It comes up on here often.....which numbers are retired, or "retired" by the Bombers. Ed Tait is doing a wonderful series on who's worn which numbers over the years http://www.bluebombers.com/blue-by-the-numbers/ And if you haven't been following along, you should be. Here's a little tidbit from it, that will come in handy to help quell future debates:
The Bombers haven’t formally retired numbers, but the following are officially no longer available to players:
11 – Worn by hall of famer Ken Ploen, the face of this franchise during his playing days from 1957-67 and later into his retirement. Ploen also wore 89, as did many players of that era who played both sides of the ball.
28 – Jeff Nicklin was a decorated Bomber from 1934-40 before becoming a decorated soldier in World War II, passing away on the battlefield in 1945. The winner of the Most Outstanding Player Award in the West Division is annually presented with the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy.
75 – As a tribute to Tommy Lumsden, who played end, defensive end, tackle and guard for the Bombers from 1951-54 but passed away at the age of 25 in a Winnipeg hospital while suffering a gall bladder attack near Beausejour. The Tommy Lumsden Trophy is presented annually to the Bombers’ top Canadian player.
That information is passed down from one equipment manager to the next and Brad Fotty, who has been in the position since 1990, has since put Walby’s 63 and Stegall’s 85 out of commission. The same was done for Bob Cameron’s 6, but when the club signed quarterback Dominique Davis – who asked for that number – the hall of fame punter gave his thumbs up for it to be brought back.
Other numbers – like Doug Brown’s 97 or the 1 worn by Roberts – are not available for a few years after their retirement as a sign of respect, but with close to 90 players brought in annually to training camp, football teams simply can’t retire the numbers of all their greats.
Once a player is signed by or traded to the Bombers, he is asked for his top three number choices. CFL veterans get first choice in an unofficial priority list, followed by NFL veterans, draft choices and rookies
It comes up on here often.....which numbers are retired, or "retired" by the Bombers. Ed Tait is doing a wonderful series on who's worn which numbers over the years http://www.bluebombers.com/blue-by-the-numbers/ And if you haven't been following along, you should be. Here's a little tidbit from it, that will come in handy to help quell future debates:
The Bombers haven’t formally retired numbers, but the following are officially no longer available to players:
11 – Worn by hall of famer Ken Ploen, the face of this franchise during his playing days from 1957-67 and later into his retirement. Ploen also wore 89, as did many players of that era who played both sides of the ball.
28 – Jeff Nicklin was a decorated Bomber from 1934-40 before becoming a decorated soldier in World War II, passing away on the battlefield in 1945. The winner of the Most Outstanding Player Award in the West Division is annually presented with the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy.
75 – As a tribute to Tommy Lumsden, who played end, defensive end, tackle and guard for the Bombers from 1951-54 but passed away at the age of 25 in a Winnipeg hospital while suffering a gall bladder attack near Beausejour. The Tommy Lumsden Trophy is presented annually to the Bombers’ top Canadian player.
That information is passed down from one equipment manager to the next and Brad Fotty, who has been in the position since 1990, has since put Walby’s 63 and Stegall’s 85 out of commission. The same was done for Bob Cameron’s 6, but when the club signed quarterback Dominique Davis – who asked for that number – the hall of fame punter gave his thumbs up for it to be brought back.
Other numbers – like Doug Brown’s 97 or the 1 worn by Roberts – are not available for a few years after their retirement as a sign of respect, but with close to 90 players brought in annually to training camp, football teams simply can’t retire the numbers of all their greats.
Once a player is signed by or traded to the Bombers, he is asked for his top three number choices. CFL veterans get first choice in an unofficial priority list, followed by NFL veterans, draft choices and rookies