These guys played for kicks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2014 (4075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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OK, this week it gets a little tougher, as not only do you have to choose your All-Time Blue Bombers Team kicker, but you have to decide what is most important in the kicking game.

An argument can be made for having separate categories for both a placekicker and a punter, but the decision was made to band the kickers into one category. One may not agree, but this is the format we’ve chosen. So, the first step is to decide whether one wants to vote for a punter, a placekicker or a dual punter/placekicker.

Either way, the Bombers have had a rich history of kickers solving the swirling Prairie winds to give the franchise an edge in field position and by tacking up points with accurate field-goal kicking while the opposition floundered.

Voters have selected Ken Ploen as the quarterback, Chris Walby as the offensive lineman and Greg Battle as the linebacker of the Free Press/TSN 1290 All-Time Bombers Team. This week it’s your turn to select a kicker for the team.

Bud Grant and our panel have had their say. Now you get to weigh in.

We’re presenting a position each week over a nine-week period with our panel’s choices of the top-five Winnipeg Blue Bombers to ever play for the club at that spot.

Cast your vote at alltimebombers.winnipegfreepress.com or see the ballot on page B3 of the paper edition.

On Friday afternoons at 4 p.m., live on TSN 1290’s Hustler and Lawless program, the Free Press and TSN 1290 websites, as well as the Saturday edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, we’ll announce the winner and member of the All-Time Bombers Team.

The Free Press print and digital editions as well as www.tsn1290.ca will run stories every Monday putting forth the position of the week and finalists selected by our panel. Voting will take place on both websites.

Legendary Blue Bombers player and coach Bud Grant headlines our panel. Grant was joined by former Bombers player and GM Paul Robson, Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee and Free Press sports reporter Ed Tait, Free Press columnist and TSN 1290 host Gary Lawless and TSN 1290’s Andrew “Hustler” Paterson.

Panelists were provided a statistical breakdown of the Bombers dating back to the 1950s as well as an anecdotal package of the early Bombers teams, when statistics were not recorded.

Each panelist brought a unique perspective and personal set of criteria. Grant joined the group via conference call from a cabin in the Wisconsin woods while the rest huddled around a boardroom table at the Free Press offices.

From Grant’s gravelly voice emanating out of the telephone speaker, to Tait’s vivid recollections of games and players, to Robson’s cold analysis of a players’ strengths and weaknesses, to Paterson’s views from the upper decks of our stadiums, there were strong opinions all around.

Some players were quickly selected. Others were hotly debated. Sometimes it came down to a clash of eras. Others made it on the merit of championship wins while those without rings on their fingers were often set aside.

Vote a maximum of once per day and help choose the Blue Bombers player you consider the best at the following positions to be presented in this order: Quarterback, offensive lineman, linebacker, kicker, kick returner, running back, defensive lineman, defensive back and receiver.

We’ve done our part. The final decisions are up to you. So vote and vote often. You’re the GM of this team. Make your choices.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless

 

TROY WESTWOOD 1991-2007

The all-time leading scorer in Bomber history with 2,748 points, fifth most in CFL history. Was also an effective punter after Bob Cameron retired. A Bombers Hall of Famer.

 

BOB CAMERON* 1980-2002

An all-star QB in college — he won the Hec Crighton Award at Acadia in 1977 as the top player in Canadian college football — Cameron was cut several times by a number of teams before landing in Winnipeg. He hasn’t left since. Durable and consistent, Cameron was a four-time CFL All-Star who was named the top Canadian in the 1988 Grey Cup.

 

CHARLIE SHEPARD 1957-62

Came to Winnipeg after one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the days when players played more than one position. Shepard was a running back who was the MVP of the 1959 Grey Cup, but was also called by Bud Grant the best punter he had ever seen.

 

TREVOR KENNERD 1980-91

Retired as the Bombers’ all-time leading scorer (surpassed by Troy Westwood), Kennerd won three Grey Cups and was a CFL All-Star in 1981 and 1985. Enshrined in the Bomber HOF in 1998.

 

ED ULMER 1965-71

As versatile as they come, Ulmer played defensive back, running back and kicked and returned kicks during his days in the CFL. Inducted into the Bomber HOF in 1993.

 

* Indicates member of Canadian Football Hall of Fame