Chris Walby (born October 23, 1956) is a retired

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

player who played the

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

position almost exclusively with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. He won three

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

s with the Bombers in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. Walby was also a sportscaster with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

's ''

CFL on CBC ''CFL on CBC'' was a presentation of Canadian Football League football aired on CBC Television. CBC held broadcast rights for the CFL from 1952 to 2007. The exclusive broadcasting rights for the league moved to TSN starting from the 2008 CFL sea ...

'' telecasts following his retirement.

Early life and college career

Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Walby grew up in the city's North End on Polson Avenue. He attended school at St. John's High School where he started playing junior football for the first time in grade 12. Growing up in Winnipeg, the primary sport was

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

and Walby played for the West Kildonan/Kildonan North Stars. He played in the 1975–76 and 76-77 seasons, scoring four goals and nine assists but racking up 275 penalty minutes. Playing hockey in an era of fighting, he got into a pre-game altercation with Harvey Takvam. Walby and teammate Jimmy Flett were arrested. Walby was charged with assault causing bodily harm and given a two-year conditional sentence. After his junior hockey career, he started playing football with the Winnipeg Rods, and earned an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to play

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Dickinson State University Dickinson State University (DSU) is a public university in Dickinson, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the North Dakota University System. It was founded in 1918 as Dickinson State Normal School and granted full university status in ...

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Professional football career

Following his collegiate career, Walby was drafted in the first round of the 1981 CFL Draft by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. Walby played five games on the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

for them during the

1981 CFL season The 1981 CFL season is considered to be the 28th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 24th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 1981 The Eastern and Western Football Conferences, which had carried on ...

. Wrangling by management over his salary left Walby without a contract and short pay after he was waived by Montreal general manager Bob Geary; this left him with a bad taste in his mouth, but also with a contract offer from his hometown

. Bombers' assistant general manager Paul Robson greeted Walby at the airport, and within 30 minutes of his arrival had signed him to the team. Assistant coach

Ellis Rainsberger Ellis Dwight Rainsberger Sr. (October 20, 1932 – July 17, 2021) was an American gridiron football player, coach, and scout. He served as the head football coach at Washburn University (1962–1964), Southern Illinois University Carbondale (1966 ...

moved Walby from defensive end to right guard in 1982 and 1983. The following season he moved to right tackle, where his success took him to a Hall of Fame career on the offensive line. Robson later said of his playing style "He was an offensive lineman with a defensive lineman's personality, and that was the best of both worlds." For the remaining 16 years of his professional football career (1981–1996), Walby was a fixture on the

Bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...

' offensive line and a favourite of fans. He was named a CFL All-Star nine times, received the

CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award The Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually awarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Leo Dandurand Trophy winner from the East Division, and the DeMarco-Becket Memo ...

twice, and won the

on three occasions. He is often referred to as one of the greatest offensive linemen in the history of the CFL.

Post-football career

After his football career, Walby ran for a seat in the

Manitoba Legislature The Manitoba Legislature is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada) and the unicameral assemb ...

for the

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but lost. He also was involved in various business ventures such as a restaurant called ''Hog City Bar and Grill''. Walby was a sportscaster on the CBC's ''

'' television broadcasts.

Awards and honours

In 2003, Walby was elected into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

and in 2005, was chosen as one of the Blue Bombers All-Time 20 Greatest players. In November 2006, Walby was chosen 22nd amongst the CFL's 50 Greatest Players in a TSN poll. Inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

in 2006.

References

External links

Chris Walby’s biography
a
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walby, Chris 1956 births Living people Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Football League announcers Canadian football offensive linemen Canadian television sportscasters Dickinson State Blue Hawks football players Kildonan North Stars players Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Canadian football people from Winnipeg Winnipeg Blue Bombers players