Winnipeg won big by taking home the 107th Grey Cup, but North Bay walks away from the game a winner too.
The Blue Bombers, who defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-13, are under the direction of North Bay native Mike O’Shea.
This win represents O’Shea’s fifth Grey Cup, first as a head coach and perhaps fittingly during the last year his former high school of Widdifield is open. There, as a student, O’Shea would learn to play the game of Football as a Linebacker for the Wildcats.
As a player, O’Shea won the Grey Cup in 1996, 1997, and 2004 all as a member of the Toronto Argonauts. O’Shea brought the cup to North Bay after the 2004 win and presented it to then-Mayor, Vic Fedeli along with an Argonauts jersey.
O’Shea would also reach the summit as a Special Teams Coordinator for the Argos in 2012 when Toronto defeated the Calgary Stampeders in the 100th Grey Cup.
O’Shea has been the head coach of the Blue Bombers for the past six seasons, and he has also been inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Winnipeg’s Grey Cup championship is the first one for the city since 1990 when the Blue Bombers defeated Edmonton 50-11.
