![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Stegall-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere\u2019s something endearing about Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers and the Canadian Football League that the all-time touchdown leader in the three-down game hails from Cincinnati, played his college football at the University of Miami (Ohio) and had no clue about the Manitoba capital upon his first trip here.<\/p>\n
And now Milt Stegall is not only a legend in these parts, but one of the most beloved athletes in the Keystone Province\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
This town and the Blue Bombers have been a landing spot for American athletes for decades and Stegall is one of a long line of players who ventured north to find fame in the CFL.<\/p>\n
He found fame, all right, and then some as the CFL\u2019s reigning all-time touchdown leader with 147 scores.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when Paul Jones (then the Bombers director of player personnel) first called me after I got cut from Green Bay about coming to the CFL (in 1995),\u201d began Stegall in a chat with bluebombers.com upon his induction into the team\u2019s Ring of Honour in 2016. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to think. He said Winnipeg has my rights. I didn\u2019t even know what that meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had heard of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver but when he said Winnipeg I said, \u2018Who?\u2019 The internet wasn\u2019t available back then so I\u2019m looking in the encyclopedia and there\u2019s Winnipeg above North Dakota. I was 25 at the time and with no responsibilities so I thought I\u2019d give it a shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy plan was to get back to the NFL after a couple of years. But things happen for a reason and I\u2019m happy they happened the way they did.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his days as a Blue Bomber from 1995-2008 Stegall established himself as a consistent deep threat, a leader in the locker room and a popular presence in the community. He remains the CFL\u2019s all-time TD leader and also holds the league record for touchdowns in a single season with 23. His name is all over the Blue Bombers record book, with many of his marks \u2013 the 147 touchdowns and 15,153 receiving yards \u2013 seemingly untouchable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played football from the time I was four and from the time I was four until high school, I loved football,\u201d he said. \u201cCollege football? I didn\u2019t enjoy it. And the NFL? That was a job. But once I started playing in the CFL I felt like I was a little kid again or back in high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed coming to practice. I enjoyed being in the locker room. I enjoyed being on the road with the guys. All of them. I loved everything about my 14 years in Winnipeg. The fans, the Labour Day Classic\u2026 all of it. And it went by like that because it was such a great time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose 14 years seem like a day because I enjoyed every single minute of it. I wouldn\u2019t change one thing about the 14 years I spent in the CFL and in Winnipeg.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stegall\u2019s legacy has seemingly only grown following his retirement. He is a champion of the city as an analyst on the CFL on TSN and remains true to the Blue Bombers. The love affair between the city and the man was certainly on display last summer, albeit under tragic circumstances.<\/p>\n
Stegall lost his oldest son Chase suddenly last June and when he returned for a TSN telecast he was saluted with a message of condolence on the jumbotron and a long, emotional and tearful standing ovation.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Milt-Stegall-Large.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat tops everything in my Winnipeg Blue Bombers career right there,\u201d he told bluebombers.com that night. \u201cWhen I broke the touchdown record, when I had that last second catch (a 100-yard TD in a game against Edmonton), anything, that tops everything and nothing comes close. I wasn\u2019t expecting the emotion. It wasn\u2019t just cheers that were coming out, it was \u2018We\u2019re with you, Milt.\u2019 That\u2019s what it felt like. \u2018Your pain is our pain\u2019 but we\u2019re all going to get through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised, but it was still unexpected. It was good. It was good. It was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stegall said returning to work has helped in his recovery and coming back to Winnipeg was like a warm embrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s therapeutic because I\u2019m around so many people who care and have love for me and it\u2019s all genuine,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not just saying it. All these fans are saying it because they mean it. They feel like I\u2019m one of their family members and I feel the same way. Even though I don\u2019t know all their names that\u2019s the feeling I get from this community \u2014 that we\u2019re all family members and they\u2019re right here with me and they understand my pain and they want to help me heal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hugs came out when I was at the airport. It was, \u2018We\u2019re sorry for you. We\u2019re here for you.\u2019 That\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n
A cool FYI about the list below \u2014 all 10 players have been inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame with seven of the 10 also in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Stegall, Charles Roberts, Leo Lewis, Gerry James, James Murphy, Ernie Pitts and Joe Poplawski.<\/p>\n
Blue Bombers Top 10 all-time touchdown leaders:<\/p>\n
(*Indicates CFL record holder)<\/p>\n
1. Milt Stegall (1995-2008) \u2014 147*<\/p>\n
2. Charles Roberts (2001-08) \u2014 79<\/p>\n
3. Leo Lewis (1955-66) \u2014 75<\/p>\n
4. Gerry James (1952-63) \u2014 63<\/p>\n
5. James Murphy (1983-90) \u2014 62<\/p>\n
6. Ernie Pitts (1957-69) \u2014 55<\/p>\n
7. Willard Reaves (1983-87) \u2014 53<\/p>\n
8. Rick House (1979-84, 1989-91) \u2014 49<\/p>\n
9. Joe Poplawski (1978-86) \u2014 48<\/p>\n
10. Jeff Boyd (1983-87) \u2014 47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s something endearing about Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers and the Canadian Football League that the all-time touchdown leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-542650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}