Thugs take ex-Bomber’s ring

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This article was published 24/11/2010 (5609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former Canadian Football League player and double Grey Cup winner was robbed of a precious ring as he walked near a downtown hospital Monday.

Dan Huclack, 53, wants the gold 1984 Grey Cup ring back, one he won with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

He was walking to a doctor’s appointment at Health Sciences Centre at about noon when two men came up and robbed him near Sherbrook Street and McDermot Avenue.

One suspect stuck something in his back and demanded cash before Huclack was “hoofed” in “you-know-where.”

“(He) dropped me, so I gave him the $40 and then got up and they said, ‘You’ve got some more. Give us the rest of the money,’ and they kicked me again,” the former Bomber said.

“And when I went down, my hand stuck out and they saw my ring and pulled my ring off my finger and took off down the street.”

The ring is especially valuable because it’s part of one of the only father-and-son sets in the CFL.

Huclack played in the Canadian Football League from 1979 to 1987, and was a Blue Bombers coach in 1991.

He won the 1984 Grey Cup ring as a player for the Bombers and another ring in 1986 when he played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

In November 2009, Huclack’s 26-year-old son, Cory, a former University of Manitoba linebacker, also won a Grey Cup ring playing football for the Alouettes.

“I’m pissed off… If the guys had come face on, I might have tried to fight them,” Huclack said. “You can bet it wasn’t their first time doing something.”

Huclack said his two sons were furious after hearing about the robbery.

Cory Huclack now plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and will be in this Sunday’s Grey Cup game. Jason Huclack, 28, lives and works in Winnipeg.

Huclack said he’s hopeful he’ll get the ring back.

“It’s not just like any ring. There’s a fellowship that goes with guys with Grey Cup rings,” he said. “Football players, we have these rings for life.”

The stolen ring is gold with a diamond on top and a blue background.

It has an inscription reading “score 47-17, number 30, position FB.”

Huclack’s message to the thugs:

“You know what? Just give me the ring back, no questions asked. Because eventually, you’ll get yours. I’m not saying from me, I’m saying there’s always somebody bigger and stronger down the road.”

Police are looking for two suspects.

One is a skinny black man about 21 to 23 years old. He stands about 5-10 and has short, black hair and a light moustache. He wore a red-and-black checked jacket. The second suspect is a heavy aboriginal man, about 28 to 31 years old and 6-3. He wore a black hat, jeans and a grey jacket. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 986-6668, or Crime Stoppers at 786-8477 (TIPS).

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca