Canadian Football Hall of Famers:

• Tommy Grant (1994)

Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Famers:

• Norm Rauhaus (1987)
• Jeff Boyd (1999)
• Mike Holmes (2002)

CFL All-Stars:

• Mike Holmes (1980)
• Jeff Boyd (1985)

Division All-Stars:

• Norm Rauhaus (1961)
• Mike Holmes (1979, 1980)
• Jeff Boyd (1985)

CFL Award Winners:

• Dr. Beattie-Martin Trophy (Most Outstanding Canadian Rookie, West Division) – Norm Rauhaus, 1956

Bomber Team Awards:

• Most Outstanding Player – Jeff Boyd, 1985
• Most Outstanding Canadian – Norm Rauhaus, 1961; Lirim Hajrullahu, 2014
• Most Outstanding Rookie — Arjei Franklin, 2006; Lirim Hajrullahu, 2014
• Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (established in 2000) – Lirim Hajrullahu, 2014

He Wore It Well:

Norm Rauhaus, S, WR, 1956-67

A born-and-raised Winnipegger, Rauhaus attended Kelvin High School and played his junior ball with the Weston Wildcats before turning pro with his hometown Blue Bombers in 1956. Rauhaus would play 12 years for the Bombers and was part of four Grey Cup championships.

He made an immediate impact, too, as he was the West Division’s top Canadian rookie in 1956 and the Bombers top Canadian five years later, in 1961. Rauhaus is remembered for being a versatile and reliable player who also made one of the key plays in the 1958 Grey Cup win when he recovered a punt block in the end zone on the last play before halftime in what turned out to be a pivotal momentum changer. He retired with 34 interceptions – first on the Bombers all-time list until it was eclipsed by Rod Hill in the 1990s. Rauhaus’ totals still rank second.

Jeff Boyd, WR, 1983-87

Jeff Boyd was living proof of one team’s castoff being another’s treasure. Boyd was released by the Edmonton Eskimos during the preseason in 1983 and scooped up immediately by the Bombers. He pulled in 50 passes for 974 yards and seven TDs in his first year and then posted three 1,000-yard seasons over his next four campaigns in Winnipeg – the one blip in 1986 when he left the club for a tryout with the Cleveland Browns and then returned after his release.

Boyd was traded to Toronto just before the 1988 season for fullback Tony Johns and receiver Jeff Smith, but his 5.110 receiving yards as a Bomber still ranks on the club’s Top 10 list.

Notable:

Mike Holmes had already been with three NFL teams – San Francisco, Buffalo and Miami – by the time he arrived in Winnipeg in 1977. He instantly became Dieter Brock’s favourite deep threat over the next six years before leaving with then Bomber head coach Ray Jauch to the Washington Federals of the USFL in 1983.

FYI:

Tommy Grant is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, but his accomplishments are primarily from his days with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1956-68. Grant played in nine Grey Cups, all with the Ticats, before winding up his career with the Bombers in 1969.