'Top league in the world': Ex-Bombers head coach Dave Ritchie grateful for CFL Hall of Fame nod

Dave Ritchie will forever be a part of CFL history.

Ritchie was the head coach of the B.C. Lions when they defeated the Baltimore Stallions 26-23 in the 1994 Grey Cup on Lui Passaglia's game-ending 38-yard field goal at B.C. Place. It marked the first championship in pro football history to feature a U.S.-Canada matchup.

"Just that alone, to me, makes our youngsters special," Ritchie recollected Thursday. "For one week, everybody on our ballclub was a Canadian."

But the greatest accolade of Ritchie's tenure north of the border will come Friday when he's formally inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

"It means a great deal because I believe the CFL is the top league in the world," Ritchie said. "I'd get into a big-time argument, but the athletes I had in the secondary and linebacker position, almost every one of them is in a Hall of Fame somewhere, whether it's British Columbia, Winnipeg or the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

"How can you lose when you have great youngsters around you? I might've been a little off the wall sometimes but I did have some great players. I also had many great coaches."

Quarterback Ricky Ray and linebacker Chip Cox — both in their first years of eligibility — kicker Paul McCallum, fullback Tim Tindale and two-way star Dick Thornton will all be inducted as players. Joining Ritchie in the builder category will be longtime team executive Roy Shivers and Calgary Colts founder Keith Evans.

The inductees will also be honoured Saturday at halftime when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday at Tim Hortons Field.

Ritchie, 84, of New Bedford, Mass., spent 11 of his 22 CFL seasons as a head coach with B.C. (1993-95), Montreal (1997-98) and Winnipeg (1999-04). He won