The Winnipeg Blue Bombers made history Sunday night, by winning their first championship after almost a 30-year drought.
While the team’s current stars now have a Grey Cup on their resumes, there’s a long list of Bomber fan favourites of years past who never tasted championship glory in the CFL.
680 CJOB’s sports experts – including voice of the Bombers Bob Irving, sports director Kelly Moore, CJOB Sports Show host Christian Aumell, and Greg Mackling of The Start – suggested their top choices (in no particular order) for Cup-less Bomber greats. Who would make your list?
Milt Stegall
It’s hard to think of a player more closely associated with the modern Blue Bombers than No. 85.
Renowned as one of the greatest receivers in CFL history, Stegall – who spent 14 years in blue and gold – is so beloved in Winnipeg he even has a street named after him.
Although Stegall, now 49, was a record-setting all-star for the Bombers, he never won a Cup, despite reaching the final in 2001 and 2007.
Doug Brown
Playing at 6’8″ and 290 lbs, Doug Brown was hard to miss in his decade with the Bombers.
The B.C. native, now recognized for his work in media (including talking football on 680 CJOB) is a Canadian Football Hall of Famer and eight-time all-star.
Brown played for all the marbles three times – 2001, 2007 and 2011 – with the Bombers falling short on each occasion.
Dieter Brock
Going back to an earlier era, Bombers quarterback Dieter Brock was a star for the team from the mid-1970s to the early ’80s.
Named one of the club’s 20 all-time greats in 2005, Brock still holds the Bombers’ team record for career passing yards.
Brock’s career in blue and gold ended in 1983. The next year, as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Brock played in the Grey Cup game against the Bombers, with his old team ending up victorious.
Clarence Denmark
A wide receiver who did two stints with the Bombers over his seven seasons in the CFL, Denmark is another popular, accomplished Winnipeg player who never hoisted the Cup.
Denmark was the Bombers’ leading receiver over two seasons, as well as a CFL All-Star and CFL West All-Star in 2014 – a year in which he finished second in the league for receiving yards.
Charles Roberts
A fan favourite selected as one of the Bombers’ 20 all-time greats, Roberts is also a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hall of Fame.
The diminutive (5’6″) running back, nicknamed “Blink” for his agility and speed, retired from the game as the Bombers’ all-time leading rusher and the fifth-leading rusher in CFL history.
A multi-year all-star, Roberts also won the 2007 Fan Choice award, and the 2001 Frank M. Gibson Trophy, given to the most outstanding rookie in the East Division.
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