Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/569648
12 HOME GAME PLAYBOOK SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS GREY CUP HISTORY It took two days to play, but after winning the first Grey Cup game to go into overtime in 1961, the Blue Bombers rolled out another historic victory in 1962's Fog Bowl. Bottom row: Roger Savoie, Rod Humenuik, Ernie Pitts, Hal Ledyard, Joe Zaleski (Assistant Coach), Bud Grant (Head Coach), John Michels (Assistant Coach), Dave Burkholder, Frank Rigney, Leo Lewis, Ron LaTourelle. Second row: Ray Ash, Roger Hamelin, Cornel Piper, George Druxman, Neil Thomas, Roger Hagberg, Nick Miller, Gar Warren, Steve Patrick, Herb Gray. Third row: Bob Jones (Equipment Manager), Farrell Funston, Rick Potter, Henry Janzen, Gord Rowland, Joe Williams, Norm Rauhaus, Gerry James, Gord Mackie (Trainer). Top row: Cec Luining, Bill Whisler, Sherwyn Thorson, Jack Bruzzel, Charlie Lindsay (Vice-President), Jim Ausley (General Manager), Karl Wintemute (President), Dick Thornton, Jack Delveaux, Ken Ploen, Charlie Shepard. Photo courtesy of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum WHILE MEMORIES OF SOME OF THE WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS' 10 GREY CUP WINS REMAIN CRYSTAL CLEAR FOR MANY FANS OF THE TEAM, THEIR RECOLLECTIONS OF ONE PARTICULAR GAME ARE SOMEWHAT FOGGY. T he Bombers won their seventh CFL championship in team history — their fourth Grey Cup victory in five years — when they once again defeated their arch-rivals, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, in the 1962 match played at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Winnipeg was leading Hamilton 28-27 with under 10 minutes to play when referee Paul Dojack halted the game due to fog that had rolled into the stadium. Following a 20-minute delay, CFL commissioner Sydney Halter ruled that the remainder of the game, which has since been immortalized as the Fog Bowl, would be played the following day, Dec. 2. The Bombers had momentum on their side prior to the game being suspended. Receiver Charlie Shepard scored his second touchdown of the game midway through the third quarter and Gerry James added his fourth convert of the day to put Winnipeg up 28-26. Hamilton had a chance to regain the lead but kicker Don Sutherin missed on a 30-yard field goal attempt and the Ticats had to settle for a single. Bombers defensive back Gord Rowland says he and his teammates weren't too worried at the time about how continuing the game the next day might affect the outcome. "When you get into the heat of battle you don't think too much," he recalls. "We knew if they called the game it would be the same for both sides. No one has an edge in that kind of situation; it was the same for both teams. It didn't give anybody an advantage." The Bombers had the lead going into day two of action, thanks largely to the same cast that had led the way in the team's three previous Grey Cup wins. Quarterback Ken Ploen threw for a touchdown and was also a threat on the ground. Running back Leo Lewis ran for the Bombers' first major of the game, threw for another and scored his third TD of the day off a lateral pass that he took 30 yards to the end zone. With so much at stake, both teams were unwilling to take any unnecessary chances when they returned to the field and the game remained scoreless for the final quarter of play. Rowland says the Bombers took the same attitude into the second day of action that they did the first. "You wanted to win that game. We went out there and we were ready for anything they threw at us," he says. The Bombers would go on to play in one more Grey Cup during what became known as the Bud Grant Era (1957 to '66), a 22-16 loss to the Ticats in the 1965 championship. That 10-year period under one of the winningest head coaches in CFL history remains arguably the most successful run in team history. Although those Bomber teams had plenty of star power, Rowland says what made them successful was the sense of kinship that developed between the players. "We had a lot of very good players but the big thing was we played for each other. There was a really good team spirit. Guys even looked forward to going to practice," he says. Still, those Bomber teams were a reflection of their no- nonsense head coach. If someone wasn't working hard enough at practice or their head wasn't in the game they were told politely, but firmly, to get with the program by one of their teammates. "If you goofed off and were not producing you would be reminded of it. Guys would tell you to get your act together or we don't want you around here," he says. "You had to produce." Rowland, who was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame as an athlete in 1997, played 10 seasons with the Bombers. He played on four Grey Cup champion teams and was a CFL all-star on five separate occasions, as well as a finalist for the Schenley Award as the league's best Canadian in 1958. Rowland originally tried out for the Bombers in 1953 but was released by then-head coach George Trafton. He was brought back the following season by rookie coach Al Sherman and became a staple of the team until he retired in 1963. At one time he was ranked second on the all-time Bomber list for punt returns, punt return yardage and interceptions. "I felt I played pretty good at my position. Back then coaches would go through the payroll and let you go pretty fast if you didn't measure up," he says, adding with a laugh, "I guess I measured up." ❚ Read all about the Search for the Cup Contest in the Winnipeg Free Press today. A laminated ticket will be hidden in a mystery location in Winnipeg in each of the next four weeks. Follow clues published in the Free Press every day to find the ticket. The first person to locate it each week will win two tickets to the Grey Cup game, two tickets to 103rd Grey Cup Festival events, a subscription to the Free Press and more prizes — including a trip for two on VIA Rail to a sweet Canadian destination. You could get lucky at the Banjo Bowl, too. While you're at Investors Group Field today, enter the Win a Trip to the 103rd Grey Cup Sweepstakes. Fill out a ballot at the tent located on the concourse near Gate 2 for a chance to win a grand prize that includes two tickets to the Grey Cup game, two passes to the three-day Concert Series Nov. 26-28, two tickets to the VIP Indoor Tailgate Party on Nov. 29 and round-trip air transportation and four nights' accommodation in Winnipeg. The contest is open to residents of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C. and Ontario. ❚ YOU CAN BE A GREY CUP WINNER, TOO AS THE 103RD GREY CUP FESTIVAL APPROACHES, THERE ARE SEVERAL CONTESTS AFOOT FOR FANS WHO'D LIKE A SEAT IN THE STANDS, ALONG WITH OTHER PRIZES.