Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg , Manitoba . They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium , and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season . The Blue Bombers were founded in 1930 . Since that time they have won the league ' s Grey Cup championship ten times , most recently in 1990 . With 10 wins they have the third highest win total in the Grey Cup among active and defunct CFL teams , though they are currently the team with the longest Grey Cup drought . The Blue Bombers were also the first team not located in Ontario or Quebec to win a championship . Winnipeg Blue Bombers year - by - year . This is an incomplete list of seasons competed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers , a Canadian Football League team . While the team was founded in 1930 , they did not join the CFL until it was founded in 1958 . Throughout their history , the Blue Bombers have won 10 Grey Cups . ! Season ! League ! Finish ! Wins ! Losses ! Ties ! Playoffs ! align = " center " | 1935 ! align = " center " | 1936 ! align = " center " | 1937 ! align = " center " | 1938 ! align = " center " | 1939 ! align = " center " | 1940 ! align = " center " | 1941 ! align = " center " | 1942 ! align = " center " | 1943 ! align = " center " | 1944 ! align = " center " | 1945 ! align = " center " | 1946 ! align = " center " | 1947 ! align = " center " | 1948 ! align = " center " | 1949 ! align = " center " | 1950 ! align = " center " | 1951 ! align = " center " | 1952 ! align = " center " | 1953 ! align = " center " | 1954 ! align = " center " | 1955 ! align = " center " | 1956 ! align = " center " | 1957 ! align = " center " | 1958 ! align = " center " | 1959 ! align = " center " | 1960 ! align = " center " | 1961 ! align = " center " | 1962 ! align = " center " | 1963 ! align = " center " | 1964 ! align = " center " | 1965 ! align = " center " | 1966 ! align = " center " | 1967 ! align = " center " | 1968 ! align = " center " | 1969 ! align = " center " | 1970 ! align = " center " | 1971 ! align = " center " | 1972 ! align = " center " | 1973 ! align = " center " | 1974 ! align = " center " | 1975 ! align = " center " | 1976 ! align = " center " | 1977 ! align = " center " | 1978 ! align = " center " | 1979 ! align = " center " | 1980 ! align = " center " | 1981 ! align = " center " | 1982 ! align = " center " | 1983 ! align = " center " | 1984 ! align = " center " | 1985 ! align = " center " | 1986 ! align = " center " | 1987 ! align = " center " | 1988 ! align = " center " | 1989 ! align = " center " | 1990 ! align = " center " | 1991 ! align = " center " | 1992 ! align = " center " | 1993 ! align = " center " | 1994 ! align = " center " | 1995 ! align = " center " | 1996 ! align = " center " | 1997 ! align = " center " | 1998 ! align = " center " | 1999 ! align = " center " | 2000 ! align = " center " | 2001 ! align = " center " | 2002 ! align = " center " | 2003 ! align = " center " | 2004 ! align = " center " | 2005 ! align = " center " | 2006 ! align = " center " | 2007 ! align = " center " | 2008 ! align = " center " | 2009 ! align = " center " | 2010 ! align = " center " colSpan = " 3 " | Regular Season Totals ( 1935 - 2010 ) ! align = " center " colSpan = " 3 " | Playoff Totals ( 1935 - 2010 ) ! align = " center " colSpan = " 3 " | Grey Cup Totals ( 1935 - 2010 ) Team history . Beginning . The first football team in Winnipeg was formed in 1879 , and was called the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club . On June 10 , 1930 , they amalgamated with all the other teams in the Manitoba Rugby Football Union to create the " Winnipeg Winnipegs Rugby Football Club " , adopting the colours of green and white . The Winnipegs played their first game against St . John ' s Rugby Club on June 13 , 1930 , where St . John ' s won by a score of 7 - 3 . In 1932 , the Winnipegs and St . John ' s merged into one team and adopted the colours of blue and gold . 1935 Grey Cup . Western teams had been to the Grey Cup game ten times since 1909 , but they had always gone home empty handed . It was clear in those days that the East was much more powerful , outscoring their opponents 236 – 29 in these games . On December 7 , 1935 , the Bombers got their first shot at winning the Grey Cup . The game was being held in Hamilton , with the home - town Tigers being their opponent . It was a rainy day at Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds , with 6 , 405 fans in attendance . Winnipeg was up 5 – 0 before many fans had even reached their seats . Hamilton player Jack Craig let the opening kickoff bounce to the turf while a Winnipeg player promptly recovered the ball at the Hamilton 15 - yard line . Winnipeg scored quickly on a Bob Fritz pass to Bud Marquardt to get the early lead . After scoring another touchdown off of a Greg Kabat catch in the endzone , Winnipeg went into halftime up 12 – 4 . Their lead was soon cut to three points in the second half after Hamilton scored a touchdown of their own , helped by a blocked kick that placed the ball on the Winnipeg 15 - yard line . Then , after a Hamilton rouge , Winnipeg ' s RB / KR