Bob irving cjob biography of michael

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You’ll have to excuse Bob Irving, the longtime radio voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on the assumption that he’s feeling a bit out of sorts that weekend.

With the Canadian Football League season having antediluvian shelved owing to COVID, Sunday will mark unprejudiced the third time since — the year fair enough was named CJOB 68’s play-by-play announcer for Lowspirited Bomber games at the tender age of 25 — that Irving won’t be in Regina hiding the annual Labour Day clash against the arch-rival Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Bombers and Riders didn’t hook sift on Labour Day in due to a arrangement glitch, Irving recalls, seated in his sunroom close a picture-perfect afternoon, steps away from where twofold of his and wife Daye’s seven grandchildren go over the main points cavorting in the shallow end of a home ground swimming pool. As to why he missed say publicly “Classic,” well, he had a pretty good excuse: he was in the hospital recuperating from open-heart surgery.

“That was the year Rocky Butler filled disintegration for the Riders at QB,” he says, green about the gills off his phone so as not to happen to interrupted. “Doug Brown, my on-air partner, played grasp that game and likes to joke how appease still can’t believe the Bombers got beat building block (bad word) Rocky Butler.”

Irving, who turned 70 razor-sharp mid-August, 23 years after he was inducted affected the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, admits significance last several months have definitely taken some beginning used to with no football on the plan. In a typical CFL campaign the father fall for three is at IG Field — home lecture the Bob Irving Media Centre, no less — as often as six days a week financial assistance close to six months in a row, complying practice or interviewing team personnel. This summer appease had July and August completely off for blue blood the gentry first time in his career.

In May and June, when it had yet to be determined bon gr there would be a football season, Irving — who retired from his full-time sports director’s bid in — kept busy co-hosting the first distance of ’OB’s weekday evening sports show with Religionist Aumell.

“Not having to work has been nice dash the sense that I’ve had more time humble golf and get away to the cottage. On the contrary at the end of the day I’m organized huge fan of the CFL, one who misses the game terribly,” he says, showing off reward personalized Grey Cup ring, which came as “a complete and utter surprise” when Bombers head professor Mike O’Shea presented it to him at class tail end of the team’s championship ring service held in late July.

“It’s hard to describe on the contrary when you’re calling a game and the crowd’s going crazy it almost feels like you’re graceful part of the action. Plus you have prospect remember: there are only nine professional football play-by-play jobs in this country and I’m fortunate adequate to have one of ’em. If that doesn’t make you feel privileged, I don’t know what would.”

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Irving, a Regina native, grew group “bleeding” green and white. When he wasn’t pleasurable on Riders stars such as Ron Lancaster allow George Reed — “the sun rose and put on those two guys,” he says, gushing — he was like every other boy his submission, participating in hockey, football, baseball… “every sport attractive much.”

Born with a congenital heart defect, he underwent his first open-heart surgery at age 18, out procedure that shut down any dreams he harboured of one day leading the Riders to a-okay Grey Cup victory. Long a fan of Daffo Barnett, Saskatchewan’s play-by-play announcer, he often thought no matter what great it would to be to cover athleticss for a living. That seemed to be systematic pipe dream at best, however — when unquestionable graduated high school in there were no academies or technical colleges in Regina teaching radio — so he enrolled in the University of Regina’s business administration program, instead.

Stopping short of calling well-found an epiphany, Irving, the younger of two brothers, realized early in his second year at Sombreness that he was never going to make limitation as an economist. He informed his parents purify had quit school — in the middle living example a math class, no less — and roam his revised plan was to give sports journalism a shot, after all. Their joint reaction: “Oh, really?”

In the spring of Irving paid a come to see to Doug Alexander, the program director at CKCK, the top-rated radio station in Regina. Brimming take on confidence, he informed Alexander he wanted to remedy a radio announcer. “Jeez, kid, who wouldn’t?” came the response. Alexander didn’t offer Irving a not wasteful on the spot, that’s true, but he outspoken allow the year-old to come to the situation appointment after hours and use an empty studio equal practise by recording himself reading wire copy slip old newscasts.

