The Lesser-Known Bud Grant Story

Winnipeg competed in six Grey Cup games during Grant’s 10-season tenure, winning four (1958, 1959, 1961, 1962). In 1961, the Bombers again faced the Tiger-Cats and won 21-14 in the first Grey Cup game to go into overtime. Winnipeg and Hamilton met again in the 1962 Grey Cup, with the game being postponed with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter due to zero visibility in the famous “Fog Bowl.” The game resumed the next morning, and Grant coached the Bombers to a 28–27 victory.

As we know, Grant then went on to coach 18 seasons with the Vikings, leading Minnesota to 11 division titles and four Super Bowl appearances with help from his former Blue Bombers teammate Armstrong, a Vikings assistant from 1969-77. He was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Perhaps it’s the incredible legacy Grant has made in the game of football that’s enabled one incredible achievement on a lengthy list of accolades to go largely unspotlighted.

It also aligns with his unassuming personality, though.

“It’s no wonder, you know, he didn’t say anything. That’s just what kind of a guy he is,” Krause said with a chuckle. “That is just unbelievable.”

It’s fitting that Grant has in his possession the film of that game, but it’s currently hidden amongst the rest of his football history that hasn’t been sold at one of his famed garage sales.

“I went up one year to Winnipeg and they presented me with the film that showed the five interceptions that I made in the playoff game, as kind of a – you know, Canadians have a lot of banquets,” Grant said. “If you ask me where that strip of film is, I couldn’t find it. I’ve got it somewhere.

“I didn’t throw it away, purposely,” he added. “It’s somewhere in my mess.”

So why now, Bud? Why did you decide to revisit this unique story now, nearly 70 years after setting a significant record?

Grant’s unspoken shrug can be heard through the phone.

“It’ll give you something to work on, on a cold winter’s day,” he said.