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

[Jesse]

I'm going to need a run down of some of the older guys, because I'm immediately thinking Edwards for third slot and don't know much of anything about most of the WRs - other than knowing the names of the big guys and assuming they were the best.

[TrueBlue4ever]

29 minutes ago, Jesse said:

I'm going to need a run down of some of the older guys, because I'm immediately thinking Edwards for third slot and don't know much of anything about most of the WRs - other than knowing the names of the big guys and assuming they were the best.

Bios and "one man's take" will be out for next week, for now just putting out a starting list to generate discussion and see if I missed anyone. But I can say Rick House was the slot opposite Poplawski, and our top Canadian 3 times and tops in the league once. Wilcox was our go-to slot in the 90's and a 4 time Most Outstanding Canadian on the team (winning the league wide award once and being runner-up another time), and he also put up the second or 3rd best single receiving year in Bomber history (behind Stegall's 2002 and James Murphy's 1986 year respectively). Edwards was known as "Baby Milt" and quietly had some of the highest career numbers a Bomber has ever put up.

For wide receivers, James Murphy was the greatest receiver we ever had and the guy who held every club record before Milt came along. Bud Grant led the league 3 times in receiving before switching to head coach in the 1950's. Pitts and Nielsen were 1960's and early 70's stars with multiple all-star nods and team awards. Holmes was the leader of the receiving corps in the Brock era. Boyd played second fiddle to Murphy in the mid-80's, and Gordon was the understudy to Milt in 2000-01 before Bruce came in.

Edited April 12, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[Noeller]

It's hard to imagine now, but we have had some of the greatest receivers in league history over the years... Just an insane depth on our All Time list... 

[SpeedFlex27]

Be a shame not to include tight ends in this as we had some good ones in Ernie Pitts & Paul Markle. Just because tight ends aren't used anymore they deserve o be recognized as well. I suggest we vote for 3 receivers. Wideout, slot & tight end.

Edited April 12, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[Noeller]

Would Sellers count as a TE?? 🤔 

[TrueBlue4ever]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Be a shame not to include tight ends in this as we had some good ones in Ernie Pitts & Paul Markle. Just because tight ends aren't used anymore they deserve o be recognized as well. I suggest we vote for 3 receivers. Wideout, slot & tight end.

The Bombers never had a tight end earn a divisional or CFL all-star nod from 1968 to 1980 when the league tracked that position, and Paul Marlkle had only 900 career receiving yards and 80 catches in his 3 seasons with the Bombers from 1970-72. Don’t think he makes the cut when stacked up against the Tony Gabriel’s of that era. But I will say that the “end” position of the 1930’s-1960’s that was the pre-cursor to the tight end position did produce some talent (Pitts and Grant should rightfully be placed there instead of wide receiver, along with Jeff Nicklin, Neill Armstrong, and Bud Marquand). So I will acquiesce and add an “end/tight end” category as well, with one starter and a second choice who can compete in the generic “5th receiver” spot. Our offence will now have 14 men on the field (sounds like a ‘Rider game). If you feel Markle deserves to be among the candidates, tell me which slotback to remove, since the tight end of the 1970’s was closer to a pass catching slotback of the 1980’s than a run blocking end of the 1950’s. 

[johnzo]

On 2019-04-12 at 12:14 PM, TrueBlue4ever said:

, the third spot is an interesting battle between Edwards, House, and Wilcox.

No bad choices there, but considering that House had Brock and Clements throwing him the ball, and Wilcox had Dunigan for three years .. meanwhile the best QB Edwards ever had was 2007 Glenn...  Edwards made some chicken salad on this team, he'll always be a favorite of mine for that.

Edited April 13, 2019 by johnzo

[SpeedFlex27]

44 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

The Bombers never had a tight end earn a divisional or CFL all-star nod from 1968 to 1980 when the league tracked that position, and Paul Marlkle had only 900 career receiving yards and 80 catches in his 3 seasons with the Bombers from 1970-72. Don’t think he makes the cut when stacked up against the Tony Gabriel’s of that era. But I will say that the “end” position of the 1930’s-1960’s that was the pre-cursor to the tight end position did produce some talent (Pitts and Grant should rightfully be placed there instead of wide receiver, along with Jeff Nicklin, Neill Armstrong, and Bud Marquand). So I will acquiesce and add an “end/tight end” category as well, with one starter and a second choice who can compete in the generic “5th receiver” spot. Our offence will now have 14 men on the field (sounds like a ‘Rider game). If you feel Markle deserves to be among the candidates, tell me which slotback to remove, since the tight end of the 1970’s was closer to a pass catching slotback of the 1980’s than a run blocking end of the 1950’s. 

I used Markle as an example.  I don't know if he deserves to be there. I don't want to see Ernie Pitts lose out here. He was the best tight end in the CFL in the late 50's to mid 60's.  

[TrueBlue4ever]

4 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I used Markle as an example.  I don't know if he deserves to be there. I don't want to see Ernie Pitts lose out here. He was the best tight end in the CFL in the late 50's to mid 60's.  

I would have ranked Pitts as a strong contender for one of the top 3 wide receiver/alternate spots. 

[SpeedFlex27]

43 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I would have ranked Pitts as a strong contender for one of the top 3 wide receiver/alternate spots. 

Ernie Pitts played Tight End for the Bombers on offense.  He switched to defensive back full time for the 1967 season & played there until the end of the 1969 season. He was traded in the off season to the Lions for the 1970 season but tragically was shot to death by his wife in September of that year during a domestic dispute in their Denver, Colorado home.

