Stegall, Jones earn top football honour

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This article was published 17/10/2011 (5161 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pair of Winnipeg Blue Bombers legends will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Hame, officials announced Sunday.

Receiver Milt Stegall and the late Tyrone Jones will join quarterback Damon Allen, offensive lineman Jack Abenschan, CIAU great Eric Lapointe and builders David Braley and Peter Connellan in the 2012 hall of fame induction class.

The announcement was made on TSN Sunday afternoon during their broadcast of the Montreal Alouettes-Hamilton Tiger-Cats game from Percival Molson Stadium in Montreal.

“I was thrilled when I got the call from the commissioner,” Stegall said in a phone interview Sunday afternoon during the TSN broadcast. “When I first got to Winnipeg, I was just excited to be able to play receiver. And so the fact that I’m now being inducted into the hall of fame, it’s truly a blessing. It’s overwhelming and a great honour.”

The news was a little bittersweet for Jones’ family. He passed away at his Georgia home last June from cancer at age 46, wondering if he would be forgotten. “Tyrone was so afraid,” his brother, Artie Jones, said Sunday afternoon. “In his last days, he was so afraid that he would be forgotten as a family member and as a football player. This honour would really make him happy and it also makes the family happy.

“I’m so glad the CFL has given him this honour, because it’s something permanent up there that they can tell their kids about. And their kids will be able to go online and see, even if they’re not able to make it up there to see what kind of man he was.”

“This tribute is definitely fitting and well deserved,” Bombers president Jim Bell said in a statement. “These two gentlemen made up the foundation of what Blue Bomber football is all about. Both individuals had outstanding careers wearing Blue and Gold and their selection into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame reflects their hard work and dedication to their craft.”

Stegall retired following the 2008 season at the top of the CFL list for career touchdowns (147), career receiving touchdowns (144) and most touchdowns in a season (23).

Stegall scored those 23 touchdowns in 2002 and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player that year. He was also a division all-star eight times and league all-star six times and holds almost all the Bombers’ major receiving records, including receptions (854), 1,000-yard seasons (10) and most receiving yards in a season (1,896). He played his entire CFL career — 14 seasons from 1995-2008– with the Bombers.

Jones remains one of the most dominant linebackers in Blue Bombers history. Anchoring a defence that won Grey Cups in 1984 and 1990, Jones played eight seasons for the Bombers and holds the franchise record for career sacks with 98, as well as Grey Cup records for most sacks in a game (four) and most Grey Cup sacks (five). He was also Grey Cup MVP in 1984 and the CFL’s top defensive player in 1985.

“I got quite emotional when I heard the news,” said Jones’s sister, Pamela Jones. “It’s something that’s been a long time coming. My brother was one of the greatest football players in the CFL.”

Tyrone Jones had talked over the years about his hopes for hall of fame induction, Artie Jones said.

“He’d put his heart into the CFL and he thought that one day he might be inducted. But he said he wished it wouldn’t be so late that his family couldn’t enjoy it.”

Stegall and Jones never played together, but the two men had a bond as Bombers greats.

“I met Tyrone a bunch of times and we talked a lot,” Stegall said. “He told me a lot about representing the Bombers to the utmost. It’s unfortunate he won’t be there, but I’m sure he will be watching over it and a lot of family members will be there.”

Stegall said the formal induction will take place next year, but a location or date has still to be determined. “It’d be perfect if it was in Winnipeg,” he said.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca