Blue coach recalls slain Armstrong as a ‘good kid’

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This article was published 01/08/2016 (3359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every day Todd Howard is informed via phone of news from around the world, most of which is happening far from Winnipeg where he works as the Blue Bombers defensive line coach.

Last Friday, however, when his phone buzzed with the newest headline, what Howard read hit close to home. There, in a message on his phone, he found out Antonio Armstrong, a former teammate and friend, was in a fight for his life.

“At the time he was still struggling, trying to make it,” said Howard in an interview following Bombers practice Monday at IGF. “But later on, you know, he passed.”

Howard would later find out Armstrong, along with his wife, Dawn Armstrong, were found shot inside their Houston home early Friday. Dawn was pronounced dead at the scene while Antonio died hours later at a nearby hospital, succumbing to a gunshot wound to the head. The alleged killer is said to be their 16-year-old son. They were both 42.

“It hurts my heart,” said Howard, who was born in Bryan, Texas, a small town about 160 kilometres northwest of Houston. “I still don’t know all the details but at this point, to me, the details don’t matter. He’s gone.”

Many here in Winnipeg will remember Armstrong for the two seasons (2000-01) he spent with the Blue Bombers. A dominant linebacker, Armstrong earned the Bombers’ defensive player of the year award in 2000 and was named to the East Division all-star team.

Before heading north for the CFL, where he also spent two years with the B.C. Lions before his time in Winnipeg, Armstrong played parts of two seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.

For Howard, the memories of Armstrong go back much further. The two first met in the early ’90s, while at Texas A&M. Howard, then a part of the coaching staff, remembered meeting Armstrong as a young freshman with the Aggies.

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“He was always smiling, always in good spirits,” said Howard. “Coming from an inner-city Houston school, he was just a good kid who worked real hard. You knew, even as a freshman, that his future in football was going to be bright.”

Howard said it’s been close to 20 years since he saw Armstrong. But through Facebook and a strong network of Texas A&M alumni — “As Aggies, we stick together — Howard said he’s always felt connected with Armstrong. Recently, they shared a series of texts.

“He wanted to tell me some of the things he was doing with the personal speaking and physical development stuff he was getting into,” said Howard. “You feel like you’re close to them when you can see what’s going on in their life.”

There will be a moment of silence for Armstrong prior to Wednesday’s kickoff against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at IGF.

— Jeff Hamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.