Before the game last week, a bunch of us were sitting around and talking about our favourite players. As it is wont to do with our little group, the conversation weaved back and forth between the greatest to wear the colours, the worst that suited up, and the most memorable.
I tossed out my submissions, others tossed theirs. Round and round we went with no clear consensus save a few all-time greats. “You know,” said one guy, “A list of your favourite players would be an easy cop-out for your blog.”
So here we are, copping out. My all-time favourite Blue Bombers offensive and special teams players:
Receivers – Milt Stegall, James Murphy, Robert Gordon, Joe Poplawski.
This was by far the easiest of positions to fill. Three of the guys, Stegall, Murphy and Joe Pop are all-time greats. You may frown a little bit at my inclusion of Robert Gordon, but don’t forget – Bobby Gorgeous played two leagues a year for a while, and was in an Al Pacino movie while he was a Blue Bomber. That’s amazing.
Running Back – Willard Reaves
Willard Reaves was the closest thing to a superstar that I knew as a football fan. In 1984, he was the league’s Most Outstanding Player, and set a record for yards from scrimmage. To top it off, the Reaves scored two touchdowns in the 1984 Grey Cup with what, I found out later, was a badly messed up shoulder. (Young Chad didn’t care about these things. All he cared about Reaves having the best nickname ever: The Sheriff.)
Full Back – Mike Sellers
Thanks to some youthful indiscretions, Sellers ended up in Winnipeg and not the NFL where his talent belonged. While he was here, he was an absolute force. He was bigger than a defensive lineman, and faster than a lot of linebackers.
Offensive Line – Chris Walby, John Bonk, Obby Khan, Dom Picard and Herb Gray.
My love of Walby and Bonk has been well-documented in this space, so we won’t go over it again. Obby Khan gets my vote because of his perseverance in the face of his medical problems, and Dom Picard gets the nod because of his nastiness. Herb Gray HAS to go on this list: How many guys go from the Blue Bombers line to Governor General of Canada? (Oh, those are two different guys? Never mind. Gray is on the list because he was my Grandpa’s favourite.)
Quarterback – Khari Jones
I’ve seen better quarterbacks than Jones, and I’ve seen guys who spent a lot longer in the spotlight. What sets Jones apart is that he was the QB of the team that got my wife to love football and the Blue Bombers as much as I did. It was 2002, and we were living apart. I was in southern Ontario attending training and my missus was back in Winnipeg. The Bombers were a link between us, and Khari Jones was at his best. For that, Darius Rucker’s doppelganger has to be on the list.
Punter – Duncan O’Mahony
Just kidding. It’s Bob Cameron, duh.
No offense to O’Mahony; his is just the first name of short-term Bomber punters that came to mind. Bob Cameron is easily the greatest punter in CFL history, and, if we’re being fair, might be one of the best in all of professional football. I met Mr. Cameron at a wedding I was emceeing years ago, and it was awesome.
Kicker – Troy Westwood
We all love to make fun of old Troy, but for years he was Mr. Reliable. It was the other stuff that intrigued me, though: He played soccer for the Winnipeg Fury, he boxed, he was a musician, and he created the best game on the Bomber calendar, the Banjo Bowl.
There you have it. Next week, I’ll go over my all-time best defensive players. Go Blue!
