Several questions:
Was Allen Pitts related to the great Ernie Pitts?
Also, why has Ernie Pitts been all but forgotten over the years? Even in the latest hardcover Bomber history book that went on sale last year his name is mentioned nowhere.
And when you’re discussing great QB/receiver combos, can you just forget about Kenny Ploen and Ken Neilsen? Heck, even without Ploen at the helm, Neilsen went on to win the Schenley award as Most Outstanding Canadian. And that was at the most dismal period in Bomber history, when John Schneider was QB and Joe Zaleski was at the reins.
,,,,it was a very sad ending for Ernie Pitts....he was shot and killed by his estranged wife back in the late sixties ..i believe.. ...while attending their daughters birthday party in California...it just floored me when i heard the news...He was a great receiver for the BigBlue...a real tragedy...Why they don't have him up in the receiving records ...i don't know.....whether or not he was related to Allen Pitts ..i couldn't tell you....but he was definitely as good as Allen in his day...hope i got it right Ernie...
...you know sambo....i can't remember his number....and i wouldn;t like to get it wrong...But the Bombers should definitely have his no. recorded somewhere and his stats.....he was on about three Grey Cup winners in the Bud Grant era....i feel bad that i don't remember his no... it was a long time ago..
…something else just twigged in the ol memory banks…i believe Ernies career was winding down…and was traded to the Lions…The coach of the leos at the time didn’t want to let Ernie go …to attend that birthday party…but on a second thought …approved it…just goes to show ya…fate works in mysterious ways some time…as a Bomber fan …i will always remember Ernie Pitts…here’s a little extra on Ernie…that only his former team mates would remember…he had a nickname Ernie ‘ZAZU’ Pitts…is what they referred to him affectionately as…man i’m really going into a time warp…Great receiver and i won’t forget…
Boys, thanks so much for all that. As far as the number goes ... well that sticks in my mind : #77.
I sorta forgot about the BC Lions connection, but true enough. And actually, they converted Ernie into a defensive back before he ever left Winnipeg. This was at a time when they had air-lifted a very tired Tommy Grant into the receiving corps. Enough with the memories though or pretty soon I'll be crying in my beers about Tommy Joe Coffee, Garney Henley and how Joe Zuger was the last of the old-time QB's in Canada to wear high-top cleats.
One more thing about Ernie Pitts though. On the Blue Bomber Alumni website there's a list of deceased Bombers. I sent them an email to comment on the absence of Ernie's name and the website moderator, Trevor Kennard I believe, wrote back to thank me for the input and said that they just didn't happen to have all the pertinent info on all the Bombers who've come and gone over the years. And yet, Ernie's name is still missing from the Bomber's memorial tribute page. What the heck is up with that? Listen, I'm not trying toget Ernie Pitts inducted inthe Hall of Fame or anything, it's just that I'm finding it increasingly weird that his name is all but forgotten and even deleted form any kind of official documentation. Maybe I'm wrong though.
Those were the good days. Used to go watch them practice at the old Packers field. You could all but join in except that you did not want to get too close to Micheals. Then after the practice they would walk about a quarter mile to the Packers main building to eat, Canada Packers would feel them to save money. Seems that Hal Ledyard (sp?) also had a fatal accident. Pitts on one side, Funston (Tight end) on the other. Ran pass them or over them.
you guys are walking history books.....I thought I went back a ways but this great stuff....love the part about them chowing down at Canad Packers, that is so fitting, I can picture them gnawing on bones....lol
Living in East St. Boniface, it was a heartbreak to see them leave the Packers facility and then later watch them move to the lush digs of St. John’s Ravenscourt. The move made them into a bunch of sissy-boys. I’m betting Bud Grant would never have let that happen. He didn’t even like to draft players from California because he didn’t believe west coast talent had enough grit.