 

 

https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/p-pittsern001

Edited April 13, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[Fatty Liver]

Very good article on James Murphy, worth the read for the praise he heaps on Dieter Brock, Rick House and Joe Poplawski.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/05/06/alumni-profile-james-murphy/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[TrueBlue4ever]

OK, again sorry about the long delay, but life and work has intervened. However, the tight end polling anointed new CFL Hall of Famer Ernie Pitts as the all-time best, with Jeff Nicklin advancing to the "5th receiver" run-off vote. Next up, the wide receivers, which I am posting right now.

[wbbfan]

WR is gonna be hard. Geroy simon was here for 1 and a half years worth of games. Does he go on the list where his talent and league production demands or do guys who werent as good but here much longer get the nod?Similar to geroy simon, alfred jackson is worthy of recognition as well. 

For me, Milt, Murphy, Joe Poplawski, TE, and Ernie Pitts is pretty good. Rick house is close though, Wilcox worthy of a mention too.

[TrueBlue4ever]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

WR is gonna be hard. Geroy simon was here for 1 and a half years worth of games. Does he go on the list where his talent and league production demands or do guys who werent as good but here much longer get the nod?Similar to geroy simon, alfred jackson is worthy of recognition as well. 

For me, Milt, Murphy, Joe Poplawski, TE, and Ernie Pitts is pretty good. Rick house is close though, Wilcox worthy of a mention too.

Bomber accomplishments only, which I established primarily on the basis of Geroy Simon's career being so BC-heavy, so he will not be on the list. Likewise, Jackson had a game for the ages with his 307 yard performance in Dunigan's record-setting game (and he still did not crack 1000 yards that year, and half of his total TDs came from that one game), but overall he was not in the top class of Bomber receivers in his 2 seasons here. He put up much bigger numbers in BC as well.

[TrueBlue4ever]

Working on the slotback bios now.

[TrueBlue4ever]

So we have not surprisingly voted in Stegall and Poplawski as our starting slotbacks, and Murphy and Boyd as our wuide receivers. Boyd is an interesting case as he was barely trailing Perry Tuttle before the do-over, and was behind Nielsen early before edging ken out by one vote. The "5th Receiver" voting is now underway, so that leaves us with quarterback.

This vote will pit the stats vs. the awards vs. the success. Without having researched anything, my initial list based solely on reputations and my subjective awareness of their connection to Bomber history are:

Jack Jacobs (wonder if the censor monitor will block out "Indian"?), Ken Ploen, Don Jonas, Dieter Brock, Tom Clements, and Khari Jones. Also prepared to consider Matt Dunigan, but if I include him I feel obliged to also add Kevin Glenn. And if completion percentage and winning percentage mean anything, then Matt Nichols has 2 criteria to warrant inclusion, even if he has zero shot to win. So anyone who wants Dunigan in, tell me how to justify his inclusion and not Glenn or Nichols based on their Blue Bomber pedigree alone (I know Matty is everyone's favorite, but did he do enough on-field to raise him over the others?)

Ansd I won't consider Grey Cup wins or appearances as the sole reason, so sorry Tom Burgess and Buck Pierce (but not really sorry Sean Salisbury).

Let me know if anyone else should be added or removed.

[Noeller]

I would include Matty D and Glenn. KG5 was a BIG part of our history, and Matty's 713 game should get him a mention...

[Rich]

25 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I would include Matty D and Glenn. KG5 was a BIG part of our history, and Matty's 713 game should get him a mention...

This is why I'd include Dunigan.   As well as the hype, hope, and headlines he brought to Winnipeg when was signed, and going to the Grey Cup 2 of his 3 years here.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/One-glorious-night-266208361.html

[WBBFanWest]

So, help me out here.  If this is an all time best list then why in the world would Kevin Glenn get a mention?   If this is a all-time who managed to play longer than anyone else regardless of anything else they might have accomplished list, then yes, by all means, include him.

[Floyd]

25 minutes ago, WBBFanWest said:

So, help me out here.  If this is an all time best list then why in the world would Kevin Glenn get a mention?   If this is a all-time who managed to play longer than anyone else regardless of anything else they might have accomplished list, then yes, by all means, include him.

I guess you're being funny... but why rule out Kevin Glenn just because he didn't win anything...  Neither did Dunigan, Brock or Jones...

Glenn from 2006-07 was a real treat to watch...  that pass to Stegall was unforgettable...  Glenn gets **** on now because Kelly torpedoed his career

Either way, its Ken Ploen and Jack Jacobs take the first two spots - this is just a battle for third...

I'd vote Brock... but basically just because he was around the longest...

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Floyd

[SpeedFlex27]

Jacobs, Ploen, Jonas, Brock, Clements, Dunigan & Jones

[wbbfan]

30 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Jacobs, Ploen, Jonas, Brock, Clements, Dunigan & Jones

Agree. You can add all the fluff you want after that, but if they dont have a chance of making the top 3 they only serve to split votes for the last spot. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

To me it boils down to Ploen (rings) vs Brock (numbers) and no one else will be considered best ever.

[Floyd]

1 minute ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

To me it boils down to Ploen (rings) vs Brock (numbers) and no one else will be considered best ever.

Jack Jacobs completely changed the league... and the franchise

[TrueBlue4ever]

8 minutes ago, Floyd said:

Jack Jacobs completely changed the league... and the franchise

Accepted. But in the club's history, Brock holds pretty much all the career records, and Ploen is legendary enough to have both a street and a gate and the new stadium named after him. Not saying I disagree with you about Jacobs' impact, I am just going off of what the club has always laid out as the hierarchy of QB's here. Ploen was the second player ever inducted into the Ring of Honour, Brock 5th. Jacobs was 10th. So if you are looking for anyone to unseat Ploen, the most realistic defendable option would be the QB who set all the career benchmarks for passing on the club, and the only back-to-back league MOP in club history. Others may disagree - that is why I have Jacobs on the nominees list.

Edited May 13, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever