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June 22, 2017

2017 Hall of Fame Class Revealed

Winnipeg Blue Bombers SB Terrence Edwards makes a catch in front of Hamilton Tiger-Cats DB Delvin Breaux during first quarter CFL action in Winnipeg on Fri., Aug. 16, 2013. (CFL PHOTO - Jason Halstead)

He arrived in Winnipeg 10 years ago as a fringe player, known more then as the younger brother of Montreal Alouettes star running back Robert Edwards.

Terrence Edwards was brought aboard by the Blue Bombers a decade ago after a late-spring release from the Als and following recommendations by then-Bombers head coach Doug Berry and Milt Stegall, who worked out with the University of Georgia product in Atlanta in the offseason.

Expectations were low, given he was joining a receiving corps that already featured Stegall, Derick Armstrong Chris Brazzell and Albert Johnson III.

His association to Stegall initially led to the nickname ‘Mini-Milt’ or ‘Baby Milt’, first hung on Edwards when he walked into the Bombers clubhouse in 2007. But by the time Edwards retired following the 2013 season, he was among the franchise’s iconic receivers, and on Thursday he was introduced as part of the Winnipeg Football Club’s 2017 Hall of Fame induction class, along with builders David Asper and Gene Dunn.

“I’m humbled and very excited about this induction,” said Edwards in a conference call with media. “Never in my wildest dreams when I came to Winnipeg did I think this day would happen. I was just coming there, you could say as a cast-off from Montreal, trying to prolong my football career and show my God-given abilities. And 15 years later this day is here.

“What stands out is the long relationships I formed there. The guys I played with… Milt, Derick Armstrong, Kevin Glenn… it’s just forming those relationships, even outside of players, like (head athletic therapist) Al Couture, (equipment manager) Brad Fotty… those good people that will be in my life for the rest of my life.”

“That’s the biggest thing I’m going to take from my experience in Winnipeg.”

Edwards is fourth on the Bombers all-time receiving yardage list at 7,200, behind only Stegall (15,153), James Murphy (9,036) and Joe Poplawski (8,341) – all three are also in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame – and is also fourth on the all-time receptions list (469), while his 47 TDs is tied for 10th. Edwards had five 1,000-yard seasons as a Bomber and 24 100-yard games, second only to Stegall.

He appeared in three Grey Cups – 2005 with Montreal, 2007 and 2011 as a Bomber – and said he has no regrets about his playing days.

“I had the opportunity to play for three Grey Cups and came up short in all three games,” said Edwards. “But it’s those life-long friendships I formed in Winnipeg… Winnipeg is a second home to me. I’m a Bomber for life. I check on the guys now. I texted Clarence (Denmark) a couple of days ago just to see how he’s doing; I talked to Coach LaPo (Paul LaPolice) this offseason, I stay in touch with Brad Fotty and Al Couture.

“Those are lifelong friendships and I never take that for granted.”

Edwards and Stegall were side by side in that 2007 season and 2008, before Stegall walked away from the game. The influence he had on his protégé was obvious, as Edwards became a leader in his own right through to his retirement.

“Milt taught me a lot about the CFL game. I’m still prettier than Milt… I can’t dance better than Milt,” said Edwards. “He taught me a lot about being a professional, about playing the CFL game. Being around Milt and watching the way he worked, the way he kept his body, the way he just kept the team as the team leader. It rubbed off on me and I became that person later in my career.

“I don’t know who started calling me ‘Baby Milt’, actually. I don’t know if it was the fans because our mannerisms were the same. We looked alike, we were about the same height, about the same weight. We moved kinda the same. But that’s one of the greatest receivers in CFL history, so it was an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as Milt.

“But it was also a great honour that I could continue with what I started and what he showed me and carve out my own niche and let that name die down after he retired and I just became Terrence Edwards.”

 


Anyone who has been around the Bombers for the last 20 years or so will acknowledge it’s only fitting that Gene Dunn and David Asper be inducted into the club’s hall of fame together.

Both men were introduced as part of the 2017 class as builders on Thursday after years of service in good times and in bad for this franchise.

Asper, a high-profile businessman and philanthropist in this town, was Chair and Vice-Chair of the Bombers and Vice-Chair of the CFL’s Board of Governors, while also serving as Vice-Chair of the 2006 and 2015 Winnipeg Grey Cup Festivals.

Dunn was just as influential, albeit less publicly, as the Chairman of Monarch Industries Ltd and as a Bombers board member and then as Vice Chair in 2000 and 2001, and as Chairman from 2002-2004. Dunn also served at the CFL board level and was interim commissioner after Tom Wright stepped down, leading the search that ultimately hired Mark Cohon.

Dunn co-chaired three Grey Cup Festivals in Winnipeg, in 1998, 2006 and 2015, and is a recipient of the CFL Commissioner’s Award.

Not to be forgotten is the work the pair did, along with former Bomber president Lyle Bauer, in guiding the club through some dark times at the turn of the millennium.

“It’s truly amazing this is happening and especially because we get to do this together,” said Asper.

“We’ve done so much together in this organization and neither of us would want a hall-of-fame induction to be happening any other way than it’s happening today.”

“In our hearts we’re really fans who got a call one day to help out with the football club and it turned into something a little bigger and longer and tougher, frankly, than both of us imagined.”

“It’s been a privilege for me to have this association with the CFL and with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers,” added Dunn. “And I’m just ecstatic to be inducted into the Blue Bomber Hall of Fame, but particularly because I’m going in with my partner in crime here, David. Without his efforts and dedication and commitment to the football club we would not be sitting in this room today.”

The 2017 class will be honoured at the Hall of Fame Legacy Gala Dinner presented by Johnston Group on October 11th, and the Hall of Fame Game that follows later that week on October 14th vs the B.C. Lions.