Stampeders equipment manager Hopkins approaching CFL milestone

Players and coaches might win championships but Dave Dickenson believes it's people like George Hopkins who are the glue that binds a football team.

Hopkins is the Calgary Stampeders' veteran equipment manager in his 51st year with the CFL club. He'll appear in his 1,000th career regular-season game Friday when the Stamps visit the Ottawa Redblacks.

Hopkins has been a part of six of Calgary's eight Grey Cups wins. In 2014, he was added to the club's Wall of Fame as a builder.

"To me, there are positions that are the glue of an organization," said Dickenson, the Stampeders head coach. "You've got your equipment manager, your head athletic therapist and your video coordinator and those three positions keep everyone in the organization clicking."

The Stampeders have certainly been blessed in those three positions.

Ross Folan, Calgary's director of video operations, is in his 30th season with the club. Pat Clayton retired as the club's director of medical services in 2013 after 29 years.

"Everywhere I've been, the equipment guys, they kind of run the show. The guys respect them and they know they need to have the equipment manager on their side," Dickenson said.

Dickenson also has a long history with the Stampeders. He served as a quarterback for five seasons (1997-2000, '08) before starting his coaching career with the club as an assistant in 2009. He became head coach in 2016.

"I came into the league in the mid-'90s and obviously Geo had been here for more than a while," Dickenson said. "When I heard 1,000, I really didn't believe it.

"It's just crazy to think he started out at age 12. Aren't there some child labour laws against that?"

Hopkins, a 63-year-old Calgary native, began his tenure with the Stampeders as a ball