Good stuff. Thanks.
I do recall reading the wiki page of one of these (lesser known) guys not long ago. It said he signed his contract in the spring, then got into a car accident and didn’t end up playing. I can’t remember who it was, perhaps one of those that started the year on injured list (Hantla or Davis).
There are some strange omissions from this photo set : Dave Burkholder, Jack Delveaux, Farrell Funston & Bud Grant. These 47 are all that’s currently known to exist.
Great stuff! Although Cookie Gilchrist never played in the NFL. He played for these teams:
Sarnia Imperials - 1954
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen - 1955
Hamilton Tiger-Cats - 1956-1957
Saskatchewan Roughriders - 1958
Toronto Argonauts - 1959-1961
Buffalo Bills - 1962-1964
Denver Broncos - 1965
Miami Dolphins - 1966
Denver Broncos - 1967
And being an old AFL loyalist and an enemy of present day American football, I object to lumping in the AFL with the NFL.
He was great on the field but a complete pain in the ass to team management. At least four of the teams for whom he played in Canada simply let him go in exasperation. (The Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen may have been the single exception.)
I’m wondering though how he was as a teammate. Was he supportive of teammates and a positive influence or was he the proverbial cancer in the locker room?
Still a whole lot better than the New York Times though.
I just did a search in the Winnipeg Tribune archives and it was Bob Gunderman who was in a major car accident in late May 1959. Gunderman missed the 2 Blue-Gold games but did manage to play in both exhibition games before getting cut.
The omissions of Jack Delveaux & Farrell Funston makes sense as they were late season additions to the Blue Bombers roster. My guess is that the photos were taken in training camp.
I always knew Hamilton & Bombers had a storied past… I just never really knew how dominant they were between 57 & 67
1967 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 24 – 1 Saskatchewan Roughriders
1966 Saskatchewan Roughriders 29 – 14 Ottawa Rough Riders
1965 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 22 – 16 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1964 BC Lions 34 – 24 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1963 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 21 – 10 BC Lions
1962 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28 – 27 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1961 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21 – 14 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1960 Ottawa Rough Riders 16 – 6 Edmonton Eskimos
1959 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21 – 7 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1958 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 35 – 28 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1957 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 32 – 7 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
I did. Those were the years during which I grew up on football.
Plus I have about a thirty year run of the CFL Factbooks which I’ve frequently referenced over the years.
Truthfully I don’t understand fans who don’t have my fascination with history and statistics.
I was born in 59, I only became interested in the CFL about 9 or 10 years old, some pretty lean years for the Bombers with 19 & 28 year droughts.
Its known as B.G.E.
aka The Bud Grant Era
I’m not sure whether it was 1958 or 1959 when I first listened with wonder and fascination to updates of the score from the Grey Cup game but the first cards I ever collected at the age of seven were the 1959 CFL cards:
My thoughts on the droughts = The Organization became lazy. They were spoiled by having earnest and knowledgeable workhorses like Bud Grant (coach) and Trey Ausley (GM) year after year.
Once the organization failed to replace these types of top guns, they also failed to recruit top QBs as their player development system retarded under control of inexperienced hacks and vile bird dogs.
The organization still attracted top local executives but most were truly 'Knife ‘n Forkers’ and/or “Jock Sniffers” with ulterior motives for joining a seemingly prestigious community board like the Bombers,
only when the Bombers were on the precipice of bankruptcy were actions taken to restore football men to a football team. That said - even with the success of The Cal Murphy era, the team re-populated itself with mopes like Earl Lunsford, Lyle Bauer, Hillbilly Jim, Mike Kelly, Joe Zalekis, Doug the Slug and some sketchy individuals on its board of directors.
Two major turning points for the Bombers:
David J Asper (a semi-disturbed son of legendary icon Izzy Asper) bullied a feeble and near-comatose premier Greg Selinger (aka Slinger) to cough up a cheque for nearly $350 million to cover most of the costs of a fresh new stadium with increased capacity and executive suites. The Stadium, on University of Manitoba land sees the Bombers contribute very little (compared to market rents) for the space and they virtually have taken control of the facility. A super nice deal
The elevation of The Canadian Mafia - Wad Miller, Kyle Walters & Mike O’Shea into the football portion of the organization. All have done magnificent work, even the prickly Miller. Walters has grown into the top GM in the league and one of the greatest Canadian GMs in CFL history. O’Shea now rivals Cal Murphy and Walter Buono as the league’s greatest Canadian coaches.
Bud Grant with 4 Grey Cups is still the greatest Bomber head coach but O’Shea will take a significant step to becoming the top dog in Bomber history should he deliver a 3rd Grey Cup in 5 trips to the well.
