Robservations … Roughriders fan makes another “Rhode” trip … 10 memorable regular-season finales … remembering Bunnye McQuarters

Tony Diponte’s photographic memory is demonstrated by precise recollections of photographs he used to take with a Polaroid camera. 

It was a marvel at the time — a device that could print up a photo within a minute or two of it being taken. 

Such a device, once revolutionary, is now a relic. It seems like everyone carries a mobile phone that has a camera function. 

In fact, I used my own iPhone on Friday to take a photo of Tony as he stood proudly on the concourse at Mosaic Stadium, wearing a Saskatchewan Roughriders sweatshirt and extremely green shoes. 

Tony is making what has become an annual visit to the epicentre of Riderville. He has travelled all the way from Coventry, Rhode Island, to attend Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Toronto Argonauts (2 p.m., Mosaic Stadium). 

It doesn’t matter to Tony that he won’t be able to see the action on the field with the same clarity that makes his memory bank such a marvel. 

Born 57 years ago with retinitis pigmentosa — a degenerative eye disease — Tony has lost most of his vision. 

But he still wants to be here to experience a Roughriders game, to feel it, and to soak it all in. 

He wants to visit dear friends such as Monica Richards in addition to affably renewing acquaintances with pretty much everyone in the Roughriders’ ticket office. 

He has known Carol Hoeving, our Ticket Control Officer, since first visiting Regina in 1990. 

Twenty years ago, Tony was introduced to a newcomer to the organization named Jenn Senger, who is now our Director, Ticket Operations and Sales. 

For several weeks now, Jenn has been cheerfully reminding me that “Tony is coming … Tony is coming.” 

Now I know why.  

What a wonderful guy. 

Tony became aware of the Roughriders in October of 1987, back in the days when a CFL game of the week was televised in the United States. 

He saw a Roughriders game, liked the logo, and loved the shade of green. 

His interest in Canadian professional football quickly grew, to the point where he flew to Toronto to attend a game between the Roughriders and Argonauts in 1989. 

On Sept. 9 of that year, Kent Austin threw two touchdown passes in the final three minutes as Saskatchewan posted a 29-24, come-from-behind victory. 

The following year, Tony visited Regina for what would be the first of 27 times … and counting. 

On Oct. 14, 1990, he was in the stands at Taylor Field when the Roughriders outlasted Edmonton. The score, once again, was 29-24. 

He recalls that detail, of course, but the photographic memory is especially jaw-dropping when he points out that his first meal in Regina was consumed at Mr. Sub on Oct. 11, 1990. The cost: $5.58. 

How does he remember such minute details from 33 years ago? 

“When you’re writing a story, you look at your notes,” Tony says before pointing to his head. “My notes are right here.” 

His first meal in Regina, for the record, was “Italian assorted.” 

He also met assorted Roughriders players and, as you might expect by now, took several Polaroid pictures during that 1990 trip. 

He beams as he talks about attending practice and interacting with “Dave Ridgway, Number 36 … Lucius Floyd, Number 31 … Ray Elgaard, Number 81 … Albert Brown, Number 4 …” 

There was also the introduction to “Tony Rice, Number 8,” who joined the Roughriders in 1990 — two years after quarterbacking the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to a national title. 

The two Tonys shared a laugh when Rice was jokingly reminded of the time when the Miami Hurricanes converted a third-and-44 situation en route to defeating Notre Dame 27-10 on Nov. 25, 1989.  

One day after that NCAA game, Ridgway kicked a last-second, 35-yard field goal to give Saskatchewan a 43-40 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre), where Tony had seen the Roughriders play for the first time just 78 days earlier. 

Not long after setting foot in Saskatchewan for the first time, Tony sent Ridgway a thank-you letter. “Robokicker” responded by mailing Tony an autographed poster of “The Kick.” 

The inscription: “To my loyal American friend, Tony … Dave Ridgway 36.” 

Tony has become a loyal American fan — someone who has seen the Roughriders play in every current CFL stadium except Winnipeg’s IG Field. 

Back in the United States, Tony is routinely resplendent in Roughriders green. His wardrobe choices have proven to be a conversation-starter. 

