During Black History Month this February bluebombers.com will once again salute some of the players who have played significant roles in the Blue Bombers’ long history.
Today: Willard Reaves — running back, 1983-87
If there’s a list of the best trades made over the many, many decades in Blue Bombers history, the deal that brought Willard Reaves to Winnipeg in 1983 would almost certainly be in the Top 10.
Heck, it might even be in the Top 5.
Blue Bombers GM Paul Robson and his head coach Cal Murphy — both new to their positions after the 1982 season with the former elevated from the role of assistant GM and the latter coming over from the Edmonton Eskimos — pulled off a deal with the Esks on July 2, 1983, which would reap immediate and longer-term benefits for Winnipeg.
That trade saw the Blue Bombers send a first-round draft pick in 1984 and future considerations for Reaves along with fullback Sean Kehoe, running back Scott Stauchand and defensive back Steven Hall.
It was a pure stroke of genius.
Reaves (38) alongside James Murphy
Reaves became the Blue Bombers feature back immediately in 1983 en route to being named the team’s Most Outstanding Rookie Player and the Canadian Football League’s West Division top rookie while rushing for 898 yards and nine touchdowns in just nine games.
His numbers exploded a year later as he finished with 1,733 rushing yards and 14 scores while being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player. That 1,733-yard mark was the highest single season rushing total in franchise history before it was surpassed by Robert Mimbs in 1991 with 1,769 yards.
Working behind a dominant offensive line he nicknamed ‘The White Horses’, Reaves would lead the team in rushing in each of his five years and remains in third spot on the franchise’s all-time rushing list with 5,923 yards, behind only Charles Roberts (9,987) and Leo Lewis (8.861). In his 62 games as a Blue Bomber, Reaves eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark 26 times.
A three-time CFL All-Star (1984, 1985, 1987), Reaves left the Blue Bombers in 1988 after a contract dispute with Murphy, then the GM, who wanted him to take a pay cut and headed south to the NFL, where he played two games with Washington and one with Miami in 1989.
Nicknamed ‘The Sheriff’ during his playing days — he would later become a Manitoba Justice sheriff upon returning to Winnipeg — Reaves’ great-great grandfather was Bass Reaves, the first Black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River and the subject of the Paramount + show ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves.’
After his days as a sheriff, Reaves turned to politics and in September of 2025 was named the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. Two of his sons have also played professional sports with Ryan Reaves having played in close to 1,000 NHL games with St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Vegas, the New York Rangers, Minnesota, Toronto and San Jose while Jordan played with both Saskatchewan 92016, 2018) and Edmonton (2022-23) in the CFL.
Black History Month Archives: