Last week the topic in this space was about two older men still going at the ripe, old ages of 91 and 94. And that got me to thinking about just how long I’ve been around.
It hit me like a boxer’s haymaker when I attended a Calgary Stampeders news conference as they announced that defensive back Keon Raymond was a winner of the prestigious President’s ring for the second year in a row.
That didn’t shake me that much, but I got a wee bit rattled when they announced this was the 46th time the award had been presented.
And as I looked at the list of winners, I recall almost like it was yesterday, that I attended the Stampeders season wrap-up in 1967 when then general manager Rogers Lehew introduced Wayne Harris as the first winner of an award Rogers had come up with to recognize a player to be recognized by his fellow players as being the most inspirational both on and off the field.
In those days the club always ended the season with a team party that the media happened to get invited to, something that doesn’t happen today.
In fact, today the wrap-up party is not even talked about until the season is over and you can bet that the media is never involved in this one and only because today’s players seek more privacy than those of the past.
In those olden days, the media was welcomed everywhere by the team and its players and I have friends today that played with those late 60’s and early 70’s teams.
Players today take the media as a necessary evil and, in some cases, I back them up. I’m not saying that back then we hid things from the public. But there were things that happened that really didn’t rate being aired in public.
Now, don’t go thinking about ugly things that can develop on any teams. I’m talking about team parties that maybe got out of hand and one player would punch another out for whatever reason. But we all knew that it wasn’t the player talking, it was what he’d had to drink on that night.
Players today are so fitness-oriented that an occasional beer can be considered too much. Back then beer was almost a necessity.
Anyway, what I started to say was that I was there when Harris was a most deserving winner of the President’s Ring, and there the next year when my buddy Herm Harrison was the winner.
In fact, I was there each year until the club started its policy of no media at the season-ending bash.
The first President’s Ring award was a surprise to the media because it was the way GM Lehew wanted it to be. An honour for a player as picked by the players, and today it’s marked by first the news conference announcement and later by a big Stampeders luncheon which gets the dedicated fans involved also.
Incidentally, we might note that not only did Lehew start the President’s Ring award. He can also be credited with adding the white horse to the Stampeders helmets and starting the program of having a real horse on the sidelines at McMahon Stadium to celebrate the scoring of a touchdown.
But to change the subject, we bring up an old saying: and then there was one.
When Stanley Cup play began we had four Canadian chances to bring the trophy back to our country and, as round 2 gets into high gear, only the Ottawa Senators are alive. After starting with that 25-per-cent chance, we (as in Canada) knew we’d lose one team early because Ottawa was facing Montreal and took the Habs out in five. Toronto’s Maple Leafs gave us hope in pushing Boston to a game 7 but then folded like a cheap tent when they blew a three-goal lead in the final period.
We had high hopes for Vancouver but the Canucks went out like a lamb, dropping the first-round series in four straight to the San Jose Sharks.
And now we have only Ottawa to carry the load, but they are in tough against my new favorites from Pittsburgh.
Since Calgary’s Flames traded Jarome Iginla to the Penguins, they’ve been a club to watch. Not because of the trade, of course, but because this seems to be the most balanced unit, outside of goalkeeping, still going. And “Iggy” is certainly doing his part by being ever-present on the score sheet.
Ottawa is the last Canadian squad standing but Pittsburgh gets my backing at this point.
For the joke today we talk about a guy who has a neighbor who is always borrowing things. One day he sees him coming and tells his wife he’d stop him this time.
The borrower walks in and says: “Are you using your power saw today?” He replies: “Yes, all day, in fact.” The borrower says: “Good, can I borrow your golf clubs?”
Billy Powers has written and talked sports in the area for over 50 years.