“Last week in Connecticut, someone saw me and said, ‘Saskatchewan Roughriders?’ ” Tony says with a smile, “I said, ‘Let me tell you a story …” 

10 MEMORABLE SEASON FINALES 

The time has come, once again, for a grizzled gargoyle of a historian to chip the barnacles off the gnarled fingers and type in results from decades-old Roughriders games. 

As Saturday’s game looms, we present this highly subjective list of the Roughriders’ 10 most memorable regular-season finales … 

•  Nov. 7, 1976: Ron Lancaster rallied the Roughriders from deficits of 24-0 and 27-8 and ultimately engineered a 33-31 victory over the Calgary Stampeders — a conquest that gave Saskatchewan first place in the Western Conference. On the final play from scrimmage, Lancaster found Rhett Dawson for a three-yard, game-winning TD pass at McMahon Stadium.
•  Oct. 29, 1978: In Lancaster’s final game as a player, he rallied the Roughriders after coming off the bench in the fourth quarter. With Edmonton leading 26-20, Lancaster connected with Joey Walters for a touchdown pass. Bob Macoritti’s convert proved to be the winning point. For good measure, No. 23 scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter. Lancaster received repeated standing ovations from the home crowd at Commonwealth Stadium. It was a suitably storybook conclusion to an illustrious career. (Creaky historian moment: I was at that game … nearly 45 years ago.)
•  Oct. 30, 2004: No, the Roughriders did not win, but what a classic exhibition of three-down football at its finest. Needing a victory to secure a home playoff game for the first time since 1988, the visiting Roughriders assumed a 38-34 lead with 1:27 remaining in the fourth quarter when Paul McCallum converted a 50-yard touchdown pass from Henry Burris to Matt Dominguez. The Lions proceeded to travel 86 yards on nine plays, the last of which was a game-winning, 13-yard TD toss from Spurgeon Wynn to Geroy Simon as time expired. Lions 40, Roughriders 38.
•  Oct. 31, 1981: The game was the furthest thing from a classic, but anyone who watched/endured the soggy spectacle will not forget the images of a water-soaked field at Vancouver’s Empire Stadium. In those monsoon-like conditions, the Roughriders and Lions squared off with third place in the West (and a playoff berth) at stake. The Lions won, 13-5. Saskatchewan missed the playoffs despite posting a 9-7 record. In the East, the Ottawa Rough Riders (5-11) and Montreal Alouettes (3-13) made the playoffs, even though their collective victory total was exceeded by Saskatchewan. This one still hurts. Can we just move on, please?
•  Nov. 7, 2009: 33 years to the day after the Roughriders defeated Calgary to finish first in the West, the Roughriders defeated Calgary to finish first in the West — for the first time since 1976. Half of Darian Durant’s 24 completions went to Andy Fantuz, who registered 123 receiving yards, as the Roughriders won 30-14 at historic Mosaic Stadium.
•  Nov. 2, 2019: Saskatchewan clinched the West  Division pennant for the first time in a decade by defeating Edmonton 23-13 at Mosaic Stadium. Isaac Harker, starting at quarterback for an injured Cody Fajardo, threw a 29-yard pass to fellow rookie Justin McInnis to set up a go-ahead, 11-yard field goal by Brett Lauther with 1:30 left. Cameron Judge added a game-clinching, 29-yard interception-return TD just 17 seconds later.
•  Nov. 2, 1969: With 25 seconds left, Jack Abendschan kicked a 20-yard field goal to give Saskatchewan a 27-25 victory over Edmonton, which was eliminated from playoff contention as a consequence of the defeat. Edmonton had gone ahead with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter, when Corey Colehour threw a 38-yard TD pass to Terry Swarn at Clarke Stadium.
•  Oct. 25, 1966: Abendschan’s 14-yard field goal with 24 seconds left at McMahon Stadium gave Saskatchewan a 28-26 victory. Abendschan was the hero despite battling a severe case of the flu. On the climactic drive, Lancaster moved the offence from the Roughriders’ 27-yard line to deep in Calgary territory. Abendschan took it from there. Earlier, Lancaster had found Hugh Campbell for his 17th touchdown reception — a catch that set an enduring Roughriders single-season record.
•  Oct. 30, 2008: Neal Hughes ran for a two-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Roughriders to a 45-38 victory in Toronto. The Argonauts led 24-17 before being outscored 28-14 in the fourth quarter. Over the final 15 minutes, Saskatchewan got two TD runs from Hughes and single majors along the ground from Stu Foord and quarterback Michael Bishop. Early in the third quarter, Bishop had thrown his fourth interception of the game, but he ended up leading the Roughriders to a comeback win. Toronto got a career-high five TD passes from Kerry Joseph, who had enjoyed a championship-winning season with Saskatchewan in 2007. 
•  Oct. 26, 1959: A la Joseph, Ferd Burket put five touchdowns on the board. Burket rushed for four scores and caught a scoring pass to set the Roughriders’ record for touchdowns in a game by one player. Burket helped the Roughriders win 37-30, but the game nonetheless went in the books as a Winnipeg Blue Bombers victory. Saskatchewan forfeited the game because it had used its Head Coach, Frank Tripucka, as a quarterback. Tripucka was deemed to be ineligible because he had been activated after the Oct. 1 import deadline. He was allowed to play because the game, held at Winnipeg Stadium, did not have a bearing on the standings.

