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Jon Oosterhuis, centre, and Pierre-Luc Labbé take time to sign autographs for a young fan after practice earlier this season. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

It's not the award young football players lie awake dreaming about, but it's perhaps a better measure of a person than an all-star nod or MVP trophy.

Blue Bombers fullback Jon Oosterhuis was announced as the 2009 recipient of the Ed Kotowich Good Guy Award on Monday.

"This will cost me a lot of money. Now I'm going to have to pay a lot of people off," offered Oosterhuis, in his typical humble and self-deprecating approach to being a professional athlete. "It's quite a list of people that have won this award and it's an honour to have my name mentioned in the same sentence as these guys (see box). These are guys that have made their mark in this community and that's something I've tried to do as well."

Oosterhuis will be in the lineup when the Bombers host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in a battle for second place in the East Division. The winner will be the host for the East Division semifinal while the loser will be eliminated from the playoffs.

The Bombers took Tuesday away from the field and the club announced they'd sold just over 23,000 tickets for the game as of midday.

The annual award recognizes a Bomber for excellence in football, camaraderie and effort in the community and honours former Blue Bomber offensive lineman Ed Kotowich. Kotowich played seven seasons with the club before moving on to have an impact on Winnipeg as a citizen, volunteering his time to the Winnipeg Rods and minor football programs at the Winakwa and Windsor Park community clubs as well as serving as an alderman and being involved with the St. Boniface parks board, St. Boniface Museum and the Knights of Columbus.

"I guess I have to talk to you guys today," said Oosterhuis, who most days pushes his locker-room stool off to the side to avoid the media glare focused on his stall neighbour Doug Brown. "We're a community-based club and we get a lot of support from the community. When we get a chance to give back, we should; I'd like my footprint as a pro athlete to be that I was passionate on the field and passionate off the field."

Oosterhuis is an eight-year CFL veteran who has played his entire career with the Blue Bombers. The 32-year-old Guelph, Ont., native donates his time to I Love to Read Month, the Stay in School partnership with the Winnipeg Police Service, Big Brothers, the Never Alone Foundation and the Friends of Autism golf tournament.

"Football is our life right now but it doesn't last for long," said Oosterhuis. "But right now we have a great stage to have an impact on people. The football club gives me the opportunity to represent them in the community and I'm honoured to do it. It might be as little as going to the football game of a friend's child and talking to people when you're there. If you can do it, you should. It's a chance to show we care about the community and to have a positive influence."

Oosterhuis hopes no one gets the wrong idea about him due to this honour.

"It's not as bad as the good-guy award in hockey, the Lady Byng, which is associated with kind of being a soft player," said the University of New Hampshire alum. "Being an all-star or an MVP is what we all want but my career hasn't gone in that direction. This award is a reflection of my being given a chance to give back. It's truly an honour."

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Sometimes

nice guys

finish first

Blue Bombers fullback Jon Oosterhuis is the club's 2009 Ed Kotowch Good Guy Award winner. The annual award recognizes a Blue Bomber player for their excellence in combining football ability, team camaraderie and extraordinary effort in the community and honours former Bombers offensive lineman Ed Kotowich. Here's a complete list of former Ed Kotowich Award winners.

1987 Vernon Pahl

1988 Trevor Kennerd

1989 Perry Tuttle

1990 Rod Hill

1991 Matt Pearce

1992 Darryl Sampson

1993 Matt Dunigan

1994 Matt Pearce

1995 Miles Gorrell

1996 Wade Miller

1997 Wade Miller

1998 Glen Scrivener

1999 Dave Vankoughnett

2000 Troy Westwood

2001 Brett MacNeil

2002 Dave Mudge

2003 Moe Elewonibi

2004 Matt Sheridan

2005 Milt Stegall

2006 Chris Cvetkovic

2007 Milt Stegall

2008 Ibrahim Khan

2009 Jon Oosterhuis

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 4, 2009 C4