 Grey Cup victory
    Hudson’s Bay Company advertisement congratulating the Winnipegs on their 1935 Grey Cup victory (source: The Winnipeg Tribune, 10 December 1935, page 17)

    Around the same time, an African American by the name of Joe Louis was taking the professional boxing world by storm. He was given the racialized nickname “The Brown Bomber” by American media. The story goes that a local Winnipeg journalist named Vince Leah, catching wind of the “Brown Bomber” nickname, referred to the Winnipegs as the “Blue Bombers of Western Football.”

    The name stuck, and the football club became known as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers ever since.

    Winnipegs All Set to Open Campaign (1936)
    Media started referring to the Winnipegs as the “Blue Bombers” in 1936. (source: The Winnipeg Tribune, 5 September 1936, page 21.)
    Reference to the "Blue Bombers" as the name of Winnipeg's football team
    The Super Bombers (source: The Winnipeg Tribune, 31 October 1936, page 29.)

    In the 1950s, Labatt Breweries introduced a new brand of beer in the Manitoba market. With its colourful blue labelling, Winnipeg football fans referred to the beer as Labatt “Blue.” Labatt eventually adopted the name officially and became a sponsor of the Blue Bombers and the CFL.

    Fast forward a couple decades later. Toronto was awarded an expansion franchise in Major League Baseball. Labatt Breweries had a significant ownership stake in the new team and wanted to leverage its Labatt Blue brand. Toronto’s other two sports teams – the Argonauts and the Maple Leafs – both had blue as a team colour. The writing was on the wall. Toronto’s new sport team was also going to be blue. So, the Toronto Blue Jays were born.

    Further reading:

    Football in Winnipeg (Manitoba Museum)

    Labatt Blue origins (Labatt website)

    This is the fifth of a series of posts that will explore the stories behind the names of the existing Canadian Football League teams. See the previous post on the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

  • Roaring B.C. Lions Surprise Mighty Blue Bombers

    BC Lions first game action (Vancouver Sun)
    Source: The Vancouver Sun, 30 August 1954, page 14.

    On August 28, 1954, the British Columbia Lions made their debut in the Western Interprovincial Football Union narrowly losing to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 8-6 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver.

    Winnipeg halfback Tom Casey (#91) was a key player in the Bombers’ victory.

    The game attracted a crowd of 20,606.