The Saskatchewan Roughriders won the race to place Bob Kosid on their negotiation list.
But, oh, was it close.
Saskatchewan secured the CFL rights to Kosid — who was 83 when he passed away on July 20 in Hamilton — four years before he debuted with the Green and White.
In 1960, the Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers both sought to claim the Brandon-born defensive back. The teams’ requests reached the league office within such proximity to one another that an investigation was required to determine who would be awarded the rights.
Saskatchewan won, by a whisker, and the waiting game began.
Kosid went on to excel at the University of Kentucky as a running back and defensive back.
He signed with Saskatchewan on March 24, 1964 and spent the next nine seasons with the Roughriders, registering 32 interceptions — the second-most in team history at the time of his retirement from football.
Most notably, he was a key member of a 1966 Saskatchewan side that won the first Grey Cup championship in franchise history.
A Western Conference All-Star in 1966, Kosid played an integral role in that year’s 14-7 victory over the visiting Blue Bombers in Game 1 of the division final.
Kosid registered two interceptions at Taylor Field in addition to leading the team with nine defensive tackles.
“He was sensational for all the world — at least the nation on TV — to see,” Laurie Artiss wrote in the Regina Leader-Post on Nov. 14, 1966.
Kosid and friends proceeded to sweep the best-of-three playoff series and post a Grey Cup-winning, 29-14 victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders at Empire Stadium in Vancouver.
“I remember we had a huge welcome-home thing,” Kosid recalled in a 2006 interview. “I don’t know how many people were there, but it was a welcome home.
“Things like that get etched in your memory as being, ‘This is what makes this town so special,’ even though you have to plug your car in.”
Kosid and his cohorts with the 1966 Roughriders were inducted into the SaskTel Plaza of Honour in 2010. It was the second enshrinement for Kosid, who had entered the Roughriders’ shrine as an individual in 1997.
He is now tied for sixth on the team’s career interceptions list and is fifth in interception return yards (533).
In 1968, Kosid led the league in interceptions (eight) en route to being an All-CFL selection. One of the picks was returned for a 79-yard TD.
A tremendous clutch performer, his nine post-season interceptions are the second-most in league history.
As a CFLer, Kosid also settled under kicks during an era in which blocking was prohibited on punt returns. He returned 155 punts for 1,124 yards over 141 career regular-season games.
The Roughriders took advantage of ball-carrying skills that had been developed in the United States.
Kosid’s parents, Joe and Audrey, both graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. In fact, Joe played football for the U of S in 1940.
The family, which was based in Brandon when Bob was born, later moved to Minneapolis and Glenview, Ill. He spent much of his childhood in the United States but was classified as a Canadian for CFL purposes.
As a high school player in the Chicago area, Kosid made an All-State team that also included future Bears linebacking legend Dick Butkus.
Kosid met another future Pro Football Hall of Famer — former Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Colts Head Coach Don Shula — during the recruiting process.
Representatives of more than 100 American universities contacted Kosid, who eventually opted for the University of Kentucky. Shula, one of Kentucky’s assistant coaches at the time, visited the Kosid residence on a recruiting mission.
Kosid’s time at Kentucky was highlighted by a senior season in which he led the team in interceptions and averaged five yards per carry.
“It was like coming into heaven,’’ Kosid recalled of his time with the Wildcats. “I really thought, ‘Oh, man, this is the way it was supposed to be in the first place.’ I took it for what it was. It was a gift I’d been given.
“Everybody who was current at that particular time was aware of Kentucky. It got headlines in Sports Illustrated. You were supposed to live up to a tradition, so I lived up to it.”
Kosid also lived up to expectations — and then some — in Saskatchewan while becoming one of the finest defensive backs in team history.
After retiring as a player, Kosid remained involved with football in 1973 as a commentator on Roughriders radio broadcasts. He was also employed by IBM, which transferred him to Hamilton in 1974.
He later worked for the Panasonic and Sharp electronics companies before moving into office management. Another one of his passions was singing in a church choir.
A celebration of his life was held on Saturday in Hamilton. (A full obituary appears HERE.)
“He was certainly well-loved,” said Wendy Kosid, to whom Bob had been married since 1977.