Milt Stegall’s name is written all over the Canadian Football League’s record book, but there’s one record he knows he’ll never hold.
After lining up at his familiar receiver position for the first day of Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp on Wednesday, the 54-year-old admitted he has no interest in trying to become the oldest active player in CFL history.
“No, I couldn’t play in a game, no, I’m honest with myself,” Stegall said after taking a few reps at Princess Auto Stadium.
“I’m not that much of an egomaniac where I think I can play in a game, that would never happen.”
He may never surpass former teammate Bob Cameron, a punter who played until the ripe age of 48, but Stegall’s place in history is secure. He holds virtually every Bombers receiving record and is the CFL’s all-time leader in career touchdowns, with 147.
Yet despite all his accomplishments, Stegall said he was anxious about returning to the field, 16 years after he retired.
“I woke up at, like, three o’clock because I was nervous. I’ve never been this nervous before a training camp in my life,” he said.
“Once I got out here, started moving around a little bit, you know, I got the butterflies out and it was a great time, it was an awesome time.”
Always known for being in impeccable shape, Stegall said he enjoyed competing with players much less than half his age during conditioning drills Wednesday.
He also said he enjoyed getting to “run around a little bit” for some plays, even though his body occasionally reminded him of his age.
“I can run forever, I can still do that, but the stopping-and-going stuff, that’s what made me retire,” he said.
Stegall said he didn’t want his post-retirement passion project to distract from the real purpose of rookie camp, so he had no problem with playing a limited role on Wednesday.
“I knew it would be no more than maybe five or six reps. I knew that because they have to evaluate these guys, they only have so much time.”
But even if he didn’t catch a pass — “I didn’t drop it, it was a bad throw,” he joked — Stegall was grateful for the reception he got from the Bombers organization and from the fans who showed up to cheer him on.
“They treat me so well when I come back,” said Stegall, who lives in Georgia but continues to be involved in the CFL as a TSN analyst.
“Once I cross that border and go back to Atlanta, no one’s screaming for Milt Stegall No. 85, so I gotta eat it up as much as I can.”
The veteran of 14 seasons in Blue and Gold also had plenty of fans on the field on Wednesday. One was former University of Manitoba Bisons receiver A.K. Gassama, who was chosen by his hometown team in the sixth round of the CFL draft last month.
“He’s in great shape. It’s pretty phenomenal to see what he’s doing,” said Gassama, who remembers as a child watching Stegall perform his heroics at Canad Inns Stadium.
Stegall said he also has fond recollections from his old Polo Park stomping grounds, especially when he broke the CFL touchdown record, a memory he said will be stuck in his head until the day he dies.
“That’s where I made my name, that’s where I built my brand, so that means everything to me,” he said.
“That’s where Milt Stegall Drive is, so that’s the best part of Winnipeg there is.”
