It was a focal point of Lyle Bauer’s office at old Winnipeg/Canad Inns Stadium, a photo framed and prominently featured on the wall of the then President and CEO of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
And the snapshot from his days as a hall of fame offensive lineman perfectly encapsulated the man as a player, an executive and as a person. The photo features Bauer, who passed away suddenly at age 65 on April 26th as the result of an infection, looking downfield while his enormous right hand is jammed under the jaw of an unsuspecting defensive lineman with the Toronto Argonauts.
—
Today, the Winnipeg Football Club mourns the loss of former Blue Bombers President & CEO Lyle Bauer, who passed away at 65. pic.twitter.com/FnkirTFQVm
— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) May 1, 2024
—
Quite frankly, it has ‘unnecessary roughness penalty’ written all over it, yet as wily as Bauer was as the club’s dominant centre back in those days, he also undoubtedly delivered the shot after checking to see if the referee had his eyes fixed elsewhere.
“Oh, you’re talking about the ol’ head-jack photo,” said fellow offensive lineman and teammate David Black, a hall of famer himself during his career (1985-95), when reached by bluebombers.com. “Lyle was the king of the head jacks.
“That was him. Tough, and precise. We had a nasty offensive line, but it was a brotherhood and one of the reasons we did so well back then was we had each other’s backs. Lyle always had everybody’s back because he was a phenomenal teammate.
“He was just one of those guys you wanted to be around because he wanted to win and really understood the whole concept of team and what it meant to keep everybody together. He was a very intellectual guy, someone who always thought about what he said – he didn’t just talk off the cuff. It was premeditated and there was always a point to it.
“I’m going to remember his laugh and his grin,” added Black, now a Business Development Manager at Colour Compass/Wesco. “We had so many laughs together because of our camaraderie. Every time we got together it was about the stories and the laughter. Then when we worked together on the Never Alone Foundation it was always about his drive and his desire to make a difference.
“He was a difference maker. That was Lyle – a difference maker.”
The Blue Bombers issued a statement Tuesday https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/05/01/blue-bombers-mourn-the-passing-of-lyle-bauer/ which included the thoughts of current club President & CEO Wade Miller
“Lyle Bauer played a significant role for the Blue Bombers during his time with the Club as a player, assistant general manager, and team president. He helped guide the team through some difficult challenges at the turn of the millennium and was a key component in the franchise’s rebirth in the early 2000s. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family, his friends across the Canadian Football League and those he helped through the Never Alone Foundation.”
Born in Saskatoon, Bauer played his college football at Weber State and was a fifth-round draft pick of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1979. It wasn’t until 1982 with the Blue Bombers that he found a football home and over the course of the next decade he transformed into an all-star centre and hall of fame player. He was a three-time Grey Cup champion and inducted into the WFC Hall of Fame in 1998.
His contributions to the club off the field, it should be noted, were even more important. He retired after the ’91 season and immediately transitioned to management, serving as Cal Murphy’s assistant GM. That role became vastly more important when Murphy missed the entire ’92 season while waiting for and then undergoing a heart transplant. Bauer stood out among many that season, helping guide the club to a berth in the Grey Cup that fall.
Bauer left after the 1994 season to take a job in the grain industry in Calgary but returned in 2000 at a time when the franchise needed him the most. Mired in a $5.3 million debt after losing $1.5 million in 1999, Bauer was front and centre as the club manoeuvred through some dark and stormy waters back to sound financial footing.
“People told me I was absolutely nuts to do this,” Bauer said in a Winnipeg Free Press interview I did with him in 2000. “Other people told me if I pulled this off, I’d be able to write my own ticket. Well, you know what? I’m not interested in writing my own ticket. I just felt like there was unfinished business here. I have a vision of what this franchise could be, how it could run, how it could operate. I did believe then and I still believe now I can make a difference, regardless of the odds.
“There’s also a great sense of loyalty. I felt it to the organization, to the city and to fans that were extremely good to me and my family. There’s a bond that just goes extremely deep.”
The Blue Bombers not only worked out of the massive debt load but appeared in the 2001 and 2007 Grey Cups under Bauer’s leadership. He left the club after the 2009 season, taking on a similar role with the Calgary Stampeders in 2010 in a position he held through 2013.
What should not be overlooked was the work did Bauer did beyond his role as the Blue Bombers president in the community. In 2004 he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and it was through that experience that the Never Alone Foundation was born to provide ‘emotional, financial and informational support to patients, families and caregivers affected by cancer.’
“This news has really caught me off guard,” said teammate and hall of fame tackle Chris Walby in an interview Wednesday. “I know he was going to be coming back to town and I was looking forward to giving him a big hug and sharing some stories.
“I was his roommate back when we were playing. He was one of those guys, and I say it with no hesitation, he was like a brother for life to me. I had sisters growing up, but he was a brother to me. If ever I had an issue, I’d call him. Except when he was assistant GM and I called him to get a raise. I called him and said, ‘Lyle… we were best roomies together. I need a raise.’ He asked me what I wanted, and I said a lawnmower. He hung up the phone on me. He was tough as nails when he went on the other side.
“My one word for him,” Walby added, “was ‘Warrior’ – not only for the way he fought on the field, but the way he fought that disease. He came back and made time for so many. I watched him light people’s lives up by creating that foundation – ‘Never Alone’ – the name says it right there. He was tough as nails, take no prisoners. And that was his life, too.”
Support poured in from the CFL community as news became public of his passing. Among the messages:
–https://x.com/MiltStegallTSN/status/1785714483974832452
–https://x.com/RandyAmbrosie/status/1785713631595815030
–https://x.com/BobIrvingCJOB/status/1785698249753362534
The Never Alone Foundation released a statement on Wednesday,
https://nacf.ca/remembering-lyle-bauer-59/ which was written by his daughter Dani and honoured the organization’s founder and the man himself.
“With heavy hearts, we had to say see you later to an incredible human. Lyle Bauer rode off into his final sunset surrounded by his family, we know he was revving the engine of his Harley-Davidson as he hit the road.
To us, Lyle, though physically gone will continue to be our centre. Throughout his life, he brought joy, comfort, and a drive to make change in his community. After his journey with cancer in 2004, he created Never Alone Cancer Foundation, which supports other individuals’ journeys with cancer. He was also a hell of a fisherman and taught a lot of us to fish.”
The statement concludes by asking for the consideration of donations to the Never Alone Cancer foundation. Details on his celebration of life will take place at a later date.