The Toronto Argonauts honoured long-time equipment manager Danny Webb on Thursday night as he celebrated his 40th anniversary as a team employee.
Webb, a graduate of Sheraton College, first joined the Argos in May of 1985 and became head equipment manager later that same season. He has since become a fixture for the oldest organization in North American professional sports, helping them to seven Grey Cup victories thanks to his tireless preparation and footwear expertise.
“I got here during the pandemic and that year we didn’t play football, so I spent a ton of time here and I spent most of my time with Danny and [assistant equipment manager] Dave [Sillberg],” head coach Ryan Dinwiddie recalled. “Got to learn a lot about the organization and how we’ve done things, what they’d done in the past and how I wanted to do it. Danny was very beneficial to me to put this calendar together for how we were going to approach each season.”
Members of the Argos surprised Webb with specialty t-shirts featuring his name and likeness pre-game. Players and staff wore the shirts for warmup and along the sideline for their home clash with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Webb was also acknowledged during a special half-time ceremony at BMO Field, giving fans the chance to applaud an unsung icon. The team further rewarded his years of service with a 20-19 victory thanks to a walk-off rouge from Lirim Hajrullahu.
“Danny’s a great worker, a great man. He’s got more Grey Cups than anybody in the history of the league. Hopefully, we can get him one more before he’s done, but I laughed about it today — he’s only 60,” Dinwiddie smiled. “‘You’re only 60, Danny? You started at 20, you look like you’re 70.’ But I’m just joking. I joke to bust Danny’s butt.”
The Argos will next visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the Labour Day Classic on Monday, September 2.
