This Blue and Gold hall of fame quartet outstanding men on and off gridiron

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/07/2011 (5242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TED Bartman should know the formula for winning the Grey Cup.

He was team president the last time the Blue Bombers hoisted the CFL championship trophy way back in the 1990 season.

Bartman revealed that current president Jim Bell has picked his brain on what it will take to get the football club out of this lengthy dry spell.

“We’ve had several conversations. I’m not sure how helpful I’ve been,” Bartman laughed, hours before he was honoured at the annual Legacy Dinner and inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame Tuesday night. “What it takes is this: A really good team and a smattering of good luck.

“Having Cal Murphy as our general manager and Mike Riley as our head coach didn’t hurt us, either.”

Bartman was club president for two seasons (1990-91) and enters the hall of fame with fullback Wade Miller, kicker Troy Westwood and former president Bruce Robinson, who took over as president in 1992. Robinson passed away last year.

“It’s a great honour, particularly to go in with Bruce, who was one of my best friends,” Bartman said.

Miller’s career in Blue and Gold was one built on determination. A demon on special teams, he played for the Bombers for 11 seasons (1995-2005) and holds the CFL mark for career special teams tackles (184).

He didn’t expect an invite to the hall’s class of 2011. “It’s something you don’t think about if you’re a true team player,” he said. “Individual stuff really didn’t matter to me… It means a lot more now. It’s quite a feeling.”

Westwood was one of the more public Bomber players over the last two decades, never shy to voice an opinion or share his views, and he left the game as arguably the franchise’s best kicker.

He is the Bombers’ all-time leading scorer (2,748 points), the career leader in field goals (617) and converts (732). He also holds the league record for the most consecutive converts (657).

“Wade and I sat through a lot of these dinners as players, listened to the stories of the guys who are going in there, and we played with a bunch of them, too,” Westwood said.

“We both grew up here, we both are still connected to this community, so we’re fully aware of the importance of this team and the responsibility of being a Bomber. Being a part of this for as long as we have, it’s almost an impossible dream.”

The four inductees will be celebrated at Friday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts in Canad Inns Stadium.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca