“No. 38 Special” - Reaves will always be at home in the ’Peg

A Willard Reaves football card from 1987.

    It has been 31 years since he stepped on the field for the Blue Bombers, but Willard Reaves still feels the love from the Winnipeg fans.

    Known as the “No. 38 Special,” Reaves spent only five seasons in a Bombers jersey from 1983 to 1987, but he became a CFL legend leading the league in rushing on three different occasions. During those five years, the product of Flagstaff, Arizona, was the top running back in Canada.

    His best season was his sophomore 1984 campaign, where he was voted the league’s most outstanding player rushing for 1,733 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns on 304 carries in a 16-game regular season. He also hauled in 40 passes for 407 yards and scored four majors.

    Guided by Canadian Football Hall of Fame head coach Cal Murphy, the Bombers posted an 11-4-1 record to finish second overall in the CFL and romped into the Grey Cup game in Edmonton and thumped the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 47-17. The win ended a 22-year Grey Cup drought for “the Blue and Gold” at that time.

    “Back in that time, I didn’t really grasp the big huge thing about the Grey Cup until months later,” said Reaves. “Those Bomber fans were absolutely nuts. 
    “We had lots of sellouts that year, especially 83 and 84.”

    In Winnipeg, Reaves is still a legend. He said he could have hit a unique milestone in his MVP season in 1984 and chuckles about how it was missed on one play.

Willard Reaves in the 2008 Bombers media guide.

    “As a matter of fact, I did say I was going to rush for 1,800 yards and whatever,” said Reaves. “I think it was a game against Ottawa. 
    “I burst up the middle there for like 69 or 70 yards or something like that. David Black was holding. It pretty much cost me the 1,800 yards, (but) 1,733 yards is not too bad I guess.”

    Besides remembering his football exploits, Bomber fans also remember the time Reaves saved a man from drowning at a pool in a Winnipeg hotel in 1985. After his football career was finished, he made his permanent home in the Manitoba capital.

    Reaves said he still encounters fans all over the place in Winnipeg seeking his autograph. He admits he is impressed he is still remembered.

    “It is such a great town,” said Reaves. “Even now (and) when you are playing of course, they are coming up to you and getting autographs. 
    “They just want to come and sit and talk to you and stuff like this. I have people coming left right and centre for autographs and this and that still even to this day. It is amazing that people still remember and stuff like this.
    “I am meeting their kids and their dogs.”

    When he played, Reaves said the passion Bomber fans had for their team compared to the passion that Saskatchewan Roughriders fans have for their club.

A Willard Reaves football card from 1985.

    The 1984 Grey Cup was a big deal for the Winnipeg faithful, because the Bombers were facing a Hamilton team that was quarterbacked by former Winnipeg star Dieter Brock. Brock was traded out of Winnipeg during a messy divorce late in the 1983 campaign for fellow pivot Tom Clements, who happened to become a hero in Winnipeg.

    Brock had expressed frustration about his life in Winnipeg, which didn’t sit well with the Bombers faithful. Bomber fans were wearing “Brock Busters” T-shirts during Grey Cup week in 1984. Reaves remembers the atmosphere created by the 60,081 spectators at Commonwealth Stadium being in a frenzy.

A Willard Reaves football card from 1983.

    “It was absolutely nuts,” said Reaves. “I didn’t see it, but I heard the train ride there was absolutely crazy.

    “People were rocking and partying all the way down from Winnipeg to Edmonton, and of course the “Brock Busters” and the stadium.”

    Reaves believes he had the personal success he did, because Winnipeg’s offence was well rounded at that time. He enjoyed watching the receiving corps that was nicknamed “The Untouchables” make plays catching passes from Clements.

    “It went both ways,” said Reaves. “We both complimented each other.

    “When they wanted to tee off and stop our running game, we just took to the air, and that was it. Of course, you have Joe Poplawski, Rick House, Jeff Boyd and James Murphy and stuff like that (as receivers), and then you have their backups.

    “We were quite good. I am thinking we were very good.”

    During his playing days in Winnipeg, Reaves gained a number of memories from the rivalry showdowns the Bombers had with the British Columbia Lions. 
    The most memorable clash between the two clubs for Reaves occurred in the 1984 West Final at B.C. Place in Vancouver, which the Bombers won convincingly 31-14. The two clubs split their two regular season meetings in 1984.

A Willard Reaves football card from 1984.

    “The (Grey Cup) game was fun, but the best game that we had was the week before, when we played the B.C. Lions,” said Reaves. “That we thought was our signature thing.

    “It was always B.C. and Winnipeg. We split on the regular season. We came out the Western Finals and went into B.C. Place and as noisy as it was and stuff like that we calmed it down real quick.

    “We just whooped the crap out of them.”

    In 1987, Reaves played his final season with the Bombers having another banner year leading the CFL with 1,471 yards rushing and scoring nine majors on the ground to be named an all-Canadian for a third time.
    After that campaign, he elected to try his luck in the NFL and spent time over the next two seasons with the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins. He only appeared in three regular season games in 1989, while the Bombers would win Grey Cups in 1988 and 1990.

    As a 59-year-old looking back at that decision, Reaves had no regrets, because he also knew his career after football was looming.

