The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the 1930s were the dominant team on the Prairies, becoming the first to bring a Grey Cup championship to the West in 1935, when the team was known as the Pegs.
No film exists of that victory — but portions of their second Grey Cup championship in 1939 when they defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders does at the Archives of Manitoba.
However, the grainy black and white images make it difficult to identify many of the players who played in the game. Some of them are legends of Canadian football and in the Hall of Fame.
The 1939 Grey Cup was heard live across Canada on CBC Radio and portions of the original broadcast are in the CBC’s archives.
Global Sports in Winnipeg has matched parts of the film to the radio play by play, giving Blue Bomber and Canadian football fans a new perspective of how the game was played.
Winnipeg won the Grey Cup, defeating the Riders 8-7 on a last minute punt single by Art Stevenson.
The film only contains parts of the first half – but does include the only touchdowns, scored by Ottawa’s Andy Tommy and Winnipeg’s Andy Bieber in the first quarter, and both have been matched to the CBC’s radio broadcast.
WATCH: First half highlights of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 8-7 victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 1939 Grey Cup
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