According to Jaylon Thompson of USA Today on Saturday, legendary football coach Bud Grant passed away at the age of 95. The native of Superior, Wisconsin coached the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1957 to 1966. Grant also played four seasons with the Blue Bombers from 1953 to 1956.
Grant had 216 catches for 3200 yards and 13 touchdown catches. A two-way player on offense and defense, he had seven interceptions for 21 yards. In the Western Interprovincial Football Union semifinals on October 28, 1953, Grant made CFL history by setting the record for most interceptions in a playoff game with five as the Blue Bombers beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 43-5.
As a coach, Grant had a record of 102 wins, 56 losses and two ties. He also won four Grey Cup titles with Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in all four Grey Cup games. They were by scores of 35-28 in Vancouver in 1958, 21-7 in Toronto in 1959, 21-14 in Toronto in 1961, and 28-27 in Toronto in 1962. In 1965, Grant was the CFL Coach of the Year. Winnipeg had a record of 11 wins and five losses, and lost the Grey Cup game 22-16 to Hamilton.
Grant then went on to coach the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for 18 seasons from 1967 to 1985. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and a statue of him was unveiled outside Investors Group Field in 2014.
