Canmore Wolverines football team wore Fabi’s No. 73 on the backs of their helmets during their game against the Drumheller Titans on Saturday (Sept. 19).

CANMORE — Canmore Wolverines head coach Randy Fabi will be among former Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Manitoba this week as the club honours its 1988 and 1990 Grey Cup championship teams for its 2026 Hall of Fame induction.

Fabi, a slotback, was part of the 1988 Bombers team that finished the regular season 9-9 before defeating the B.C. Lions 22-21 in the 76th Grey Cup, becoming the first .500 team in CFL history to win the championship.

More than three decades later, Fabi’s current players are making sure his championship pedigree isn’t going unnoticed in Canmore.

Canmore Wolverines players wore Fabi’s No. 73 on the backs of their helmets during their game against the Drumheller Titans on Saturday (Sept. 19), ahead of the Hall of Fame celebration.

“I got a little emotional,” said Fabi. “They handed it out at practice the other day and I was surprised. It was very, very kind. I really like these boys.”

Fabi says he hadn’t told his players about the upcoming Hall of Fame recognition.

He had only informed the Wolverines coaching staff he would be away for a few days, and believes his fellow coaches came up with the idea to honour him.

“I don’t tell my boys anything about my career,” he said.

When asked what it was like seeing his old number on the helmets of the players he now coaches, Fabi was emotional and paused to gather his thoughts.

“You spend so much time with these kids over the years and it’s just fantastic,” he said.

Fabi, who grew up in southern Ontario, outside of Toronto, says he had never been to Winnipeg. While he was initially hesitant about being drafted and leaving for the province, he says it couldn’t have been to a better place and described it as a life-changing period.

“Fantastic place to play football. Great fans, great city. It was just fantastic,” said Fabi. “It changed my life.”

The 1988 championship was Winnipeg’s ninth Grey Cup title and ended a 24-year championship drought for the franchise.

Fabi, however, was quick to downplay his individual role on the team.

“I certainly was never a star,” he said. “I was just part of a good team and I have a lot of good memories and a lot of good friends.”

The upcoming celebration will also serve as a reunion for teammates Fabi hasn’t seen in decades.

“We had fantastic players, great chemistry, but we were also fortunate to win,” he said.

Fabi recalled the 1988 Grey Cup as a chaotic game that came down to the final moments against B.C.

“That game was pretty crazy,” he said. “We beat the B.C. Lions by a point pretty well in the last minute of the game. It was crazy. The weather was bad. The game was crazy.”

The former Bomber said his connection to Winnipeg has continued long after his playing career ended.

He added that the championship has allowed him to remain connected with the organization and its alumni for decades.

“It’s just been a blessing to be able to participate with alumni in Grey Cup activities and Blue Bomber activities, all because of that one game,” Fabi said.

Canmore vs. Drumheller

The tribute and affection for Fabi also reflects his continuous efforts to build what he calls a “new culture for football” in the Bow Valley.

Playing in their season home opener, the Wolverines took on the Titans on Saturday, falling 36-6.

“The game, I was hoping we’d do a little better today, but this is our first real game and it showed,” said Fabi. “We made a lot of mistakes. We did better in the second half. We started to play like a team, but [those are] things that we can correct.

“Drumheller is always a good team.”

Fabi said many players are unable to practice throughout the summer because of work, family vacations or other commitments. Saturday marked the first game for several Wolverines who had never played football before.

“This is pretty well the first week we’ve had all our players together to play,” said Fabi.

Fabi says players in the Bow Valley have traditionally joined football for the first time in Grade 11 or 12. The Wolverines are working to bring players into the program earlier, particularly in Grades 9 and 10, so football becomes part of their high school experience.

The program is also working to attract more players, improve equipment and add coaches, while seeking funding for a new locker room. Fabi said the current space is inadequate for roughly 50 players.

“You have to prepare for each week, for each game, but then you have to have a strategic long-term plan to bring more kids in,” he said.

With many players joining the program with little or no experience, Fabi says coaches have to spend considerable time teaching the rules and fundamentals of what can be a complicated game.

But the Wolverines’ goal extends beyond what happens on the field.

“Our goal is to create better adults,” said Fabi. “We just want them to have fun, so they keep coming out, they keep learning.”