Training Camp Memories

[SpeedFlex27]

Lots of us enjoy attending a training camp practice or 2 when the football season starts. As I've been living in Calgary since 1990, I haven't gone to many Stamps practices although when my sons played pee wee football I did take them a couple of times. But that was 2 decades ago. However, when I lived in Winnipeg I always tried to make it to at least one training camp practice every year. When I was a teen, I was there nearly everyday. Do any of you have a Bomber practice that stand out in your memory you'd like to share as we're all missing football right now?

My best memory was being 15 years old & riding my bike to practice at St Johns Ravenscourt School in Fort Garry. It's about a 30 minute bike ride one way but I did it a lot back then. In those days, training camp started June 15th. I would usually be writing exams at Churchill High School but they'd be just about finished. Then I could go to training camp if I wanted to. I remember one day in particular. Warm, muggy June day & the forecast was for scattered thunderstorms in the late afternoon. When I left my house after lunch, it was a nice sunny day with just a few puffy clouds. During practice, the skies darkened & I was thinking I should leave but I wanted to see the afternoon scrimmage so I stuck around. Newcomer Don Jonas was battling it out with Benji Dial for the starting qb spot. Charlie Bryant was fighting with Mack Herron for a backfield position. There were a lot of new players on the roster so competition was keen everywhere. 

I stuck around & almost regretted it. I could see some dark clouds on the horizon coming my way. I decided it was time to split before scrimmage ended & rode like a crazy man all the way home while this huge thunderstorm chased me. I remember I was freaking out all the way home. By the time I did get about a km away from my house all hell broke loose. The rain came down like out of a shower head, hail, thunder, lightning & wind. I jumped off my bike & hit the ground running in full stride in the backyard soaked to the skin. My Mom thought I took too much of a chance with the weather & I got a big lecture from her. I never forgot THAT practice. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by SpeedFlex27

[Noeller]

God, I miss TC. I've only been a couple of times, but the best one, by far, was the year the Women's World Cup was on, so TC was moved over to the field next to IGF. @17to85 and I road-tripped it out from Calgary to spend a couple days at camp. A hell of a time. All the fans could come and sit right on the sidelines and watch. All the media folks were there...I remember Bob Irving playing with his granddaughter for a bit during it.....I remember Wade Miller coming out and announcing that they'd brought in hot dog carts and it was free food for everyone. Dave was wearing his Doug Brown jersey, and it was the year that Ivan Brown was trying to make the team, and was also going to be wearing 97, so he was yelling at Dave about the jersey....and I think he said something about how it was nice that he wouldn't even have to change the nameplate. Ha ha. Ray was there with his Feoli-Gudino jersey cheering on his boy. Man, that was a great time...

[SpeedFlex27]

The cool thing about being a training camp regular is you get noticed by a lot of people. Fans were allowed to line the practice field at St Johns Ravenscourt as there were no stands to sit in so players would come off the field for a rest, look at me & say, "Hey man". To a 15 year old kid that was really something just to be acknowledged. Once in awhile a player would stand beside me & just have a quick chat before going back in. Wanted to know my name & what grade I was in, that kind of thing. Even the coaches would say hello. I remember having chats on the sidelines with Jack Matheson, Don Wittman & Bob Picken. 

[BBlink]

I went to a lot of training camps in the late 2000s and early 2010s...A lot of those were very lean years, and our scouting was not very good. You would expect there to be quite a bit of TCF. So when a new player stood out in practice, it was very noticeable. Whether they were good or bad.  I used to love writing up my useless scouting reports for the message boards and reading everyone else's.

It was a great time sitting in the sun and hanging out with friends/family. We'd usually get an ice cap and soak it all in.

Now it's a bit more difficult to pay that kind of attention and be at all the practices. But I still try to get to one a year.

[Jpan85]

Clarence Denmark stood out from the first practices knew he was going make the team.

[17to85]

33 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

Clarence Denmark stood out from the first practices knew he was going make the team.

What I remember about that year is there were a couple other receivers that everyone seemed to be really hyping up and no one on the message boards ever talked about Denmark. Except Ed Tait I think was usually listing him as a standout in practises. Lo and behold it was Denmark who made the club because of that consistency as opposed to the few flashes that stand out in people's minds. 

[Pickle Rick]

Back when the Bombers held training camp in Brandon, I wrote to Cal Murphy begging him to let me help out (Would've been '94 or '95?) I was 11 or 12. It was the thrill of a lifetime, the team let me essentially be the "water boy," I got to miss school, ride my bike over to Kinsmen 'stadium' and hang around my heroes for a few weeks. I got a lot of pics of that time with Cal, Dunigan, Wilcox, Walby and the boys. What a time! I was also there for Reinebold's first training camp in Portage. I have nothing but fond memories literally everyone in the organization treated me extremely well and I'd get a practice used J5V at the end of each camp lol. 

[Brandon]

My memories are training camp guys with unique last names that people latch onto and then praise them on these (or the old) board only for them to get cut after the first pre season game lol.  

 

[BBlink]

 

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

What I remember about that year is there were a couple other receivers that everyone seemed to be really hyping up and no one on the message boards ever talked about Denmark. Except Ed Tait I think was usually listing him as a standout in practises. Lo and behold it was Denmark who made the club because of that consistency as opposed to the few flashes that stand out in people's minds. 

Yep and that's why I take my training camp reports with a grain of salt. Although I have gotten better over the years.

[17to85]

9 minutes ago, BBlink said:

 

Yep and that's why I take my training camp reports with a grain of salt. Although I have gotten better over the years.