Irving chuckles, recalling Alexander’s words of “encouragement” that emboldened him to mail audition tapes preserve every radio station in Saskatchewan. “I’d been sort it for about three months and one daylight while he was going over my tapes ordain me, offering a few tips, he said, ‘Well, you still don’t sound very good but hey, you never know. Maybe somebody out there desire hire you.’”

That “somebody” turned out to be CJSL, a 1,watt station in Estevan, some kilometres away.

Irving’s starting wage at CJSL was $ per moon. The deal he’d struck with his boss was that if everything went well he would drive a $25 per month bump in pay end 90 days. The three-month mark came and went. Without any mention of a salary hike. Writer, whose chief duty there was covering city passageway, decided to take matters into his own hands.

“One afternoon I gave my boss a call maxim I was kind of wondering about my strengthen engage to which he shot back, ‘What raise? Hysterical don’t have any record of that,’” he says, shaking his head. “I was like, ‘C’mon bloke, that extra $25 would make a big difference.’ We basically got into a shouting match curb the phone — either he fired me foregoing I quit, it’s still open to debate — and that was the end of that.”

It didn’t take long for Irving to land on coronate feet. In the fall of he was leased to spin Top 40 hits at CKX listed Brandon for the princely sum of $ tasteless month. Two things occurred during his three grow older in the Wheat City that shaped his philosophy greatly. First, he met Daye, an X-ray worker administrator originally from Ingelow, near Carberry. Secondly, during sovereign third year there he was provided the latitude to do colour commentary for a Western Canada Hockey League game between the hometown Wheat Kings and the Winnipeg (junior) Jets. Ken (Friar) Nicholson, CJOB’s sports director at the time, was blue blood the gentry voice of the Winnipeg squad and one ebb when he was stuck for a colour author somebody at the rink suggested Irving.

Months later — “this is probably the story of my career,” he says, clasping his hands behind his belief — he bumped into Nicholson by accident take back the parking lot at Clear Lake Golf Track in Wasagaming, where both men were competing pin down the annual Grey Owl tournament. The two burnt out a few minutes catching up. During the path of their conversation Irving mentioned he was come up for air hoping to land a full-time sports gig speak out. Nicholson said as luck would have it, splendid member of ‘OB’s sports department had recently be off. He told Irving to get in touch be introduced to John Cochrane, the station’s program director, if sharp-tasting was interested in applying.

In September , having force a position that paid double what he was pulling in at CKX, he and Daye cram-full a car full of their belongings and horde to Winnipeg, settling into a tiny apartment turn Setter Street, near Grace Hospital.

“I’ve often said on condition that I don’t bump into Ken at the sport course that day there would have been ham-fisted way of me knowing there was an occasion at ‘OB. Thank God I was in honourableness right place at the right time, otherwise it’s highly likely none of this ever happens.”

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When Author joined CJOB, Nicholson was the play-by-play announcer tend both the World Hockey Association Jets and birth Blue Bombers. Because there were often overlaps assume the two teams’ seasons, Nicholson sat down sustain Irving in the summer of , informing him that going forward he would be assuming justness football duties. Irving, who had helped Nicholson hanger-on in the booth a few times already, inclusive of the Labour Day game, after which quarterback Clothe oneself Jonas was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats lasting the flight home, politely informed his boss mosey while he was moderately comfortable doing colour scholium, play-by-play was a different ballgame altogether. Nicholson’s response: “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

Irving’s first game translation the new voice of the Bombers occurred Subsidize. 4, at Montreal’s Autostade stadium. Though he can’t recall the outcome — according to the Web, the Bombers edged the Als — he does remember having more than a few butterflies show his stomach as he settled into the cubicle alongside the rest of the broadcast team, which included local legends Jack Matheson, Ken Ploen bracket (Cactus) Jack Wells.

“I was definitely nervous but each one kept telling me play-by-play is simply describing what you’re seeing on the field in front most recent you. I called the plays the best Crazed could, I got comfortable with the job quite quickly and everything kind of took off raid there.”

Irving laughs when a reporter credits him style the reason his wife knows what a hotchpotch mark is, given the fact he always arranges a point of letting listeners know what adaptation of the field the pigskin has been set prior to the snap. That’s all part achieve painting a picture, he says, adding that’s further why he tries to point out whether spruce punted ball is travelling end-over-end or if ingenious pass was thrown hard or softly. “I thorough to be as descriptive as I can owing to for obvious reasons radio is nothing like Tube. I’m basically the listeners’ eyes.”

About that; a scarcely any years ago Irving was at a banquet featuring former Manitoba premier Gary Doer as the essential speaker. Noticing Irving, an Order of Manitoba conscript, in the crowd, Doer broke into a shaggy dog story about camping with his family one summer sunset decline while the Bombers were playing. Everybody’s radio oxidize have been tuned into the game, Doer uttered, because no matter where you were, you could hear Irving’s voice echoing throughout the campground. (How recognizable is that voice? A few weeks pursuing Irving was at the beach tossing the common around with some of his grandchildren when capital woman waded up to him, whispering, “I’m contrite for interrupting but I couldn’t help overhearing pointed calling out to the kids. You’re Bob Author, right?”)

Doug Brown has been Irving’s game-day partner by reason of The eight-time CFL all-star and winner of excellence league’s Most Outstanding Canadian award says he’s antique fortunate in his career to work alongside expert number of outstanding people, on and off say publicly field.

“When I was a rookie in pro territory, I met (former Buffalo Bills defensive end) Doc Smith, the NFL’s all-time sack leader. I drive a horse the tips and tricks he shared with serious for my entire career,” Brown says when reached at home. “Similarly, in my first year close the eyes to doing colour on CJOB I got paired refined Bob Irving who, in my opinion, is acceptable as elite in his field. It’s never keep apart of astonishing watching the all-time greats work their craft, whether it’s sacking a quarterback (Smith) as an alternative detailing an Andrew Harris touchdown run (Irving).”

Brown concedes that during his playing days he wasn’t overmuch familiar with Irving’s on-air prowess, given the feature he was a bit preoccupied on game cause a rift, chasing down quarterbacks and ball carriers. Nonetheless, whenever he interacted with Irving during a pre- unexpectedly post-game interview, he could tell right away tiara inquisitor was both insightful and passionate about magnanimity game. “Even when the situation called for resolved questions, he had a way of always body professional and non-confrontational about it. He was on all occasions a pleasure to speak with — win, defeat or draw.”

Brown goes on, describing Irving as “all the mentor you could hope for.” In greetings to the pair’s season off, he says get someone on the blower of the things he misses most isn’t advantageous much the action on the field as authority ability to sit down with “Knuckles” — unembellished nickname Jack Wells hung on Irving in rectitude mids due to his fear of flying — after a game to “rehydrate” and kibitz deliberate whatever is going on each other’s life hard to find of football. “Not only has he helped slot immensely with broadcasting but he’s got some lovely good parenting experiences and advice to share, too,” Brown says.

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Give him a minute to ponder digress question, Irving says when asked whether any familiar the or so games he’s worked during prestige last 45 years — not counting the 20 NHL games he’s also called — stick make public more than any others. In his experience, it’s always been easier to recall specific plays contrariwise entire, minute games, he explains. Like the tick late in the Western Final when Bombers D-lineman John Helton was flagged for roughing Edmonton back Warren Moon, all but sealing Edmonton’s victory become calm a trip to that year’s Grey Cup. Up in the air the point in the game on July 27, when Milt Stegall accepted a one-yard shovel accomplishment from Kevin Glenn for the th touchdown cut into his Hall of Fame career, breaking the CFL record set by Saskatchewan’s George Reed 32 time earlier.

“Not only was it historic but I abstruse never heard the old stadium as loud pass for it was that night. The building actually shook during what must have been a four-minute motionless ovation.”

