The man they call ‘Knuckles’ is coming back.
Bob Irving is returning as the voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2021, he announced on his Twitter account.
Paul Edmonds and Jamie Thomas were recently unveiled by CJOB 680 as the play-by-play tandem for the newly-acquired radio rights to the Winnipeg Jets. This led to speculation that Irving may no longer be covering Blue Bombers games for the station.
“When the season was shut down I was seriously considering not coming back. Still, the more I thought about it and after discussing it with my wife I just had the feeling I wanted to do another year,” Irving told Ed Tait of BlueBombers.com.
Irving, 70, hinted that 2021 could be his last calling games for the Blue and Gold, which would end a remarkable 48-year run covering the team.
“I guess it boils down to I wasn’t ready to walk away — to sack by bats as they say — and say it’s over. I’m close to that, but it just seemed like I should do one more year and with the blessing of my family that’s what I’m going to do.”
Irving was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and the media room at Investors Group Field bears his name. He was made a member of the Order of Manitoba in 2014.
