By Stampeders.com staff
On Thursday, Ottawa officially returns to the Canadian Football League as the expansion Redblacks face the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg for their first regular-season contest.
It’s a long-awaited return for a city that previously was home to the Rough Riders from 1876-1996 and the short-lived Renegades from 2002-06.
The connections between the Calgary Stampeders and the Redblacks are both plentiful and significant.
Let’s start with the man calling the shots on the sidelines. Rick Campbell, the Stamps’ former defensive coordinator, has been hired to become the first head coach in Redblacks history. The son of CFL legend Hugh Campbell brought a couple of Calgary assistants with him to the Nation’s Capital in Mike Gibson, who is Ottawa’s offensive coordinator, and Don Yanowksy, the Redblacks’ special-teams coordinator.
On the field, the Redblacks are led by quarterback Henry Burris, who is the Stamps’ all-time career leader in virtually every important passing category.
The Ottawa roster features a number of other Stamps alumni including Jon Gott, Justin Phillips, Eric Fraser, Malik Jackson, J’Micheal Deane and Chris McCoy.
So in the here and now, there are some strong ties between the two franchises.
The same holds true for the Rough Riders and Renegades, the two teams who preceded the Redblacks in representing Ottawa.
The most successful season in CFL history ended with a Calgary-Ottawa contest as the Stamps completed an undefeated 1948 campaign by defeating the Rough Riders 12-7 to win their first Grey Cup.
Exactly 20 years later, the Rough Riders evened the score by defeating Calgary 24-21 in the 1968 Grey Cup.
Several members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame have played for both the Stamps and Rough Riders including Jerry (Soupy) Campbell, Miles Gorrell, Jerry Keeling, Ray Nettles and Rudy Phillips.
Jack Gotta has served as head coach in both cities — he was in Ottawa from 1970-73 and in Calgary from 1976-79 and 1982-83.
When Ottawa returned to the CFL in 2002 in the form of the Renegades, three players were chosen from the Stampeders in the expansion draft — defensive lineman Clinton Wayne, defensive back Rick Bell and linebacker Kelly Lochbaum.
When the Renegades disbanded in 2006, one of the players the Stamps picked up is receiver/kick returner Markus Howell, who became a very useful player for the Red and White and was a member of Calgary’s 2008 Grey Cup-championship team.
The Stamps and the newest Ottawa franchise will meet twice in 2014 — at McMahon Stadium on Aug. 9 and in the Nation’s Capital on Aug. 24.
The Stamps played the Rough Riders/Renegades 59 times, posting a 36-23 record including a 22-7 mark at home and a 14-16 record in Ottawa.
But regardless of the numbers, there’s something that just feels right about having a Canadian Football League franchise in the Canadian capital. Welcome back, Ottawa! It’s good to see you again.