‘A pillar in the organization’

HAMILTON — Hamilton Tiger-Cats general manager Ted Goveia has died.

The club announced his death on Friday, hours before they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a “Team Ted” game that was scheduled to honour his decades of dedication to Canadian football. Goveia was 55.

In June, Goveia disclosed that he was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer.

“Ted was a highly respected leader, colleague, and friend whose passion and commitment for Canadian football left a lasting impact on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His dedication to the game and to the Tiger-Cats family will never be forgotten,” said the Ticats in a statement.

The Burlington, Ont., resident worked with the Bombers as an assistant general manager from 2014-24. His hometown Ticats hired him as their new GM in December.

“Ted’s passion for the game, his sharp eye for talent, and his unwavering dedication to building championship teams helped shape the success of our organization,” said Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller in a statement.

“We are forever grateful for the years we shared with Ted and for the legacy he leaves behind. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and everyone across the CFL who were fortunate enough to know him.”

Goveia spent 15 years coaching Canadian university football at Mount Allison, McMaster and UBC before joining the Toronto Argonauts in 2010 as a running backs coach. He became their director of Canadian scouting and helped them win a Grey Cup in 2012 before making the move to Winnipeg where he played a pivotal role in the Bombers capturing back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2021.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea spoke earlier in the week about what Goveia meant to the Blue and Gold.

“He was a pillar in the organization and helped us get where we wanted to get to as an organization. He and Danny (McManus) were the first hires for the scouting department, and they’ve done a great job — Ted’s fingerprints are still all over our roster,” said O’Shea on Wednesday.

“Ted was always excellent and making sure we understood what guys could do. And the intangibles that were important to our club, he fully understood and wanted to gather people like that. I turn on the tape, turn on the cutups to watch U Sports players and invariably you would see Ted walking up and down the sideline and that always made me feel good. When he gave us information there was always going to be a nugget that somebody else didn’t have because he was going to be right there within earshot when a guy made a play or didn’t make a play.

“Ted means a lot to Canadian football. He’s served on boards, he’s been grassroots, he’s donated time and money and effort to things we don’t even know to make sure Canadian kids have opportunities. He’s always been wired that way. It didn’t matter at what level, he always found guys that had been released and maybe been out and he was going to go work them out or watch them or watch the new guys train. ‘I’ll just go down to the bubble. I think they’re throwing today’ just to see how guys are doing. He takes his job so seriously and understands that giving kids opportunities and opening doors for kids that might have been closed is pretty powerful.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca