Veteran Winnipeg sportscaster Joe Pascucci, inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame last fall, writes weekly on the Bombers past and present.
Legendary Canadian Football Hall of Fame member Gerry James left his mark on the Blue Bombers well over 50 years ago.
Making history was almost second nature to James, who did so often during his career both on and off the football field. A star running back, receiver, kick returner and placekicker with the Bombers, James was also a pretty good hockey player; in 1955, he was a member of the Memorial Cup winning Toronto Marlboros. Days later, he made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs and was in their lineup during their 1960 Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens.
Twice honoured as the league’s Outstanding Canadian, James was a four-time Grey Cup champion during his 11 seasons with the Bombers. While sharing the backfield with the likes of Tom Casey, Lorne Benson, Bob McNamara, Leo Lewis, and Charlie Shepard, James rushed for over a thousand yards twice. In his rookie year as a 17 year-old, he played in 11 games, scoring four touchdowns and accumulating 767 all-purpose yards.
Now, another homegrown gridiron product, Andrew Harris, finds himself the marquee free agent signing of the off-season by General Manager Kyle Walters and will attempt to follow in James’ footsteps.
But while James was still attending high school when he signed with the Bombers in 1952, Harris comes to the Blue and Gold a CFL veteran, having spent the previous six seasons with the BC Lions.
The 29-year-old heard quite a lot about the former Blue Bomber of the 50’s and early 60’s a few years ago; Harris and Stampeders’ Jon Cornish were then the top two running backs in the league. The pair was locked in a tight battle for total yards from scrimmage, and the comparison to James was brought up often.
“He’s definitely someone I want to emulate and make history with someone like that,” Harris said of James during the club’s recent mini camp.
“The fact that he was scoring touchdowns before he even turned 18 is absolutely amazing”
“The guys who are out here are grown men and I don’t think anyone who is 18 or even 21 is a grown man yet. For him to have done that, I tip my hat to him.”
James, who was nicknamed ‘Kid Dynamite,’ still holds a number of club records; most rushing touchdowns in one season (18) and most rushing yards in a single season by a Canadian (1,205) – a mark Harris has not yet achieved but should challenge this year.
Harris twice gained over a thousand yards in a season, his best being 1,112 yards in 2012. While he is keeping his personal goals for this first campaign back home in Winnipeg to himself, the Oak Park High School grad’s team goals are ambitious; getting the Bombers back in the playoffs after a four-year absence. And he’s confident that a first or second-place finish in the West Division is not unrealistic.
“But my first goal right now is getting to know my teammates, getting to know the coaching staff and just getting familiar with everything and building trust in this locker room” said Harris. “Any successful team I’ve been on has been one that has had a tight knit, family atmosphere. I really think that’s the most important thing. With so many new guys in this locker room, my number one goal is to kind of bring these guys together and knit myself into that group and make sure we are a strong one.”
Harris was just one of a number of major free-agent signings by Walters, fuelling much optimism among the Bomber faithful.
“There’s a ton of expectations and definitely a little bit of pressure. But I think more than anything, people are excited and we’ve got to deliver.”
After 26 years, if this group can deliver a Grey Cup championship back to Winnipeg for the first time since 1990, then Andrew Harris, like Gerry James did long ago, will leave his mark on Blue Bomber history.
“I just want to put my stamp on things now and do as much as I can to be in the future one of those guys [like James] that people still talk about.”
