![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bob-Poley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Polecat and a flagpole seemed to be a natural match.<\/p>\n
But there was some reluctance.<\/p>\n
Bob Poley was approached shortly before the Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 June 24, 1990 pre-season game against Ottawa and asked to take part in a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the 1989 Grey Cup victory.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody came up to me and said, \u2018We want you and Roger Aldag to drive around Taylor Field with the Cup,\u2019 \u201d Poley recalls. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m not doing that. It\u2019s game day.\u2019 Then Rog came up to me and said, \u2018We\u2019d better do it \u2026\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
At that point, Poley\u2019s resistance began to weaken. Any hesitation disappeared when he was approached by Don McDougall \u2014 a Roughriders board member who was then in charge of game entertainment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018OK, Don, I\u2019ll do it for you,\u2019 \u201d Poley continues, laughing.<\/p>\n
Poley and Aldag \u2014 two veteran offensive linemen \u2014 had helped the John Gregory-coached Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43-40 in the 1989 Grey Cup Game.<\/p>\n
Poley, in fact, snapped the ball to Glen Suitor, who pinned the ball for Dave Ridgway on the game-winning, 35-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Such was the climactic moment of the second Grey Cup victory in Roughriders history. The previous championship-game win was in 1966.<\/p>\n
Two members of the 1966 team \u2014 fullback George Reed and Head Coach Eagle Keys \u2014 were at Taylor Field for the flag-raising on June 24, 1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pretty historic moment,\u201d Poley says. \u201cTo have Eagle, George and Coach Gregory there, it was pretty special. When they raised the flag to honour the \u201989 team, it was a pretty good deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of stars on that team, like Captain Ray (Elgaard) and Ridge and all those guys. For a couple of home-grown boys \u2014 a couple of fat offensive linemen \u2014 to do the flag-raising, that\u2019s not bad!<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in Saskatchewan and watching the Roughriders and then wearing their uniform at the end, it was pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much like the events of June 24, 1990, despite some initial hiccups.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we had to hand the Grey Cup back, the first thing I thought about was, \u2018Oh, it won\u2019t be hard. We\u2019ll just win it again and we\u2019ll do this again next year,\u2019 \u201d Poley remembers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat didn\u2019t happen for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
The championship banners of 1966 and 1989 were unaccompanied at the north end of Taylor Field until June 13, 2008, when a ceremony was held at halftime of a pre-season game against the B.C. Lions. Saskatchewan had defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19 in the 2007 Grey Cup Game.<\/p>\n
For the 2008 flag-raising, the Grey Cup was brought on to the field by two RCMP officers.<\/p>\n
Roughriders fans enjoyed two championship celebrations at the historic stadium when the Green and White next captured a Cup.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 24, 2013, Saskatchewan registered its first home-field championship-game victory, defeating Hamilton 45-23 in the 101st Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
Hamilton was also the visiting team when the 2013 Grey Cup banner was raised. At halftime of the Roughriders\u2019 regular-season opener on June 29, 2014, Saskatchewan\u2019s first four championship teams \u2014 those of 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013 \u2014 were honoured.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan\u2019s fifth Grey Cup win took place on Nov. 16, 2025, when the Montreal Alouettes fell 25-17 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
The first banner-raising at new Mosaic Stadium will take place during a pre-game ceremony on Saturday, when the Roughriders are to open their 2026 regular season against B.C.<\/p>\n