Winnipeg RCAF Bombers

The Winnipeg RCAF Bombers were a Canadian football team during World War II. They lost the 30th Grey Cup and 31st Grey Cup games.

In 1942, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers didn't have any competition for the regular season so they created their own competition. With an abundance of players available, the Blue Bombers split the players into two teams. The civilian men played for a team known simply as the Bombers and the servicemen played for the RCAF Flyers. A third team in the Winnipeg City League was the University of Manitoba Bisons who were a junior team.

Upon completion of the Winnipeg City League season, the teams were dissolved and a new combined team was formed for playoff competition. On November 4, 1942, the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers were created and 34 players were selected to the team.^[1]^[2] Of the 34 players, 16 players came from the Bombers, 15 players represented the RCAF Flyers and the remaining 3 players were Manitoba Bisons. As the RCAF & Bombers teams made up the majority of the team, it was decided to call the combined team the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers.

In addition to creating a stronger team, the combined team served another purpose. The war efforts were the number one concern at the time and there was no guarantee that the servicemen would be available for the Grey Cup game. By forming a combined team, the Blue Bombers ensured that they would have a competitive team if some or all of the players got called into active military duty.

The 1942 Winnipeg RCAF Bombers played their first game on November 7, 1942 against the Regina Navy football team.^[3] The RCAF Bombers won the game 13-6 and advanced to the Grey Cup. On December 5, 1942, the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8-5.^[4]

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers kept the RCAF Bombers moniker for the 1943 season and they played in the Armed Services Rugby League with two other teams (Winnipeg United Services Combines & Regina All-Services Roughriders). The Winnipeg RCAF Bombers easily won the regular season as they went a perfect 6-0.^[5] The RCAF Bombers defeated the All-Services Roughriders in the two-game total-points series 12-0 and they advanced to the Grey Cup.^[6] On November 27, 1943, the Hamilton Flying Wildcats defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 23-14.^[7]

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially suspended operations for the 1944 and when the team reorganized in 1945, they reverted to the name Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

References

↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QLtTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cDgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3021%2C412695 - Regina Leader Post
↑ http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1942/11/05/articles/181.xml/iarchives - Winnipeg Tribune
↑ http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1942/11/09/articles/156.pdf/iarchives - Winnipeg Tribune
↑ http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1942/12/07/pages/00010515.xml/iarchives - Winnipeg Tribune
↑ http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1943/11/01/articles/210.xml/iarchives - Winnipeg Tribune
↑ http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1943/11/12/pages/00006427.xml/iarchives - Winnipeg Tribune
↑ http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1943/11/29/pages/00006787.xml/iarchives - Winnipeg Tribune

Grey Cup

Editions	1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Venues	Autostade BC Place BMO Field Commonwealth Stadium Civic Stadium / Ivor Wynne Stadium Empire Stadium Exhibition Stadium Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds Investors Group Field McMahon Stadium Molson Stadium Olympic Stadium Richardson Memorial Stadium Rogers Centre/Skydome Rosedale Field Taylor Field TD Place Stadium / Frank Clair Stadium / Lansdowne Park Varsity Stadium Winnipeg Stadium / Canad Inns Stadium

Statistics	Champions Most Valuable Players Most Valuable Canadians Broadcasters Halftime performers

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 04, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.