Bombers legend Stegall reflects on grief, loss and healing in Winnipeg return

When legendary Blue Bombers receiver Milt Stegall arrived in Winnipeg Friday morning, it was more than a homecoming to the city where he became a football icon.

This particular return to his “other home” — as Stegall describes it, underscoring that Winnipeg is anything but secondary to him — carries the raw and fresh grief of suddenly losing his 20-year-old son, Chase, just six weeks earlier. Stegall’s presence highlights his extraordinary resilience, the lasting bond he has with his CFL family and Winnipeg’s unique capacity to help heal.

“This place, as I always say, is so important to me and my family,” Stegall told the Free Press in an interview Friday, shortly after his plane touched down. “Not just from a football sense, but from a life sense. Part of the way I am as a person is because of the time I’ve spent in Winnipeg.”

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS “Part of the way I am as a person is because of the time I’ve spent in Winnipeg,” Milt Stegall said.

Though never one to be nervous, the Canadian Football Hall of Famer admitted he was anxious to return to the CFL on TSN panel for Thursday’s game between the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts. He had felt guilty about bringing his high energy back to the group, trying to reconcile enjoying himself after suffering what he called the hardest moment of his life.

It was at that point that Stegall drew a poignant parallel to the sudden loss of his father when he was 17 and a senior in high school back home in Ohio. Recalling the day his father died, he focuses on the message his mother gave, something that still sticks with him.

“She told me to go play my basketball game,” Stegall said, noting his father had been struggling with ongoing health issues. “She said, ‘Yes, you grieve, but you have to keep living. You have to keep moving’.”

This same philosophy, Stegall said, is now rooted in his own family’s experience.

“Keep moving, keep enjoying life, because Chase enjoyed life every day,” he added. “It’s what he would want us to be doing.”

His first on-location panel with TSN — which dedicated the 2025 CFL season to Chase — though fitting, wasn’t by design. Stegall didn’t circle the game on his calendar; the timing just felt right.

As a man of faith, he credits divine intervention, something bigger than himself or the game of football. After all, Winnipeg holds a profound significance for Stegall and his family.

“She said, ‘Yes, you grieve, but you have to keep living. You have to keep moving’.” –Milt Stegall

His youngest son, Collin, now 17, was born in the city, and while Stegall spent just 10 of his 55 years in Winnipeg, he’s amazed and humbled by the love and support he continues to receive to this day.

“The support has brought tears of joy to me and my wife,” Stegall said. “So, getting back on that panel, that was important for me because it’s been therapeutic. The individuals I work with at TSN, from the other panel members to the people working the cameras, they aren’t friends; they’re family.”

When remembering Chase, Stegall describes an outgoing, caring and selfless individual. While Stegall has always been one for the spotlight, his son seemed cut from a different jersey.

“Chase always put others before him and was genuinely concerned with how others felt,” Stegall said. “That’s a trait you don’t find in too many kids, or too many people in general.”

What Chase definitely got from his dad was his warm smile, something he always had on his face, even at times when he was in trouble. No matter what the occasion, Stegall said, his son always found a reason to grin ear to ear.

It’s a spirit the family strives to embody.

“He’s left a legacy on the people he touched that will live on forever,” Stegall said.

UNIVERSITY OF DEPAUL PHOTO Chase Stegall

The grieving process has been predictably tough. There are moments that trigger Stegall, like sometimes when looking at family pictures or even while driving.

He received the news of Chase’s death from his soccer coach at DePaul University while in his car. Chase was mourned in two funerals, one in Chicago where he attended school, and another in Atlanta where he lived. Even amidst the warmth of a Winnipeg welcome, these moments serve as stark reminders of the massive void left behind.

Stegall credits his family, notably his wife, Darlene, and son, for giving him strength. They are constant reminders of the love and support he receives, and reflections of the good Chase brought to the world.

“I’m getting to the point where there are more highs than lows. There are still lows, and there may be lows for the rest of my life,” Stegall said. “But I’m also really realizing that my son was on this earth for 20 years, and he made a difference more so than some people who have been on this earth for 100 years. That helps me get through some of the tough times.”

Stegall’s remarkable perspective is deeply rooted in the powerful example set by his parents Betty and Garland Stegall. His father, born in 1922, worked as a foreman at a chemical plant before managing the family’s grocery store and getting into real estate.

“My father was born in Newnan, Ga., and his grandmother was a full-fledged slave. He saw people hanged and being wrongfully accused,” Stegall said, his voice quieting. “So, he moved out of that area, moved up to Cincinnati for a better life, only to still face so much racism. It still didn’t hinder the type of person he was.”

“But I’m also really realizing that my son was on this earth for 20 years, and he made a difference more so than some people who have been on this earth for 100 years. That helps me get through some of the tough times.” –Milt Stegall

Through all this, Stegall said his father remained “the friendliest person,” picking up hitchhikers and showing immense kindness to those struggling to pay rent. His mother, who worked for more than three decades as a nurse at Shriners Hospital, was equally compassionate to others.

Stegall remembered witnessing her calmness after he violently cut his chin as a child, washing away the blood gushing down his chest, and especially while working in the Shriners burn unit. “The way she caressed them, the way she treated them — like they were her own kids. It was truly amazing to see,” he recalled of her interactions with severely burned children.

Despite both having only high school degrees, they worked tirelessly to put all five of their children through college without debt, instilling in Stegall a great foundation and the drive to do great things.

“I saw my parents and the way they handled themselves, the way they handled other people’s kids,” he said. “It set an example for me where I was going to be the nicest person, I was going to do something great in life, because they were doing these great things and they had nothing.”

He added: “Everything I am, is owed to what my parents instilled in me from the time I was one until the time they passed away.”

Stegall noted the unique bond between Winnipeg and its athletes, something he feels every time he’s in the city. He attributes this to the Winnipeg’s inherent friendliness and welcoming nature.

He contrasts it with the more isolated experience of the NFL, noting that in Winnipeg, fans actively engage with players even at practice. This genuine connection, built over time, explains why even after 17 years away from the field, Stegall remains relevant to fans who never even saw him play.

“Keep moving, keep enjoying life, because Chase enjoyed life every day. It’s what he would want us to be doing,” Milt Stegall said.

With an eighth straight sellout for Friday’s game between the Bombers and Calgary Stampeders, Stegall admits he can’t visualize exactly what to expect. He anticipates it will be “angelic.”

“What’s going to be special is walking into that stadium,” Stegall said. “Walking into that stadium and just being around, that’s special enough for me right there.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

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