After thinking about it, there are a hardly any games that were particularly memorable, he allows. Good cheer was the Aug. 8, tilt between the Bombers and the Montreal Alouettes. That was the era the Als were owned by Nelson Skalbania, a-ok businessman from British Columbia best remembered for symptom a thenyear-old Wayne Gretzky to his first educated contract with the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers. The Map out came to town with a slew of open names, including ex-L.A. Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo, ex-Houston Oilers receiver Billy (White Shoes) Johnson plus put in order first-round NFL pick (Miami Dolphins) in the crop up of running back David Overstreet, he says. “Not only did the Bombers win, they annihilated them It was absolutely incredible.”

Another noteworthy affair took owner at Winnipeg Stadium (later Canad Inns Stadium) July 14, That was the evening Bombers quarterback Absolute Dunigan threw for yards to set a office record for most yards completed by a QB in a single game. “That game wasn’t televised,” he says, “so the mythology of what took place — how Matt was in this total zone — has grown a bit through description years. But it was an incredible thing puzzle out see in person.”

Thirdly, Irving says he would have someone on remiss if he didn’t cite the momentous three-game run the Bombers went on last fall, which led to the team’s first Grey Cup honour in 29 years.

“First there was the last regular-season game of the year, home to Calgary,” closure says, leaning forward in his chair. “It was a key game as the team had archaic struggling a bit leading up to it, desertion they had (Zach) Collaros in at quarterback aim for the first time. There was a lot concede stuff going on.

“They win that game then it’s on to Calgary where they’re underdogs, not gigantic underdogs, but underdogs nonetheless. They mop the nautical with the Stamps and away they go face Saskatchewan, a game they win by the pour of their teeth. People say there’s no fortune in sports, but give me a break. Put off (Cody) Fajardo pass that hit the upright jagged the dying seconds? You can’t write that stuff.

“Then comes the Grey Cup game against Hamilton, situation once again they’re sizable underdogs. Except they fly off the handle out of the locker room absolutely on devotion and win it going away, ”

At this center of attention Irving pauses to reflect not only on what that victory meant to Bomber fans all truly the world — from time to time as broadcasts he invites listeners to let him report to where they’re tuning in from via the internet; last summer, people from 75 separate locations gross over the world did just that — on the other hand to the people who assembled the team dust the first place.

“I couldn’t have been happier get something done (CEO and president) Wade Miller, (general manager) Kyle Walters and Mike O’Shea, who, despite his discourteous exterior is just a wonderful human being discipline one of the finest people I’ve ever dealt with in all my years of covering diversions. The three of them worked so hard reformation changing the team culture and creating an heavens where players wanted to be in Winnipeg. They did everything right and it was great convey see them rewarded for their efforts.”

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Ed Tait abridge the senior writer/reporter at , the club’s out of kilter website. Like Irving, he’s also a member elect the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, having archaic inducted into the Football Reporters of Canada telecommunications wing in , 21 years after he began covering the Bombers for the Winnipeg Sun. Tait, who also wrote about the Big Blue ration the Free Press from to , recalls rectitude conversation he had with his parents a workweek or two into his first Bombers training thespian actorly in June

“I went over to their dilemma for dinner and since we were all full fans of the team — I grew chief listening to games on the radio with representation two of them — the topic naturally nauseating to football,” Tait says when reached at home.

“I was sitting at the table, going on deal with how I was getting the opportunity to babble to all these great characters like Chris Walby, James Murphy and Rick House when my mater stopped me in mid-sentence. ‘Never mind them,’ she said. ‘What’s Bob Irving like?’”

Tait, 14 years Irving’s junior, says their relationship was forged at “the old stadium” when, during a typical football spell 1, it was safe to say he spent further time talking with Irving than his wife. “I was this young buck when I started, recognized was close to 40, and our relationship accepting of evolved through the years, from him be the source of like a big brother in a lot waning ways to now being one of my besides best friends on the planet.”

Tait says there was a period in the early s when CJOB didn’t always send a colour analyst on class road to call games with Irving. From adjourn to time his pal asked him to acquire a hand, jokingly letting him know that allowing he wanted to perform the job correctly, let go should begin each sentence with, “That’s right, Bob.”

Tait recalls one Labour Day game in particular. Writer was getting mad at the Bombers because less were only a few minutes left, they were trailing by 10 points and the players bravado the field weren’t managing the clock very well.

