Another book about the Saskatchewan Roughriders is in the works.  This one is about the 1966 team which won the Grey Cup, the first in Riders’ history.

The book is being written by Rob Vanstone, the Regina Leader-Post’s Sports Co-ordinator.  It will be released next year.  I emailed Rob several questions about his writing project, thinking I would summarize his comments.  However, Rob’s answers are so interesting I decided to reproduce most of the interview.

What inspired you to write this book?

In December of 2005, I started working on a retrospective on the 1966 Roughriders for the Leader-Post, being that the 40th anniversary of the Roughriders’ first Grey Cup win was being celebrated in 2006. I decided to track down as many people as I could and do a week-long newspaper series. Very early in the interviewing process, I began to realize that this could be a project of greater dimension. The bell went off when I interviewed Ed McQuarters, who is normally media-shy. Ed told me his life story and left my head spinning. And I started to think: “Hmmmmm, maybe there’s a book here.” From that point onward, in January of 2006, I decided to research it as a book and do long interviews with everyone, just in case I was able to take this project to another level. And sure enough . . . I’ve fallen in love with this project because of the personalities involved and the era in which they played. As much as anything, it is about the people and their stories. I start with the 1951 Western final, because that was the first football game Dale West attended. From there, I trace the evolution of the team and introduce the players as they come on board. The book essentially covers Roughriders history dating back to 1951. I approach it chronologically and introduce the players as they arrive.

What interests you about them?

I never saw them play, because I was two years old when they won the 1966 Grey Cup, but have heard about them all my life. Because of my curiosity about all things Roughriders, I wanted to find out as much as I could about a legendary team and compensate for the fact that I was not blessed to see them play. (Although Mom tells me I did attend games with her that season, and that I watched the game in a crib at the home of a neighbour.)

How long have you been working on this project?

The first interview was done early in the afternoon of Sat., Dec. 10, 2005, with former Roughriders trainer Sandy Archer (since deceased). We talked for about 90 minutes. Then I called Russ Jackson, who was equally engaging. From that point on, I was hooked.

What have you learned about writing a book? How is it different than your current journalistic work with the paper?

I never realized how much was involved. I knew it was a monster project, of course, but figured that writing 150,000 words for a book would be like writing 150 1,000-word features. WRONG! The tough part about writing a book is deciding when to stop, because you could keep researching and revising forever. The dimension of this project was (and still is) beyond comprehension. You also become very aware, very quickly, that you cannot afford to make any errors — because you can’t write a correction the next day. It’s rather intimidating! The other eye-opener was how you can never forget about the book. It is ALWAYS in the back of your mind while it’s under construction. It is always the elephant in the room — and it’s great! I love being this immersed in a project, but there is always a voice in the back of my head saying, “Work on the book . . . work on the book . . . work on the book.” Of the first 30 chapters, 23 were written on vacation (12 in Mexico, 11 in New York). I’ll end up with 38 chapters, plus a prologue, plus an epilogue.

Were you able to reach each member of that team?

Almost every member!!! I reached everyone who the 40th-anniversary reunion committee was able to track down. I even found one of them (an obscure receiver named Gil Petmanis) whom the reunion people were unable to track down. I gave the number to the organizers, who contacted him and made arrangements to fly him into Regina for the reunion. That was a highlight because Gil ended up getting a free trip out of the deal! . . . Nobody could find a defensive lineman named Moe Levesque. He was the only member of that team who saw significant playing time that season that I was unable to track down. I never interviewed Jim Worden, but only because he was sick (and would be dead within a year). Jim was bedridden 23 hours per day and left me a very apologetic voice mail one day. In all, I’ve probably interviewed 70 people, including multiple interviews with Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Ed McQuarters, Alan Ford and a few others. I interviewed Ronnie four times, at length, in the last year of his life, and he also answered a ton of questions via e-mail. George has been similarly co-operative. Everyone has been great. Nobody has turned down an interview request.

How did the recent death of Lancaster affect the writing of your book?

Immensely. I’ve had to rewrite certain portions of the book, and am now preparing a concluding chapter paying tribute to Ronnie. The final chapter was already on Ronnie and George, with the last word belonging to Ronnie. I am in the midst of interviewing people for an additional 4,000 words. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that Ronnie is gone. He was so helpful in terms of my research, and he really embraced this project. Ronnie was never excited about having a book written specifically about him, but he was endlessly helpful with this project because it was about his team. He told me so many stories about his teammates and we shared many laughs as he spun some wonderful tales, as only he could. Many a time, after I thought an interview was over, he would say: “Did you hear the one about . . .?” And he would feed me another gem. I’m so glad I got to know him better over the past 2 1/2 years, and I’ve had some sad days as a result of the revisions — at least until I get to one of his funny stories, and he cracks me up again.

When will you have completed the book?

Well, it WAS completed. The first rough draft was finished the night before I left for Beijing (Olympics assignment.) Shortly after arriving, the news circulated that Ronnie had lung cancer. My goal now is to have the manuscript finished by the end of October.

When will it be released to the public?

The plan is for it to be released on Labour Day weekend 2009, as a companion to a 100th-anniversary Roughriders book (to which I am also contributing).
What is your book’s title?

To be determined! All we know now is that the price will be $19.66. We’re trying to think of a succinct title that defines the purpose of the book. It isn’t just about 1966 — the season or the game — but about how the team was formed and where everybody went afterwards. There are three sections: (1) 1951 to 1965; (2) 1966; (3) 1967 to present . . . I should note that the 1966 and 100th-anniversary books are being written with a charitable component in mind.

I should note, in conclusion, that I have never enjoyed anything as much as the researching and writing of the 1966 book. This is strictly a joy-of-writing exercise. It’s an honour to tell the story of the 1966 Roughriders and I hope it is well-received.