'We had a damn good football team:' 2 Roughriders legends welcomed to Plaza of Honour - Action News
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Saskatchewan

'We had a damn good football team:' 2 Roughriders legends welcomed to Plaza of Honour

Former Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Roy Shivers and two-time Grey Cup-winning quarterback Darian Durant are the 2024 inductees to the SaskTel Plaza of Honour.

Roy Shivers and Darian Durant to be honoured at Saturday's Riders game

Two men are sitting at a black table. The man on the right is Black and wearing a black button up shit. The man on the left is Black and wearing a grey hoody, he is an older man. They are in front of a green background that has the Saskatchewan Roughriders logo.
Former Sasaktchewan Roughriders general manager Roy Shivers, left, and former quarterback Darian Durant, right, speak at a news conference in Regina on Thursday, ahead of a Saturday ceremony to induct them into the SaskTel Plaza of Honour. In 2006, Shivers made the trade that brought Durant to Saskatchewan. (Adam Bent/CBC)

The two Saskatchewan football legends being inducted into the Roughriders' Plaza of Honourhave a special connection.

Darian Durant and the former general manager who brought him to Saskatchewan,Roy Shivers, were back in Regina on Thursday, ahead of a Saturdayceremony for this year'sSaskTel Plaza of Honour inductees.

When Shivers was hired in 1995 by the Birmingham Barracudas a now defunct team that was part of the CFLthat yearhe madehistory by becoming the first-ever Black general manager in the football league.

Shivers joined theRoughriders in 1999, and when he hiredDanny Barrett, they became thefirst Black general manager and head coach tandem in professional football history, the club says.

"The only thing I knew about Saskatchewan is what I used to get from [former Riders head coach] Don Matthews, and it was like purgatory for him, you know what I mean?" Shivers said at a newsconference on Thursday.

An elderly Black man wearing a grey hoody sits behind a microphone in front of a green screen with the Saskatchewan Roughrider logo on it.
When Shivers hired Danny Barrett in 1999, they became the first Black general manager/head coach tandem in professional football history, according to the Roughriders. (Adam Bent/CBC)

"Every time he cut somebody,he threatened to send them to Saskatchewan, you know, and I never could figure it out," said Shivers.

"Then I thought about it, and ain't this just like Green Bay? The town centres around the football team. Green Bay is the same way, you know."

Shivers served as Saskatchewan'sgeneral manager until 2006, during which time hesigned or recruited 11 future SaskTel Plaza of Honour inductees and 16 players who earned CFL all-star honours while in Saskatchewan.

"We had a damn good football team," said Shivers.

'He put everything in place'

Durantholds a special place in the heart of Rider Nation. He spent 10 years with the club,becomingthe team's full-time starting quarterback in 2009.

Durant is also well known by Riders fans for being a part of the historic 2007 and 2013 Grey Cup championship teams.

He began his career with the club in 2006 a trade that wasorchestrated by Shivers.

Sitting beside the man who brought him to Saskatchewan at Thursday's news conference, Durant reflected on being inducted into the plaza with his long-standing general manager.

A Black man wearing a black button up shirt and sitting in front a microphone in front of a green background with the Saskatchewan Roughrider's logo.
Shivers 'put everything in place,' says Durant, who was part of the historic 2007 and 2013 Grey Cup championship teams. (Adam Bent / CBC )

"Roy bringing me here, it's just a crazy moment," said Durant.

"I think back to, you know, our first year and our first team meeting and just being around him. He put everything in place," he said.

"He did an amazing job, amazing teammates we had that year."

Feeling it more the 2nd time

Durant was previously inducted into the Plaza of Honour last year, along with the full 2013 Grey Cup team.

As an individual inductee this year, Durant says he can appreciate the era of football he was a part of even more.

"It's the ultimate individual award for being a Saskatchewan Roughrider, and I'm just happy that, you know, I'm able to go."

The two will be honoured in a special ceremonyduring halftime at Saturday's home game against the B.C. Lions. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. CST.


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For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.