    “Football wasn’t my first love,” said Reaves. “That is why it made it so easy to walk away from the game regardless of what happened elsewhere.

    “I knew that this was not going to last forever. I had to get into something else, and I did. I went and joined into the justice department.”

Willard Reaves, left, with son, Jordan.

    These days Reaves tries to watch his sons Ryan and Jordan venture through their respective professional sports careers. Ryan is a 31-year-old right-winger with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, while Jordan is a 28-year-old defensive lineman and special teams ace with the Roughriders.

    With his old team experiencing a current league long 28-year Grey Cup drought, Reaves would love to see his Bombers reach the CFL’s pinnacle once again.

    “I’d like to see it happen,” said Reaves. “It would be good for the city of Winnipeg. 
    “It would be good to get back into the spirit of things.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Bomber fans help make Labour Day Classic go round

Bomber fans gather at “Wayne's World” in 2012.

    While it might seem strange to say, the annual Labour Day Classic in Regina isn’t under the soul ownership of Rider Nation.

    The fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the heart of the CFL, but every year on Labour Day weekend their ranks at Mosaic Stadium/Taylor Field get infiltrated by a healthy contingent wearing blue and gold. At one time, it seemed to the locals like a group of aliens dropped into “the Queen City,” when supporters of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers – the Roughriders forever prairie rivals – drop into town.

    Bomber fans have descended on Regina for decades for the annual clash with the host Roughriders. The fact that the Winnipeg side hasn’t won this game since 2004 doesn’t seem to matter for the Bombers faithful.
    Back in 2004, Jon Ryan, who is now special teams captain for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, was coffin cornering punts out at the opposition’s one yard line as a rookie pro for the Bombers, when they took the Labour Day Classic 17-4.

    The Winnipeg fans are in town to have a good time. You can also bet the good times this weekend will start way before Sunday’s 1 p.m. local time kickoff. Bomber fans will no doubt start filtering into Regina on Friday night and begin frequenting the various lounges and nightclubs.

Bomber fans tailgate before the 2009 Labour Day Classic.

    Roughriders fans have long has a reputation for being wild, crazy and loyal, which often includes arriving at games in various types of team attire.

    If you had the chance to talk to the late Cal Murphy, who was a legendary head coach and general manager of the Bombers, or former Bombers star running back Willard Reaves, they will tell you Bomber fans can be just as wild, crazy and loyal as Roughriders fans are. They would suggest checking out the crowd shots of the Bombers 47-17 Grey Cup win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1984 in Edmonton to support that point.

    You wouldn’t have to look at old footage to see that is true this weekend. All you have to do is checkout the sizable pockets of blue and gold mixed in among the green and white in Regina.

Bomber fans get pumped up outside of “Wayne's World” in 2008.

    During game day, Bomber fans often rally pre-game at “Wayne’s World,” which is the back yard of a house that is across an alley neighbouring the west side of Mosaic Stadium. This will often mark the largest gathering for the visiting fans.

    The presence of the Winnipeg fans has been a long accepted fact at the Labour Day Classic. The influx of Bombers supporters usually includes a healthy group of regulars that make their way to Regina year after year. A few even bring their own barbecues for the pre-game tailgate party.

    The interaction between the fan bases is traditionally quite friendly. Both sides get in good-natured jibes towards each other, but they also enjoy partying together in the two days leading up to the game and the night after the game.

Bombers and Riders fans can get along at the Labour Day Classic.

    Those that are at the Labour Day Classic on an annual basis begin to know the regulars at least by face. A mutual respect is shown towards the passion each side displays for their teams.

    Sometimes, even relationships that include benefits develop for the weekend between fans from the opposite sides, which can add another layer of interesting memories for the Labour Day Classic weekend. Along the way, that also gives new meaning to the phrase, “Make love, not war.”

    The Bomber fans that trek to Regina are ardent ones. You can see that by the different Bombers jerseys that come out. There is a good dose of Milt Stegall jerseys with Stegall having built his legend playing in Winnipeg from 1995 to 2008.

    Young fans in their late teens and early 20s will often sport jerseys of Bombers stars from their Grey Cup wins in 1984, 88 and 90. Former receiver Joe Poplawski is a common one along with former league MVP quarterback Tom Clements and Reaves. In recent years, more Bombers fans have been spotted wearing the uniform of the club’s late linebacking great in Tyrone Jones.

A Bomber fan dresses up as “The Golden Boy.”

    When Cal Murphy was scouting for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts in the 2000s, Bomber fans often recognized him outside Mosaic Stadium and said, “Do you know who that is? That’s Cal Murphy. When he coached and ran the Bombers, we were great.”

    Murphy often chatted with Bombers supporters, which included posing in a picture with them while giving his gleeful trademark cackle.

    After Murphy passed away at age 79 on Feb. 18, 2012, you will usually find some Bombers fans holding a toast in his honour during the Labour Day Classic weekend.

    The atmosphere at the Labour Day Classic in Regina wouldn’t be complete without the presence of the Winnipeg fans. This one will have a little special extra meaning, because it will be the last one held at the Roughriders long-time home park.

    When the annual clash moves to New Mosaic Stadium next year, you can be sure the healthy loyal contingent of Bombers fans will be back to help keep the party going.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.