1960 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season

1960 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season
Head coach Bud Grant
Home field Winnipeg Stadium
Results
Record 14–2–0
Division place 1st, West
Playoff finish Lost Western Final

The 1960 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, defending Grey Cup champions, finished in first place in the West Division with a league-best record of 14–2–0. Their 453 points scored were the most in the CFL (although their 28.3 points per game was slightly less than the 28.6 of Ottawa Rough Riders, who scored 400 points but in the East's shorter 14-game schedule). Their 239 points allowed were only 14 more than the Edmonton Eskimos, and their +214 points differential dwarfed Ottawa's +117, which had the second-best total. Their first-place finish earned them the bye into the WIFU Finals. They took the first game of the best two-of-three Finals by defeating Edmonton 22–16 in Edmonton, but lost the next two in Winnipeg by scores of 10–5 and 4–2, bringing an abrupt end to an otherwise dominant season.

1960 Preseason

On July 29, the Blue Bombers played the BC Lions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Part of the local appeal was the presence on three former University of Iowa stars, Kenny Ploen and Ray Jauch of the Blue Bombers, and Willie Fleming of the BC Lions. The Blue Bombers defeated the Lions by a score of 13–7 in front of 12,583 fans.

1960 Regular season

Fullback and punter Charlie Shepard set a record with a 95-yard punt for a single in the victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on September 12.

Injuries

The Blue Bombers lost tackle Buddy Tinsley for two games with a facial injury and fullback Tony Kehrer for the season with a leg fracture, from injuries sustained in the victory over the BC Lions on September 17.[1] End Farrell Funston was lost for the season after suffering a separated shoulder in the victory over the BC Lions on October 13.

Quarterback Kenny Ploen broke a bone in his throwing hand in the third quarter of the first game of the WIFU Final in Edmonton. At that point, Vernon Cole took over at quarterback while Ploen shifted to safety, for the balance of game one and all of game two.

Buddy Tinsley Night

The Blue Bombers honored their 11-year veteran tackle with "Buddy Tinsley Night" at half-time during their Thursday, October 13, 1960, game versus the BC Lions. Tinsley, a Baylor grad, had been an all-star in seven of the previous ten seasons. Coach Bud Grant said the team requested a special players' meeting, without Tinsley, to prepare.[2] The Winnipeg crowd of 16,773 was delighted when Tinsley lined up at fullback and took a hand-off from quarterback Kenny Ploen over from the BC one-yard line for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Coincidentally, three other Blue Bomber linemen also scored touchdowns, although all three—by center Garland Warren, guard Cornell Piper and linebacker Jack Delveaux—came on BC fumbles.

CFL commissioner Syd Halter took a dim view of the length of the ceremony for Tinsley. He slapped the Bombers with a $100 fine for the delay caused to the start of the second half.[3]

Season Standings

CFL West Division
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 14 2 0 453 239 28
Edmonton Eskimos 16 10 6 0 318 225 20
Calgary Stampeders 16 6 8 2 374 404 14
BC Lions 16 5 9 2 296 356 12
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 2 12 2 205 422 6

[4]

1960 Season schedule

1960 Preseason

Day Date Opponent Score Attendance
Thursday July 21, 1960 Blue-Gold Intra-Squad Game Gold 27 – Blue 19 17,000
Friday July 29, 1960 BC Lions (at Cedar Rapids IA) W 13–7 12,583
Monday August 1, 1960 at Montreal Alouettes L 26–16 19,395
Thursday August 4, 1960 Ottawa Rough Riders W 18–14 15,147

1960 Regular Season

Winnipeg Blue Bombers at BC Lions, August 11
Day Date Opponent Score Attendance
Thursday August 11, 1960 at BC Lions W 35–21 31,837
Monday August 15, 1960 at Calgary Stampeders W 38–23 20,450
Thursday August 18, 1960 Calgary Stampeders W 50–7 18,389
Thursday August 25, 1960 Edmonton Eskimos W 18–14 17,287
Saturday August 27, 1960 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 27–0 12,000
Thursday September 1, 1960 BC Lions W 19–14 18,297
Saturday September 3, 1960 at Edmonton Eskimos W 15–14 19,535
Monday September 12, 1960 Saskatchewan Roughriders W 38–11 16,367
Saturday September 17, 1960 at BC Lions W 26–14 30,292
Monday September 19, 1960 at Calgary Stampeders W 19–17 14,000
Monday September 26, 1960 Edmonton Eskimos L 15–2 20,932
Saturday October 1, 1960 Calgary Stampeders W 31–21 15,968
Monday October 10, 1960 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 48–7 10,300
Thursday October 13, 1960 BC Lions W 49–21 16,773
Monday October 17, 1960 at Edmonton Eskimos W 21–17 15,000
Monday October 24, 1960 Saskatchewan Roughriders L 23–17 13,900

1960 Playoffs

Western Conference Finals

(best two-out-of-three series)

Day Date Opponent Score Attendance
Saturday November 12, 1960 at Edmonton Eskimos W 22–16 17,500
Monday November 14, 1960 Edmonton Eskimos L 10–5 16,708
Saturday November 19, 1960 Edmonton Eskimos L 4–2 18,600

1960 CFL Schenley Award Nominees

Player Canadian Lineman
Leo Lewis Gerry James Herb Gray

References

  1. ↑ Toronto Star, Monday 19 September 1960, page 22, "'Peg Wins But Kehrer Tinsley Hurt"
  2. ↑ Toronto Star, Thursday 13 October 1960, page 17, "Bud Grant Views Lions as New And Dangerous"
  3. ↑ Toronto Star, Saturday 15 October 1960, page 31, "Bombers Fined $100 / Halftime Too Long"
  4. ↑ "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
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