Legendary Riders centre dead at 81
All-star and 1966 Grey Cup champion part of multi-generational team family
Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Ted Urness died Saturday night in Saskatoon. He was 81.
A graduate of Regina’s Scott Collegiate, Urness played for the Roughriders from 1961 to 1970, earning CFL all-star centre honours in each of his final six seasons.
He was a key member of the 1966 Roughriders — the first Grey Cup championship team in franchise history.
In 1989, Urness was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Later that year, Urness — who was then on the Roughriders’ management committee — earned a second Grey Cup ring.
His son, Mark, was an offensive lineman on the 1989 Roughriders, with whom he carried on the family’s rich football tradition.
Al Urness, Ted’s father, spent seven seasons with the then-regina Roughriders. Beginning in 1928, he played for the team in five consecutive Grey Cup games.
Fred Goodman, Ted’s uncle, was a member of the Roughriders from 1929 to 1933.
Jack Urness, Ted’s brother, was a quarterback with the Roughriders of 1958 and 1959.
Ted was next in line, joining the Green and White in 1961 after playing junior football with the Regina Rams and collegiately at the University of Arizona.
Urness had an opportunity to join the Denver Broncos, then of the fledging American Football League, after graduating from Arizona.
Denver’s general manager at the time was Frank Filchock, a former Roughriders GM who had helped to pave the way for Saskatchewan-born football prospects, such as Urness, to play college football in the United States.
Despite having an opportunity to try out in the AFL, Urness had little interest in joining the Broncos.
“I didn’t even try to negotiate a contract with them,’’ Urness said in a 2006 interview with the Regina Leader-post. “I’d made my mind up that I was going to come back to Saskatchewan.
“Ken Preston came down and offered me a contract in February of 1961 to play for the Roughriders. As I recall, he offered me a $1,000 signing bonus plus a contract — and $1,000 in 1961, to a kid just graduating from university and getting ready to get married, was like Fort Knox. I signed a one-year contract.’’
At the time, Urness was paid in the neighbourhood of $6,000 per season, but the compensation was immaterial.
“All of a sudden, I was a Saskatchewan Roughrider,’’ Urness recalled. “From sandlot football to playing for Scott Collegiate for a couple of years and then going to the Regina Rams — yeah, it was pretty exciting following the Roughriders.
“To be a Roughrider, it was always a dream. I never thought it would turn out the way it did. It was a wonderful time.’’
At first, Urness was used as a guard, although he also saw action at centre and tackle. He eventually became entrenched at centre and a fixture on the all-star team.
“Bud Grant said of Ted Urness that he was the best centre he had ever seen, regardless of what league he was in,” said former Roughriders defensive back Dale West, referencing the legendary Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Minnesota Vikings head coach. “I really believe that.”
In 1968, Urness was the Western Conference finalist for the CFL’S most-outstanding-lineman award (which then covered the offensive and defensive lines).
He was only 33 — still an elite player — when he decided to retire after 10 CFL seasons.
“I played until 1970, when John Helton retired me,” Urness quipped, referring to the Calgary Stampeders’ Hall of Fame defensive lineman. “I got tired of lying on my back and yelling at Ronnie (Lancaster) to ‘look out!’ … I say that with the highest respect for Helton. He was an excellent football player. He was young and I was old. I wanted to leave the game on my terms. I didn’t want people to say I was over the hill.”
Post-football, Urness worked extensively in the farm and industrial equipment business. He was also the chairman/ceo of the Saskatchewan Liquor Board for five years.
Following the 1986 season, Urness suggested that Bill Baker — then a fellow member of the Riders’ executive — take over as the GM. He accepted the position and held it for two transformative years before becoming the CFL’S president and chief operating officer.
In that capacity, Baker presented the Grey Cup to the Roughriders on Nov. 26, 1989, when Ted and Mark Urness became the team’s first father-son championship duo.