The MBB All-time Blue Bomber team: Mount Rushmore and the all-time Happy Honkers

[17to85]

29 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I thought it was just a Canadian vs American thing.

British (proper) English vs uncouth bastardized american English.

[SpeedFlex27]

6 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I thought it was just a Canadian vs American thing.

Nope the position is spelled c-e-n-t-e-r.

[Jpan85]

CFL website uses Centre

[WBBFanWest]

35 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

CFL website uses Centre

I think iso spells it in the original form "back in the day": κέντρο

[Mr Dee]

Static position....as in isometrics.

[TrueBlue4ever]

Hey, I don’t want friction between posters here on this issue of centre vs center. I know, I’ll run a poll, lol. 

[SpeedFlex27]

I have always been told the re in centre is hockey & the er in center is football.

Edited March 5, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, WBBFanWest said:

I think iso spells it in the original form "back in the day": κέντρο

Are you Russian?

[SpeedFlex27]

Center is used in Bob Swift's bio.... The caption under his picture uses the word centre so I'll just sat that both ways must be acceptable spellings.

 

https://www.cflapedia.com/Players/s/swift_bob.htm

Edited March 5, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

36 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Hey, I don’t want friction between posters here on this issue of centre vs center. I know, I’ll run a poll, lol. 

The Fiberals could use your services.

[WBBFanWest]

9 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Are you Russian?

Ummm, that would be ancient Greek, like you didn't recognize the writing of your youth...

[SpeedFlex27]

12 hours ago, WBBFanWest said:

Ummm, that would be ancient Greek, like you didn't recognize the writing of your youth...

Wow, are you for real?

Edited March 6, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[TrueBlue4ever]

So the special teams have been completed, with Wade Miller taking the last spot, and John Bonk is running away with the vote at Centre. Therefore it is time to move on to the guards and tackles.

I have divided them up as best I can into their specific spot, hopefully I have not made any glaring errors as to who plays in what position (some players split time at both, tried to divide them based on where they either played the longest or where they received league recognition at all-star time). All info as to position comes first from the Blue Bomber media guide and then other online player sites - don't hate on me if I got a position wrong, but please offer corrections, and as always any omissions.

Here is a sizable list of nominees to start things off.

GUARD -

Nick Bastaja, David Black, Travis Bond, Larry Butler, Bill Ceretti, Brendan LaBatte, Ed Kotowich, Les Lear, Bob Lueck, Brett MacNeill, Lou Mogol, Steve Patrick, Cornell Piper, Sherwyn Thorson

TACKLE (there will be at least a couple of really great players who won't make the top 2 here) -

Stanley Bryant, Mo Elewonibi, Bill Frank, Martin Gainor, Dan Goodspeed, Jamarcus Hardrick, Richard Huffman, Glenn January, Dave Mudge, Butch Norman, Christopher Perez, Frank Rigney, Roger Savoie, Bobby Thompson, Buddy Tinsley, Chris Walby

Edited March 13, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[Noeller]

hmmmm....I don't see Miles Gorell on that list of Tackles....

[Noeller]

Walby is the best OL of all time in the CFL, so he gets a spot by default. I'm tempted to give Bryant the other one because he's been so good and so steady. Feel like Frank Rigney, Buddy Tinsley and Dave Mudge all deserve serious consideration tho. Guys like January, Goodspeed and (especially) Perez aren't even in the same class...

[Mark H.]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

hmmmm....I don't see Miles Gorell on that list of Tackles....

Alexander Gauthier 

[SpeedFlex27]

Bill Frank. The man was a monster at LT back in The Day. Frank & Walby may have been the 2 most dominant tackles to play for the Bombers. Walby at RT & Frank at LT. Please add Bill Frank at Tackle.  Buddy Brown also deserves to be on that list at Guard. 

 

Bill Frank towering over DE Wayne Smith, His Rough Rider opponent. 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[TrueBlue4ever]

14 hours ago, Noeller said:

hmmmm....I don't see Miles Gorell on that list of Tackles....

