EDMONTON -- A former quarterback who played for the Edmonton Football Club in the 70’s said he’s flattered after a mural depicting him was uncovered in an Edmonton home.
Basement renovations in the home of Brittany Warren and her family cause the mural to come to light.
It shows a giant drawing of Bruce Lemmerman, who played quarterback for the team from 1971 to 1979, followed by a stint as the assistant coach in the early 80s, and director of football operations until 1994.
The family thinks the mural was created for the 1974 Grey Cup – Edmonton faced Montreal and lost 20-7 – because the wall is covered with writing and signatures from fans.
“Well it was kind of an honour that somebody would have taken the time to recognize the Eskimos and myself I guess by putting this mural in their basement back in the fun days,” Lemmerman told CTV News Edmonton from his home in Oregon.
“I’m getting up there, I am pretty old now, so I tease all my friend at the golf course, it’s like the Egyptian hieroglyphics, they’ve just uncovered another find up in Edmonton, Alberta.”
The mural reads “We're still number one even though we lost."
Lemmerman said he remembers that Grey Cup game well.
“It was raining cats and dogs and you couldn’t hardly see across the field to see the other teams pitch, it was raining so hard at Clarke Stadium,” he said.
“We were behind in the game, and I figured that when we came out at half time there’d be nobody in the stands cause they’d all go home and try to dry off and give up. And we came out and they were all there.”
“One of the things that I’ll have to admire is that I thought the fans in Edmonton were the best sports fans that any place I’ve ever been in my life at the time.”
The family said they don’t have any immediate plans to cover up the mural. Lemmerman said he’s just honoured that someone painted the mural.
“Whether it was a cartoon caricature or a real life portrayal of it, really didn’t matter to me so much as just the fact that somebody thought enough of the Eskimos and my career to want to put that on their wall.”