Joseph Bernard Ryan (11 April 1902 — 2 June 1979) was a Canadian football manager of the Winnipeg Winnipegs and Montreal Alouettes between the 1930s to 1940s. During his manager tenures, Ryan won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

with Winnipeg in 1935, 1939 and 1941. He also won the Grey Cup with the Alouettes in 1949. With the Canadian Football League, Ryan worked as the general manager of the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

from 1960 to 1965. Ryan was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

in 1968, the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1975 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.

Early life and education

Ryan was born on 11 April 1902 in Starbuck, Manitoba. He attended a law program at the University of Manitoba before dropping out after the first year.

Career

Ryan began his career at a lumber company in Chicago during the start of the 1920s. After moving to Winnipeg, he worked for

Manitoba Pool Elevators Manitoba Pool Elevators was a grain trade company founded in 1924. It became a subsidiary of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool until November 1932, when the Pool declared bankruptcy. In 1998 Alberta Wheat Pool and Manitoba Pool Elevators merged to fo ...

from 1928 to 1930. Ryan shifted to rugby football in 1931 when he became manager of the Winnipeg Winnipegs. While with Winnipeg, the 'Pegs won the

1935 Grey Cup The 23rd Grey Cup was played on December 7, 1935, at Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds, with 6,405 fans in attendance. It marked the first time that a team from west of Ontario won the Grey Cup. The Winnipeg 'Pegs defeated the Hami ...

as manager. When the 'Pegs were renamed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ryan won additional Grey Cups in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

and

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

. Ryan went on to co-form the Montreal Hornets and the Montreal Alouettes in the mid 1940s. With the Alouettes, Ryan was a manager and a secretary until 1949. He also won the

1949 Grey Cup The 37th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 1949, before 20,087 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto. Montreal Alouettes defeated Calgary Stampeders 28–15. Though teams from Montreal had won two Grey Cups, this was the first appearance and vict ...

as the manager for the Alouettes. After a break from football, Ryan joined the Canadian Football League in 1960 to become the general manager of the

. With the Eskimos, Ryan served as general manager from 1960 to 1965 and executive assistant in 1966. He ended his football career in 1967 and moved to Victoria, British Columbia. Outside of football, Ryan became a sportswriter for the

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

in 1938 and worked at an

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

tax office in 1942.

Awards and honours

Ryan was inducted into the

in 1968. In 1975, he was inducted into the

. After his death, Ryan was posthumously named to the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. A few years later, he became a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hall of Fame in 1984.

Death

On 2 June 1979, Ryan died from cancer in Victoria, British Columbia.

Personal life

Ryan was married and had four children. One of his children Tim, is a renowned sportscaster for NBC, CBS, Fox and the New York Islanders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Joe 1902 births 1979 deaths Winnipeg Blue Bombers personnel Montreal Alouettes personnel Edmonton Elks general managers Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Deaths from cancer in British Columbia