Fritz Hanson caught the kickoff , and after a few moves and a few missed tackles , was on his way to a touchdown , making the score 18 - 10 . Hamilton would force a safety to bring themselves within six points , but failed to crack the endzone , getting as far as the Winnipeg four - yard line . The final score was Winnipeg 18 , Hamilton 12 . With that , Winnipeg had become the first team from Western Canada to win a Grey Cup . Blue Bombers . In 1936 , during a game against the University of North Dakota , " Winnipeg Tribune " sports writer Vince Leah remarked " these are the Blue Bombers of Western football " . This phrase was referring to then heavyweight champion Joe Louis , known as the Brown Bomber . From that day forward the team has been known as the " Winnipeg Blue Bombers " . In that same year , the Blue Bombers , Calgary Bronks and Regina Roughriders formed the Western Interprovincial Football Union as the highest level of play in Western Canada . Early days of glory . From 1936 to 1949 , the Bombers won the right to compete for the Grey Cup 9 times ( 1937 , 1938 , 1939 , 1941 , 1942 , 1943 and 1945 ) . Of these appearances , Winnipeg won only twice , in 1939 over the Ottawa Rough Riders and again in their 1941 rematch . Jack Jacobs era . Jack Jacobs , known as Indian Jack , was a Creek quarterback from Oklahoma . He came to the Bombers in 1950 after a successful career in the United States . He led the Bombers to two Grey Cup appearances , losing both . His exciting style of play and extreme talent increased ticket sales and overall awareness and popularity of the club . The revenue the Bombers were getting from their newfound popularity was enough to convince them to move from the small outdated Osborne Stadium to the new Winnipeg Stadium ( now known as Canad Inns Stadium ) . Jacobs was so well liked that the fans even referred to the new stadium as " The House that Jack Built " . Jacobs retired in 1954 to become a talent scout for the team . In 1951 , Jack Jacobs became the first pro football quarterback to throw for over 3 , 000 yards in a season with 3 , 248 . That year he was also the first pro football quarterback to throw for at least 30 touchdowns , with 33 . The next year he bested that mark with 34 . Glory years and Bud Grant saga . Bud Grant joined the team in 1953 after a two year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles , as one of numerous NFL players lured to Canada during the first part of the decade for then better salaries . After a four - year career as a receiver , then at the time called an offensive end , he accepted the position of head coach of the Bombers in 1957 . Grant went on to coach the team for the next ten years before becoming the head coach of the NFL ' s Minnesota Vikings . In 1956 , Blue Bombers fans named Labatt ' s Pilsener Lager , which had a blue label , Labatt Blue , in honour of their team . During Grant ' s tenure as head coach the Bombers welcomed the likes of Ken Ploen , Leo Lewis , Ernie Pitts and Ed Kotowich to the team . The Bombers competed in six Grey Cup games during Grant ' s tenure , winning four ( 1958 , 1959 , 1961 , and 1962 ) . In 1961 the Bombers won 21 – 14 over the Hamilton Tiger - Cats in the first Grey Cup game to go into overtime . The Bombers and Ticats met again in the 1962 Grey Cup , with the game being postponed with 9 : 29 left in the fourth quarter due to zero visibility in the famous " Fog Bowl " . The game resumed the next morning with the Bombers winning 28 - 27 . During the second half of the 1960s the Bombers domination gave away to lean years , with four seasons of double digits in the loss column . The team bounced back in the early 1970s with the likes of quarterback Don Jonas , running - back Mack Herron , wide receivers Jim Thorpe and Bob LaRose . The team finished first in the Western Conference in 1972 , the first time it had done so since 1962 . However , the Bombers came up short in the Western Final against the Saskatchewan Roughriders . In the game , the Bombers squandered a thirteen point , third quarter lead enroute to a heartbreaking 27 - 24 loss , with Saskatchewan kicker Jack Abendschan converting a short field goal attempt on the last play of the game to send the ' Riders to the Grey Cup against Hamilton . The 1972 season also marks the last time the team has finished first in the West . The team struggled for a few more seasons under coaches Jim Spavital and Bud Riley before Ray Jauch was brought in as head coach before the 1978 season . Under Jauch , the Bombers became one of the stronger teams in the West , but usually behind Jauch ' s former team , the powerhouse Edmonton Eskimos coached by Hugh Campbell . In 1981 , wide receiver Eugene Goodlow became the first CFL player to reach the century mark in receptions in a season . Goodlow caught 100 passes for 1 , 494 yards and 14 touchdowns . That season the Bombers became one of the first teams to have three receivers with at least 1 , 000 yards in a season . Goodlow with 1 , 494 ; Joe Poplawski with 1 , 271 ; and Rick House with 1 , 102 . Cal Murphy era . In 1983 Cal Murphy was hired to be the new