Bob Irving has been the narrator of all things good and bad with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for more than four decades.
He was there to call the rise to prominence of quarterback Ralph ‘Dieter’ Brock in the 1970s and the glory days of the mid-to-late 1980s that featured the likes of Tom Clements, Tyrone Jones, James Murphy and Joe Poplawski. He was there in 1990 for the last championship and through all the highs and lows since, including Milt Stegall’s pursuit of the all-time touchdown record, to five Grey Cup losses since 1990.
And so it wasn’t all that surprising that the Bombers Hall of Fame selection committee added Irving years ago, calling on his expertise in helping decide who would join the team’s hallowed shrine.
But when the Bombers legendary play-by-play voice was out of town over the winter, the selection committee – which had been pushing for his inclusion for years – pounced at the opportunity.
As a result, the man they call ‘Knuckles’ is part of the Winnipeg Football Club’s 2016 Hall of Fame induction class as a builder, along with defensive lineman John Helton and offensive lineman Bob Molle.
“I missed a meeting,” began Irving with a chuckle, at a press conference to announce the 2016 class on Wednesday. “They’ve suggested (his inclusion) the last few years and I’ve always declined. I said, ‘If you feel I’m worthy, when I retire that’s when you should consider me.’
“But I was away and I got a call when I got back that I’d been railroaded.”
Bob Irving
“It’s very surprising and humbling that they would see me that way. I’m flattered.”
Irving began his broadcasting career in Estevan, SK, moved to Brandon in 1970, and joined CJOB in 1973 where he instantly became part of the Bombers broadcast crew alongside hall of famer Ken Ploen and media legends Jack Wells and Jack Matheson.
Amazingly, he had never done play-by-play of any kind, but over time became the most respected voice in the Canadian Football League and one of the best at his craft, period.
He was inducted into the Football Reporters of Canada wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1997, had the press box at Investors Group Field – the Bob Irving Media Centre – named in his honour in 2013, and was made a member of the Order of Manitoba, a civilian honour for ‘merit in the province’ in 2014. In 2015, Irving was honoured with the Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award. Irving is also a member of the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour (1995).
The long-time sports director at CJOB now works exclusively during the football season, calling the games and reporting on the team daily.
“I still love doing it,” said Irving, now 65. “The games are the thing. I could take or leave training camp and the practices are a little mundane. But I love doing the games. It’s a rush. Those who do play-by-play understand that… there’s nothing in our business that compares.”
Wednesday’s press conference was packed with Bomber alumni, including former players Ploen, Gerry James, Trevor Kennerd, Dave Vankoughnett, Jayson Dzikowicz, Paul Robson, Nick Miller, Rick House and Brett MacNeil among many, many others.
Helton was out of the country and not available, while Molle now lives in Victoria. All three men will be honoured at the Hall of Fame Legacy Dinner on Wednesday, September 21st, 2016.
A dominant defensive lineman who is already a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1985), Helton joined the Bombers in a 1979 trade after spending the first decade of his CFL career with the Calgary Stampeders.
Considered one of the top players in CFL history – he was ranked #12 on TSN’s Top 50 in 2006 – Helton was a CFL All-Star nine times (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982) and a West Division All-Star 12 times (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982).
As well, he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman in 1972, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1974 and in 1979 was honoured with the Tom Pate Memorial Award.
Helton was a member of the 1971 Grey Cup champion Stampeders team and in 1979, his first as a Blue Bomber, was a CFL All-Star and the winner of the Norm Fieldgate Trophy as the West Division’s top defensive player.
“It was a total surprise, but an honour to be recognized by the Bombers,” Helton told bluebombers.com. “I was pretty much done with football in every way other than being a spectator at this stage in my life. I would never have thought of this.
“The best bonus of all this is, I think about my folks and all the people in my life who made my life better, who supported me and put themselves out for me. There are a lot of people who were with me the whole way.
“Fortunately my high school coach is still living and my mom is still living, plus I have friends and family and for them something like this is fantastic.”
Molle, meanwhile, was a first-round draft pick of the Bombers in 1985 (9th overall), and when he arrived in Winnipeg, he was already a decorated athlete after capturing an Olympic silver medal in wrestling at the XXIII Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984.
Molle would begin his career with the football club on the defensive line, but was switched to the offensive side and spent seven years with the club, much of it at the right guard spot alongside Chris Walby.
He was a member of both the 1988 and 1990 Grey Cup championship teams and is the only athlete to have both an Olympic medal and Grey Cup championship ring. Molle is also a member of the Simon Fraser University Hall of Fame (1990), the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Hall of Fame (1991), the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame (1992), the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame (1993) as well as the Saskatchewan Hall of Fame and the BC Hall of Fame.
“I go back to all the great relationships I had in Winnipeg,” said Molle. “The football was great, but it’s the relationships that are lasting. It’s the locker room I miss most and all those times I would just laugh my guts out with the guys.
“That camaraderie was amazing. Every second year I was there we were in the Grey Cup. I got there in 1986, we won in 1988, won again in 1990 and lost in 1992. Two out of three ain’t bad, is it?”
The club also unveiled the new Blue Bombers Hall of Fame Walk on Wednesday, situated outside of Gate 1 on the path leading up to the Bomber Store. It showcases all the players, coaches, executives and volunteers who have been inducted into the shrine, dating back to its inception in 1984.
