Photo Courtesy: The Rod Pedersen Show
New quarterback Trevor Harris remains the talk of the town, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders may have made their most significant CFL free agency signing off the field.
On Sunday, the club announced it had hired popular Saskatchewan sportswriter and columnist Rob Vanstone as its new senior journalist and roughrider historian.
Vanstone will be responsible for producing exclusive, in-house authored content for fans on Riderville.com, producing stories, features and columns about Riders past and present. He will also log and record the history of the team and share his research in written articles and unique video projects.
“Rob Vanstone is a generational voice in the Saskatchewan sports landscape and his storytelling skills coupled with his knowledge of our football club and its history are second to none,” said Craig Reynolds, Roughriders President and CEO, in a statement. “When Rob approached us a few weeks ago about the potential of joining the team and writing our stories – past, present and future – we knew this was an opportunity we just had to offer our fans. We couldn’t be more thrilled that he’s joining the Roughriders.”
Vanstone enjoyed a 36-year journalism career at the Regina Leader-Post, covering local affairs. Junior, collegiate and professional sports in Saskatchewan. While his work has included writing on everything from high school basketball to WHL hockey to the Olympics, he is best known for his coverage of the Riders.
In 2019, Vanstone published a book entitled 100 Things Roughrider Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die an in-depth look at many of the forgotten stories in team history. Now, sharing these tidbits of information with the Saskatchewan fanbase will be his full-time job.
“I am so honored and flattered by this opportunity and can’t wait to begin telling the Roughriders stories in a new capacity,” Vanstone said in a team statement. “It feels like I’ve been informally and unintentionally preparing for my second dream job since mom started taking me to Roughriders games — while she was expecting me.”
The 58-year-old announced in a heartfelt column that he had resigned from his position at the leader post on Saturday. He has been a household name in Regina since he burst onto the media scene in 1986 and worked at the newspaper for 13,431 days.
Vanstone will produce his first play for the Roughriders on Tuesday February 21st.
“I am so grateful to the Leader post, its readers and all the wonderful people I have had the privilege of working with since May 12, 1986,” he continued. “Another milestone in my life is set for February 21, 2023 and I plan to implacably thank the Roughriders and their unrivaled fan base each day by immersing myself in my new and diverse responsibilities – hopefully for another 37 years.”
Source: 3downnation.com
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