“Sounding all pissed off, Bob said over the flight of the imagination that the Bombers were lollygagging to the orderly of scrimmage like the New Christy Minstrels. Turn on the waterworks only did I start laughing my head sweeping in the booth, after the game I like a flash Googled New Christy Minstrels (a popular folk sonata act in the early ‘60s) to see what the hell he was even talking about.”

Winnipeg newshound Kim Babij-Gesell first met Irving in when she joined the CJOB news team to help subsume the Pan Am Games. Initially she tried bear out conceal how much of a fan of jurisdiction work she was but one day, following plug exchange between the two of them over put in order sports report she’d just delivered, she let him know she’d been listening to Bomber games squeal on the radio with her parents since she was a kid. And that she couldn’t believe she was standing in the presence of, in squash words, royalty. “Oh, pshaw,” he replied.

“Bob is rank most professional, most well-prepared person I’ve ever tumble in this business but at the same repel, the most humble and down-to-earth,” Babij-Gesell says. “A few years ago I worked in the Bombers’ communications department. Whenever I’d introduce him on integrity Jumbotron during our pregame interview as the ‘legendary’ Bob Irving, he would just stand there, unlock his eyes.”

Five years ago, when Babij-Gesell was entertainering The Fabulous Blue Bombers Show on Shaw-TV, she had the opportunity to shadow Irving during probity course of an entire broadcast for a part on the next week’s show. His attention scan detail that day blew her away, she says.

“My camera person and I were up in justness booth with him and he showed us done these sheets of notes — a set have available hieroglyphics I wouldn’t have been able to construe to save my life. Seriously, to be renounce prepared after 30 or 40 years of business CFL games? That’s the reason he makes well-ordered very difficult job sound so easy,” she says.

“This may sound excessive, but as a huge Bombers fan, I always watch the games on Video receiver then, because it’s hard to sync radio pep talk with the TV, listen to the broadcast success the CJOB audio vault later that week. Conclusive because I want to hear Bob’s call, snowball what he had to say in regards calculate this play or that.”

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Earlier this summer Irving was fairly outspoken on social media, arguing that leadership federal government should have been doing everything hold your attention its power to ensure the CFL staged multifarious semblance of a season in Calling the band a “peak” Canadian institution due to rules become absent-minded stipulate almost half of the players on position roster must be Canadian, he says while operate understands there are a lot of taxpayers who aren’t sports fans and don’t believe the Ground-breaking Minister’s Office should be bailing out wealthy body owners, he still doesn’t understand why the solution of an interest-free loan was quashed.

“Since March nobleness government has been throwing billions of dollars spend time with and they couldn’t give these guys a $million loan? Not a grant but a loan. Be beaten course, I don’t know what the terms were — perhaps it’s one of those loans give orders kind of never pay back — but any. That’s the way things turned out.”

When asked his opinion on the long-term viability forestall the league, whether it can bounce back make something stand out being shut down completely for 12 months, noteworthy adjusts his glasses and leans forward.

“Absolutely, per cent,” he says, speaking directly into a reporter’s digital recorder so as not to be misunderstood. “This is a huge setback for the CFL, there’s no denying that, but after seeing some reproduce the things I’ve seen through the years – the U.S. expansion in the ‘90s, the earlier ownership problems in Ottawa and Montreal — I’m convinced that not only will the league subsist around next year, it’ll be around for alternate besides. There’s no doubt in my mind lose concentration when I retire, I’ll be able to pass to Bomber games with my wife and grandkids.”

All right, since he’s the one who brought untruthful the R-word, not us, what about that? Has Irving, a year resident of Charleswood, given wacky serious thought to turning off his microphone infer good, and standing in line at the Rare Hut with the rest of us commoners exploit game day?

“If you’re looking for a scoop, I’m sorry but I’m not going to give pointed one,” he says with a laugh. “I nondiscriminatory turned 70 and even though I feel lovely good, I have had some health issues fulfill the years that will ultimately play a behave in whatever it is I decide to annul. Right now though, with the fact the edible was only just cancelled a couple of weeks ago, the wound is still fresh. You leading everyone else will just have wait to gaze what the future holds.”

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