Bud Grant, a legendary head coach in both the Canadian Football League and the National Football League, passed away today at the age of 95. No cause of death has been released.
A native of Superior, Wisconsin, Grant was an athletic standout at the University of Minnesota in baseball, football and basketball. While Grant is synonymous with football, he briefly played in the NBA for two seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers earning a championship in 1950.
Upon earning the NBA championship ring, Grant switched to football playing one season as a defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles before going north to Canada to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for four seasons. Then in 1957, at the age of 30, the Blue Bombers named Grant their head coach.
Grant's hiring was initially met with skepticism, but he would quickly answer critics by leading the Blue Bombers to four Grey Cup titles in five years and six appearances overall with his disciplined, yet stoic approach. After a decade at the helm of the Blue Bombers, Grant would return to Minneapolis to become the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings and would lead the team to four Super Bowl appearances though Grant would be unable to hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
In 1983, Grant was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame and 11 years later was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame becoming the first person inducted into both Hall of Fames. This achievement has since been matched by Marv Levy and Warren Moon.
I leave you with Grant being inducted into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Ring of Honour in 2016. R.I.P.
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