“A WARM AND CARING PERSON” 

Bunnye McQuarters, the beloved wife of Roughriders legend Ed McQuarters, passed away on Sept. 29 in Regina. She was 78. 

“Bunnye was outgoing and fun to be around — a warm and caring person,” says Jim Hopson, a former teammate of Ed McQuarters and a fellow member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. 

“She was very proud of Ed and her boys.” 

Bunnye’s sons, Ed Jr. and Mike, emulated their father by being talented athletes. 

Mike was a slam-dunking star with the Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League’s Campbell Tartans in the early 1980s. 

Ed Jr., a standout lineman with Campbell, played at Minot State University before being selected by Saskatchewan in the fourth round (29th overall) of the 1984 CFL Draft. 

He attended training camp with the Roughriders in 1985 and was on the team’s practice roster in 1987. 

As well, the junior McQuarters played in six games with the Blue Bombers over the 1987 and 1988 seasons. 

It was against Winnipeg that Ed Sr. made his signature play with Saskatchewan, on Nov. 16, 1966. 

With four minutes left in Game 2 of the best-of-three West final, McQuarters scooped up a Ken Ploen fumble and sped 50 yards for a major. Abendschan’s convert gave the Roughriders a 21-12 lead with 3:59 remaining. 

Saskatchewan held on to win 21-19, thereby sweeping the best-of-three series, and 10 days later won the first Grey Cup in franchise history. 

The arrival of McQuarters, who joined the Roughriders in mid-September of 1966, has often been cited as the difference-maker in that landmark championship season. 

The following year, McQuarters was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman. 

Around that time, the McQuarters family settled in Regina and became year-round residents. Born in Los Angeles, Bunnye immersed herself in the community and was a popular presence wherever she went. 

I met her only once. 

As a youngster, I was invited to a birthday party at the McQuarters residence. 

I remember eating (far too much) cake at the McQuarters’ kitchen table, chuckling at Ed Jr.’s rendition of what was then a popular TV commercial jingle, and feeling very welcomed. 

I was five, maybe six, at the time. Even at that young age, I realized how fortunate I was to visit the home of a CFL superstar. 

I was luckier still to meet Bunnye McQuarters. 

ROLL CREDITS … 

•  Nice people who deserve a plug: Ed McQuarters Sr., Jim Hopson, Keith Pratt, Tony Diponte, Monica Richards, Bruno Labelle, Trevor Harris, Kalie Harris, T.J. Harris, Trace Harris, Tripp Harris, Anthony Vitale, Mitch Picton, Adam Korsak, Mason Fine, Jake Dolegala, Carson Haynes, Marc Mueller, Darrell Ruchotzke, Dale Richter, Jeff Fairholm, Dr. Tom Robinson, Tracy Ford, Bruce Vance, Greg Stirr and Keith Hershmiller.