It's still five long months until we have football again. I've been doing a lot of reading about the history of the Blue Bombers and I thought maybe we could start a "this day in Blue Bomber history" thread of some kind to give an idea of what this franchise has been through and how history continues to repeat itself. Anyway, just a thought.

Here's a for instance - 80 years ago the Bombers got beat by the Roughriders in the playoffs, and decided that they didn't want to endure that humiliation again, and so they pioneered a concept called "imports". That's right, the Bombers invented the concept of importing large numbers of US players specifically to play football in Canada. Did you guys know that?

 

1934 was a bit of a step backward for the Winnipegs as they lost to the Regina Roughriders in the West playoffs again. This didn't sit well in Winnipeg, and they set out to change things. In a move that would have lasting repercussions on the whole game of football in Canada, Winnipeg recruited a number of American players. The most notable of these players was the legendary Fritz Hanson. Bolstered by the imports, the Winnipeg team would not only defeat the Regina Roughriders in the West playoffs in 1935, but went on to win the first Grey Cup by a Western team, defeating the mighty Hamilton Tigers 18-12. The victory by Winnipeg would set off an East-West fight about imports and eventually lead to the formation about rules to govern the number of import players a team could use. There certainly had been other Americans playing football in Canada prior to 1935. These were mostly guys who had migrated to Canada or came here for work and just happened to play football. Starting in 1929, teams had begun to actively recruite the odd American specifically to play football, but Winnipeg took it to a new level with seven imports on the 1935 team, recruited specifically to beat the Roughriders and capture the Grey Cup from the East..

http://www.cflapedia.com/teams/winnipeg.html

Kind of like how the Jets pioneered the recruitment of European players back in the WHA days...

Seven imports, eh.

Love to see a football remake of The Magnificent Seven; Winnipeg team officials pooling their money to hire mercenaries to destroy the filthy western flatlander bandits.

Fritzy Hanson was one fast little fella. Kind of like a modern day Charlie Roberts...now you see him...now you don't. Hanson was a great football player of his time. A long with Jack Jacobs...true icons of our past.

Fritz Hanson

Melvin "Fritz" Hanson (July 13, 1914 in Perham, Minnesota – February 14, 1996 in Calgary, Alberta) was a Canadian football player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders. Hanson was signed by the Blue Bombers for $125 a game and free room and board, which was a considerable sum in the cash-strapped dirty thirties. Nicknamed the 'Galloping Ghost', 'Twinkle Toes', and the 'Perham Flash', Hanson was one of the pioneers of football in Western Canada and a huge star at the time. Although he weighed only 145 pounds (66 kg) he used his incredible quickness to evade defenders. He helped lead the Blue Bombers to the first Grey Cup victory by a western Canadian team in 1935 and won again with the Bombers in 1939 and 1941.[1][2] In the 1935 Grey Cup Game Hanson recorded 300 punt return yards, a record that still stands today, including a sensational 78-yard return for the winning touchdown.[2] He played with Winnipeg from 1935 through 1946 then spent two years playing for the Calgary Stampeders, where he won a fourth Grey Cup in 1948.[1]

Hanson was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963[1] and inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.[2] He became a Canadian citizen in 1966[2] and, in 2005, Hanson was named one of the Blue Bombers 20 All-Time Greats. He died in Calgary on February 14, 1996, at the age of 81.[3]

Fritz Hanson and his wife Maxine had four daughters.

He was only 145 lbs!!!

Another important member of that 1935 team:

Bud Marquardt

Bud Marquardt graduated from North Dakota State University and joined the Winnipeg Football Club in 1935. During his seven campaigns here, he won three Grey Cups (1935, ’39 & ’41) and was chosen for the All-Star Team three times (1937, ’39 & ’40) at the end position. Known as a natural athlete, Marquardt was an extremely quick and reliable receiver who was noted for an important touchdown catch in the first Grey Cup won by a western team in 1935. He also played for the Winnipeg Toilers basketball team after that Hall of Fame club’s recovery from the tragic airplane crash in 1933.

Legendary Sportswriter Tony Allen named Marquardt to his All Time All-Star Team at the other end of the offensive line opposite fellow 2004 Honoured Member Jeff Nicklin. Bud Marquardt joined the Hudson’s Bay Company as a clerk when he came up from North Dakota to play for the football club. He stayed in his adopted community as a resident of Winnipeg and retired as an HBC Executive.

http://www.halloffame.mb.ca/honoured/2004/budMarquardt.htm

On this day January 25th, 1970, Milton Stegall enters the world in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

Happy Birthday Milt!!!

http://www.bluebomberfanclub.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=225&Itemid=196

 

I'm sure the a lot of people here knew about this site.  It didn't seem to take off.  There is some good history posted here on the Bombers. Whoever 'Stats Junkie' is, he/she is a true superfan.