Gorrell was a monster in his earlier days with Hamilton and Ottawa, and was a 4 time all-star and 2 time Schenly award nominee for the East, but his time with Winnipeg came after  paired with Walby at the other tackle spot, “the twin towers” were strong, but he never had an all star nod with the Bombers and wasn’t even the best on his own team  I will add him, but honestly this list of tackles is already at 16 with only 2 who will make the grade, and will he top Walby, Rigney, Tinsley, or Frank, to name but 4? Key factor is that his prowess with other teams is NOT to be factored in, only his efforts with the Bombers  

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[TrueBlue4ever]

14 hours ago, Noeller said:

Walby is the best OL of all time in the CFL, so he gets a spot by default. I'm tempted to give Bryant the other one because he's been so good and so steady. Feel like Frank Rigney, Buddy Tinsley and Dave Mudge all deserve serious consideration tho. Guys like January, Goodspeed and (especially) Perez aren't even in the same class...

I agree with your assessment of the guys you give serious consideration to, and would add Bill Frank to that list. January and Perez were both named the club’s outstanding lineman for 3 consecutive years respectively, Godspeed twice in a row, so they make the grade as nominees at least based on those accolades (I needed some objective system of inclusion so I used divisional and league all star nods, Schenly Award noms, and club Hall of Fame selection as my starting point and then whittled down a bit from there, hence my exclusion of Gorrell, who ticked none of those boxes in his time with the Bombers). 

Edited March 14, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[TrueBlue4ever]

12 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Alexander Gauthier 

Only one divisional all star award, but I will add him, even though he won’t be anywhere near the top 2 at tackle. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

9 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Bill Frank. The man was a monster at LT back in The Day. Frank & Walby may have been the 2 most dominant tackles to play for the Bombers. Walby at RT & Frank at LT. Please add Bill Frank at Tackle.  Buddy Brown also deserves to be on that list at Guard. 

 

Bill Frank towering over DE Wayne Smith, His Rough Rider opponent. 

 

 

Did you read my list (gentle jab only)?  Bill Frank was a 5 time league all star and 4 time club nominee for most outstanding lineman, as well as a CFL hall of gamer. He was on the list and will be a serious challenger. 

Buddy Brown was not mentioned anywhere in the club’s media guide as an all star or best lineman nominee, so I did not have him listed. I have now found another source that had him noted as a 2 time all star, so I will add him at guard. Thanks. 

[Mark H.]

7 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Only one divisional all star award, but I will add him, even though he won’t be anywhere near the top 2 at tackle. 

20 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Alexander Gauthier 

True - but he was part of pretty much the only dominant OL the Bombers had from 1995 - 2012

Gauthier, Sheridan, Khan, Greene, Goodspeed

That was a solid group. 

[SpeedFlex27]

11 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Did you read my list (gentle jab only)?  Bill Frank was a 5 time league all star and 4 time club nominee for most outstanding lineman, as well as a CFL hall of gamer. He was on the list and will be a serious challenger. 

Buddy Brown was not mentioned anywhere in the club’s media guide as an all star or best lineman nominee, so I did not have him listed. I have now found another source that had him noted as a 2 time all star, so I will add him at guard. Thanks. 

Thank you for adding Brown. He probably won't win but he was a very, very good player when Dieter Brock was our qb in the early 80's.  Frank was an awesome player.

http://www.cfhof.ca/members/bill-frank/

 

[SpeedFlex27]

Another very good OL was Right Guard Larry Slagle. Here he is leading halfback Mack Herron on a sweep. However, I don't think he was an All Star which is a surprise. 

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[TrueBlue4ever]

So Bastaja and Black get in as the guards, and Walby and a surprising Stanley Bryant are leading the way at tackle, so next we will consider the running back spot. Originally I was going to make the first category fullbacks, and leave only a single running back spot, which would have made an interesting debate when limited to one choice, but I am going to reverse course on that. The fullback spot is hard to research going back, I suspect people would have pretty much unanimously chosen Mike Sellers, and today the dual back set does not much exist with 5 receiver sets in vogue now. Even when two backs line up they often both can be a tailback. So I will just make one category for running backs and we will have 2 to choose from. Early nominees from me, without having done a lick of research on it, will include Fritz Hansen, Gerry James, Leo Lewis, Mack Herron, Jay Washington, William Miller, Willard Reaves, Robert Mimbs, Michael Richardson, Charles Roberts, Fred Reid, and Andrew Harris. I've tried to include those who won at least one rushing title, made an all-star squad, or were nominated as the team's MOP. Let me know of any others you'd like added. Bios up on Friday.