head coach of the Blue Bombers . Almost immediately , Murphy set the tone for his career with the Bombers by trading popular QB Dieter Brock to Hamilton in exchange for lesser - known QB Tom Clements . Trading Brock turned out to be a wise decision , with Clements leading the Bombers to crushing victory in the 1984 Grey Cup , coincidently over the Brock - led Tiger - Cats . This was Winnipeg ' s first Grey Cup in 22 years . Murphy was named coach of the year in both 1983 and 1984 . In 1987 Murphy stepped down as head coach to become the team general manager , with assistant coach Mike Riley ( son of former Winnipeg coach Bud Riley ) taking over head coaching duties . Riley ' s teams won the Grey Cup in both 1988 and 1990 , garnering Riley the coach of the year award both seasons . Riley is currently the head coach of the Oregon State University Beavers . Four stand - out players who played under Mike Riley for the Beavers went on to play for Winnipeg : Derrick Doggett , Yvenson Bernard , Alexis Serna , and Dorian Smith . After Riley left , Darryl Rogers and Urban Bowman each helmed the team for a season until 1993 , when Murphy took over head coaching duties again . Murphy went on to lead the team to a total of five Grey Cup appearances , winning , as a coach in 1984 , and as a GM , in 1988 and 1990 . He left the club after the 1996 season , having spent 14 years with the team . Later , he would coach the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1999 . Reinebold years . In November 1996 , Cal Murphy left the Blue Bomber organization , after 14 years . This was partly due to a 68 - 7 playoff thumping by the Edmonton Eskimos , and partly because the team had not had a winning record the previous 2 years , winning only 7 games in 1995 , and 9 in 1996 . Jeff Reinebold was hired to replace Murphy as the teams coach , and despite a huge amount of hype , and championship promises going into the 1997 season , proved to be one of the least successful head coaches in team history . The Bombers won 4 games in 1997 , and just 3 in 1998 . The few notable highlights from that era include : The few memorable players on the team during that time included Linebacker : K . D . Williams , Safety : Tom Europe , Running back / Returner : Eric Blount , and of course , Milt Stegall . Milt Stegall era . Milt Stegall joined the Bombers in 1995 after a 3 - year career returning kicks and seeing spot duty at receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals . He played in the Bombers ' final six games of the 1995 season , racking up 469 receiving yards . In 1997 Stegall set a new league record that still stands today for average gain per reception with 26 . 5 yards on 61 catches for 1616 yards , including 14 touchdowns . Following a brief return to the NFL , that saw him on the verge of making the Green Bay Packers if not for a serious knee injury at the end of training camp , Stegall has remained the team ' s primary receiver . In 1999 the Bombers acquired Khari Jones from the BC Lions . Together Stegall and Jones brought the Bombers back to prominence , with Jones being the CFL most outstanding player in 2001 , and Stegall getting the honour in 2002 . During the 2006 Grey Cup Khari Jones and Milt Stegall were voted and honored as the best QB / WR combo in CFL history . Charles Roberts joined them in 2001 , a year which the Bombers went to the Grey Cup , which they eventually lost to the Calgary Stampeders . The team was a powerhouse during this period , being one of the best teams in the league from 2001 until 2003 . Midway through the 2004 season Jones was traded to the Calgary Stampeders , with backup QB Kevin Glenn taking over the starting duties . Glenn led the team to two mediocre seasons after the trade . With the offensive core of Stegall and Roberts still intact , Glenn led the Bombers back to respectability in 2006 . The season included many highlights but none as exciting at what is simply known as " The Play " . On July 20 , 2006 , trailing the Edmonton Eskimos on the road 22 - 19 , and facing third and long on their own 10 yardline with 4 seconds left in the game , Milt Stegall caught a 100 yard TD pass from Kevin Glenn as time expired to win the game 25 - 22 . It is considered by many as the greatest play in CFL history . Aided by the " miracle " catch , the Bombers ended up making their first playoff appearance in two years . Despite losing in the first round , optimism going into the 2007 was higher than ever . The 2007 CFL season was in some ways the year of Milt Stegall : he broke the career CFL touchdown record and fell just short of overtaking the career receiving yards record held by Allen Pitts . The 2007 season would likely be Stegall ' s last , as he was 37 years old and had been contemplating retirement for the previous two seasons . The 2007 Grey Cup game was played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders , the first time the two prairie teams met for the championship . Winnipeg was defeated by the Saskatchewan Roughriders 23 – 19 in the Rogers Centre in Toronto . During the East division final win over the Toronto Argonauts , quarterback Kevin Glenn broke his arm and Winnipeg was left with an inexperienced rookie to take his place for the championship game . Back - up quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie — in his first CFL start — did not fair well and threw one touchdown pass , fumbled once and threw 3 interceptions to Saskatchewan cornerback James Johnson . Johnson was later declared the game MVP . One of the picks , was shown in the instant replay to have hit the ground before it was caught . Despite his rookie mistakes , Dinwiddie showed promise going into the 2008 season . He was released prior to the 2009 season . On January 31 , 2008 , it was announced that Milt Stegall will be returning for yet one more year . He signed a one year contract for $ 200 , 000 on the basis of the fact his wife wanted to have their next child in Winnipeg , and the fact that they were in line to be a contender for the Grey Cup . He took a $ 50 , 000 pay cut , and started the season 159 yards away from breaking Allen Pitts all time receiving yards record . Other returning players who were free agents going into the 2008 season , including star DE Tom Canada , OL ' s Dan Goodspeed & Matt Sheridan , signed for less money from the Bombers than other teams were prepared to pay them , in hopes of a Grey Cup run in ' 08 . Tom Canada in particular , reportedly turned down a much higher contract offer from the Montreal Alouettes , to come back to Winnipeg . On September 2 , 2008 , the Bombers traded all star running back Charles Roberts to B . C . for Joe Smith . Then on September 8 , 2008 , they traded all star DE Tom Canada to Hamilton for Zeke Moreno . But on September 9 , 2008 , the trade was cancelled because Canada was injured and could not play for at least 10 weeks . So since they could not trade Canada they sent over Corey Mace and a First round pick for Moreno . Following the 2008 season in which the Bombers were defeated in the division semifinals , Doug Berry ( the head coach ) was fired . Mike Kelly was chosen to replace him . At the end of the Cal Murphy era Mike Kelly was the offensive coordinator and was passed over for the top job in favour of Jeff Reinebold . With Milt Stegall ' s early season knee surgery and drop in production it was once again speculated that Milt Stegall would retire . The departure of Brendan Taman on January 13 , 2009 , was another sign that this era was coming to an end and a new one was beginning . On February 18 , 2009 , Milt Stegall did retire from the CFL which formally ended the Milt Stegall era . A new era . The return of Mike Kelly opened a new Cal Murphy era , and the board hoped to bring back Murphy ' s success . However , Kelly was fired by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Board of Directors on December 17 , 2009 , after one year of employment . On February 5 , 2010 , Paul LaPolice was introduced as the 28th head coach in Blue Bombers history . The new coach emphasized the idea of " team " and playing for the uniform . He also made it a point to talk about fixing problems rather than making excuses . The new paradigm was tested in the 2010 season in which the team finished 4 – 14 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year . Nine of those games were lost by 4 points or less , while ten were lost by a touchdown or less . LaPolice will return for his second season as head coach in 2011 . Stadium . During the Blue Bombers ' early years the team played at Osborne Stadium , a small stadium near the Manitoba Legislative Buildings . The fast passing - dominated play of Bombers quarterback Jack Jacobs dramatically increased attendance at Blue Bombers games and precipitated the need for a new , larger stadium . Winnipeg Stadium was built in the West End of the city near Polo Park , and the Blue Bombers began play there in 1953 . The Blue Bombers continue to play at the stadium , though it has gone through significant changes over the years and is now known as Canad Inns Stadium . In recent years , various plans have been proposed to relocate the stadium . The latest is a 2008 plan to build a new stadium at the University of Manitoba , with both private and public funding . On April 2 , 2009 , David Asper ( a media mogul located out of Winnipeg associated with Canwest and Creswin Properties ) finally inked a deal with all levels of governments to build a new 30 , 000 ( expandable to 45 , 000 ) seat stadium at the University of Manitoba in Southwest Winnipeg . This will serve as the home for the Blue Bombers as well as the U of M Bisons . The deal includes refurbishing the existing Bison Stadium for practice and training as well as upgrading , expanding , and building new sports and fitness facilities . This project , once complete , will be the premiere sports training facility in Canada . The project will be on - goingly funded by a retail development that Asper plans to build on the former CanadInns stadium site . As part of the deal , Creswin properties will take over ownership of the team in 2010 . The new stadium and facilities will be complete for the 2012 CFL season , with the retail development finished in 2013 .