Hall of Fame coach Dave Ritchie, who won Grey Cups with Blue Bombers, Lions, dead at age 85
CBC
Dave Ritchie, who was the head coach of the B.C. Lions for their iconic '94 Grey Cup victory over the Baltimore Stallions and was part of the coaching staff with Winnipeg's 1990 championship team, died Saturday. He was 85.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers confirmed Ritchie's death. The cause was not immediately divulged.
Ritchie amassed a 52-41-1 regular-season record as a head coach with Winnipeg (1999-2004). That left him fourth overall in club history behind Bud Grant (102), current head coach Mike O'Shea (96) and Cal Murphy (86).
But it was during Ritchie's tenure as B.C.'s head coach that his club united Canada. The Lions dispatched Baltimore 26-23 in the 82nd Grey Cup on Lui Passaglia's game-ending 38-yard field goal at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, capping the first championship ever in pro football to feature a U.S.-Canada matchup.
"Just that alone, to me, makes our youngsters special," Ritchie said about the contest in 2022 upon being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. "For one week, everybody on our ball club was a Canadian."
Ritchie, of New Bedford, Mass., spent 11 of his 22 CFL seasons as a head coach with B.C. (1993-95), Montreal (1997-98) and Winnipeg. He won 108-of-187 career regular-season games to stand seventh all-time.
He also claimed Grey Cup rings as an assistant with Winnipeg (1990) and B.C. (2006).
Ritchie first joined the Bombers in 1990 on head coach Mike Riley's staff as a defensive line and special-teams coach.
He left after the '91 season, then returned in 1999 after being named head coach and taking over a Winnipeg squad that was 3-15 in 1998.
Winnipeg improved to 6-12 in its first season under Ritchie, then 7-10-1 in 2000. But in 2001, Winnipeg posted a 14-4 regular-season record and advanced to the Grey Cup before dropping a 27-19 decision to the Calgary Stampeders.
Still, Ritchie was named the CFL's coach of the year that season.
"Dave Ritchie was a respected leader during his days as Blue Bombers head coach and in his other coaching positions across the Canadian Football League, in the NCAA and in Europe," Winnipeg president/CEO Wade Miller said in a statement.
"He had a passion for his players and his teams and led both to great success.
"The Winnipeg Football Club offers our deepest sympathies to his wife Sharon, Dave's family, and his many friends."
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