Dave Ritchie, who led the B.C. Lions to victory in the '94 Grey Cup against the Baltimore Stallions, passed away on Saturday at the age of 85.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, another team coached by Ritchie, confirmed his death. CFL The cause of his death has not been revealed yet.
As a head coach for Winnipeg from 1999 to 2004, Ritchie achieved a regular-season record of 52-41-1, making him fourth in club history in terms of wins.
During his time as B.C.'s head coach, Ritchie's team brought Canada together by winning the 82nd Grey Cup against Baltimore with a game-ending 38-yard field goal by Lui Passaglia, marking the first championship between the two countries.
Upon being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Ritchie expressed how special the game was and how it brought the team together as Canadians for a week.
Of his 22 CFL seasons, Ritchie spent 11 as a head coach with B.C. (1993-95), Montreal (1997-98), and Winnipeg, winning a total of 108 out of 187 career regular-season games.
Ritchie also won Grey Cup rings as an assistant with Winnipeg in 1990 and B.C. in 2006.
Ritchie first joined the Bombers in 1990 as a defensive line and special-teams coach, returned in 1999 as head coach, and turned around the team's 3-15 record from 1998.
Under Ritchie's leadership, Winnipeg improved to 6-12 in the first season, 7-10-1 in 2000, and had a remarkable 14-4 regular-season record in 2001, advancing to the Grey Cup before losing to the Calgary Stampeders.
Ritchie was honored as the CFL's coach of the year in 2001.
Winnipeg's president/CEO Wade Miller described Ritchie as a respected leader during his coaching career in the CFL, NCAA, and Europe, emphasizing his passion for his players and teams.
The Winnipeg Football Club expressed its deepest sympathies to Ritchie's family and friends.
Ritchie, though sometimes gruff, also showed a soft side, especially towards his players, and had a dry but infectious sense of humor, often sharing entertaining stories from his football career.
In more relaxed settings, Ritchie would delight reporters with amusing stories from his extensive football career.
Ritchie was inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame in 2014 and later into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, marking the pinnacle of his coaching career in Canada.
Ritchie considered his induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as very significant, expressing his belief in the CFL as the top league and the success of the athletes he coached.
“How can you fail when you have excellent young people around you? I may have been a bit unconventional at times but I did have some excellent players, I also had many excellent coaches.”