Yeah it's impossible to watch everything all the time, best we generally manage watching live is a couple stand out plays here and there. 

Most people recognize that they're doing that. 

Then you had guys like gbill or whatever the **** he called himself would see things completely differently from reality and get pissy when called on it. Good times. 

[Eternal optimist]

Well, not really a training camp memory; but preseason at least... 2018 season, Bombers hosted Edmonton for our home preseason game, then also played against them in our home opener two weeks later. Anyways...during the preseason game two Edmonton players were talking trash to a fan behind us. This fan sometimes just roasts players, quick-witted he said to them (and I quote) "I'll bet you $20 CANADIAN that neither of you make it to the home opener"... sure enough, two weeks later, Edmonton team is introduced and both of them had made the team (and had remembered the bet). One of the players came out doing the Johnny Manziel money thing...

Fan was a good guy though... paid them both their $20.

[BBlink]

A couple specific memories come to mind. Sometime around 2005 or 2006 when Omar Evans called me out on coming to training camp all of the time. I was also wearing his jersey and he signed it. One of the few bright spots of our defense in those days.

Also we used to bring a football wherever we went and we had brought one to training camp. I told holoman to throw the football to Arjei Franklin (who was passing by under the grandstands) and he did and Arjei caught it. 

[Bubba Zanetti]

There was a 15 year stretch give or take where I went to nearly every training camp. Always took the week off from work and went everyday. In true Winnipeg fashion ive sat through +30 weather one year, and sleet the next lol. Loved just sitting with the old-timers and talking football. So many training camp stars that seemed destined for greatness only to fade away. I remember watching Ramonce Taylor one year and was sure he was the next superstar.

Lots of memories but a couple stand out for me. Watching Milt, year after year, embarrass whichever hot shot DB they put across from him in 1 on 1's lol. That and watching Charles Roberts sitting on his helmet chatting with Milt and the other players during stretching drills lol. The dude was amazing and put next to zero effort into his conditioning. Man, if he had worked half as hard as Milt did during is career, we would be talking about him as the greatest CFL RB of all time. No doubt in my mind. Shame really.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Bubba Zanetti

[Eternal optimist]

23 hours ago, Noeller said:

Ray was there with his Feoli-Gudino jersey cheering on his boy. Man, that was a great time...

Man, that reminds me of that stellar home opener (O'Shea's first game as head coach) when they absolutely mopped the walloped the Argos (who had Ray). I'll always remember that random fake punt O'Shea called that went to none other than ... Feoli-Gudino.

Reminiscing aside, preseason is one of my favorite times of the year, between the myriad of newbies, and the office banter about who thinks which teams are gonna make some noise this year...just the buzz in the city surrounding the upcoming season. Nothing quite like it.

...Can we do a virtual rum hut and re-stream the 2019 playoffs?

[SpeedFlex27]

Khari Jones Dad was my facebook friend years ago. On more than one occasion we had some long late-night chats about football. Great guy. 

[kelownabomberfan]

On 2020-06-19 at 1:50 PM, Eternal optimist said:

Man, that reminds me of that stellar home opener (O'Shea's first game as head coach) when they absolutely mopped the walloped the Argos (who had Ray). I'll always remember that random fake punt O'Shea called that went to none other than ... Feoli-Gudino.

Reminiscing aside, preseason is one of my favorite times of the year, between the myriad of newbies, and the office banter about who thinks which teams are gonna make some noise this year...just the buzz in the city surrounding the upcoming season. Nothing quite like it.

...Can we do a virtual rum hut and re-stream the 2019 playoffs?

I still have that game on my PVR....

[kelownabomberfan]

I was at the first day of training camp for the 2009 season. Mike Kelly. It was actually pretty entertaining. Darrell Hackney had just arrived and he looked like the Michelin Man. He could really toss the football though. 

[SpeedFlex27]

 

 

I remember the 1974 training camp. The Bombers had signed a hotshot qb out of the University of Houston named DC Nobles. He showed up first day of training camp driving a brand new Cadillac or Lincoln Continental.  After that grand entrance he proceeded to struggle through training camp & pre season. He was cut. Who was the qb who made the team & backed up Don Jonas?? Why, it was an unknown rookie named Ralph Brock. He wouldn't be called Dieter for a few years yet. It was said that he had such a strong arm he could throw a football through a car wash & it wouldn't get wet. 

[Eternal optimist]

7 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

 He wouldn't be called Dieter for a few years yet. It was said that he had such a strong arm he could throw a football through a car wash & it wouldn't get wet. 

Pfft I could do that. No condition stipulating that the car wash must be running...

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, Eternal optimist said:

Pfft I could do that. No condition stipulating that the car wash must be running...

Could you even make it to the other side?

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

2016. Rupert "Meat Cutter" Butcher. LOL

[SpeedFlex27]

In 1969, we had a running back in camp named Darwin 'Go Go' Gonnerman. One of those hyped signings. I think he was one of the reasons Lunsford traded All Canadian halfback Dave Raimey to the Argos for Wally Gabler.  Earl thought he could be a great running back but it didn't turn out that way. Gonnerman was an  underwhelming player. He lasted 3 games & his career with the Bombers was finished. He suffered an injury either in a game or at practice. He has zero carries & receptions for the Bombers but had 5 KO returns for 150 yards which was a 30 yard return average. He was a bit player with Ottawa & Edmonton in 1970 & 71. Never forgot his name... Go Go Gonnerman. 

 

Edited June 24, 2020 by SpeedFlex27