In a league built on larger-than-life imports who arrive as strangers and often leave as legends, few stories capture the heart of the Canadian Football League quite like Milt Stegall’s.
The Cincinnati native and University of Miami (Ohio) product had never even heard of Winnipeg when the Blue Bombers claimed his rights after he was cut by the Green Bay Packers in 1995. Armed with little more than curiosity and a desire to keep playing, the 25-year-old flipped through an encyclopedia, saw Winnipeg sitting just above North Dakota, and decided to give the three-down game a shot — fully expecting to use it as a two-year pit stop on the way back to the NFL.
Instead, he stayed for 14 seasons (1995–2008), rewrote the CFL record book, and became one of the most beloved figures in Manitoba sports history.
Stegall retired as the Canadian Football League’s all-time touchdown leader with 147 major scores — a mark that still stands as the undisputed record more than 17 years after his final game. He also owns the single-season record with 23 touchdowns in 2002, a number so ridiculous it remains etched at the top of the league’s charts. His 15,153 career receiving yards with Winnipeg are equally untouchable, and his name dominates the Blue Bombers’ all-time receiving and scoring lists.
What made Stegall special wasn’t just the numbers. It was the joy.
“I played football from the time I was four… College football? I didn’t enjoy it. The NFL? That was a job,” Stegall once reflected. “But once I started playing in the CFL I felt like I was a little kid again or back in high school. I enjoyed coming to practice. I enjoyed being in the locker room. I enjoyed being on the road with the guys… I loved everything about my 14 years in Winnipeg.”
That genuine love for the game, the city, and the fans radiated outward. Stegall wasn’t just a deep threat who could burn defences with his speed and hands — he was a locker-room leader, a community ambassador, and, eventually, a champion of Winnipeg even after retirement. As a longtime CFL on TSN analyst, he has remained one of the league’s most respected and visible voices.
The bond between Stegall and Bomber Nation reached its most emotional peak in the summer of 2025. After the sudden loss of his oldest son Chase, Stegall returned to Winnipeg for a TSN broadcast and was met with a heartfelt standing ovation, a touching message on the jumbotron, and an outpouring of genuine affection that moved him to tears.
“That tops everything in my Winnipeg Blue Bombers career right there,” he said that night. “When I broke the touchdown record, that last-second catch… anything. That tops everything and nothing comes close. It felt like ‘We’re with you, Milt.’ Your pain is our pain.”
It was a powerful reminder that in Winnipeg, certain players stop being imports and become family.
The Blue Bombers’ Top 10 All-Time Touchdown Leaders
All ten players on this exclusive list have been inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame, with seven also earning enshrinement in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
- Milt Stegall (1995–2008) — 147 (CFL all-time record)
- Charles Roberts (2001–08) — 79
- Leo Lewis (1955–66) — 75
- Gerry James (1952–63) — 63
- James Murphy (1983–90) — 62
- Ernie Pitts (1957–69) — 55
- Willard Reaves (1983–87) — 53
- Rick House (1979–84, 1989–91) — 49
- Joe Poplawski (1978–86) — 48
- Jeff Boyd (1983–87) — 47
From the golden-era stars of the 1950s and ’60s (Leo Lewis, Gerry James, Ernie Pitts) to the high-octane offences of the 1980s (Murphy, Reaves, Poplawski, House, Boyd) and into the modern era with Stegall and Roberts, these men represent the very best of Blue Bombers football.
Milt Stegall sits alone at the summit — not just in touchdowns, but in the enduring affection of a city that once didn’t even register on his map.
What began as a reluctant detour north became a love story that still resonates in Winnipeg today. Fourteen seasons, 147 touchdowns, and one unbreakable bond between a man from Cincinnati and the prairie city that adopted him as its own.
Some players come for a paycheck.
Milt Stegall came for football… and stayed for family.