Football stolen as Jackie Parker presents Grey Cup to son in Edmonton, 1956 – Edmonton | Globalnews.ca

It was a moment that took nearly seventy years to complete.

Football stolen in final moments of Edmonton football game 1956 Grey Cup The Victory Game has now been returned to the son of the player from whom it was stolen nearly 68 years ago.

It was November 24, 1956. Edmonton was on the verge of its third straight Grey Cup title.

With just minutes left in the blowout victory, Jackie Parker, one of the greatest players in the Canadian Football League, drove into the end zone to score Edmonton’s third touchdown of the night.

What happened next made history.

As Parker ran into the end zone, he was mobbed by fans pouring into the stadium. Security was not as tight in the 1950s as it is today. In the chaos, a man named Doug Ball snatched the ball from Parker, stuffed it into his jacket, and disappeared.

Worse still, it was the only ball they had left to play with.

“Everybody was preparing for the run and no puck. We had 18 pucks to start the game and now we had none,” Grey Cup goalie Jeff McWhinney said.

The referees scrambled to figure out what to do next. At the critical moment, the players gathered on the court to decide what to do next.

“It was like a board meeting. They made a decision. Let’s suspend the game,” McWhinney recalled. “The game was suspended. And then they didn’t score the point.

“If the game was close, you'd definitely be in chaos. So thankfully it was just a runaway train.”

The final score was Edmonton 50-27 Montreal Alouettes.

But until now, what exactly happened to that ball has remained a mystery.

“Decades later, the Mr. Ball who stole or borrowed that ball that day — Doug Ball — returned it to the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame,” McWhinney said.

The reason why the fan decided to return the football all these years later remains unknown.

“I bet it’s hanging over his head,” McWeeny surmised.

“I think, as a true Canadian, he borrowed it for a while and then brought it back.”

When Parker's son learned the news that Ball was resurrected, he was shocked.

“It’s special,” Jack Parker II said. “It’s part of Canadian Football League history, it’s part of my dad’s history and the history of the Double E Rugby Club. It’s part of history. It’s amazing. I’m shocked, excited and moved.”

“Everything has come full circle.”

Parker was presented with the 1956 Grey Cup championship ball at the Edmonton Moose's annual alumni dinner Thursday night. He was invited to the event and knew there would be some special ceremonies but was not given any details.

“I’m really touched by the league and by Jeff’s consideration to bring it back and give it to me.”

Parker Jr. said it’s hard to say how his father, who died in 2006, would feel at the moment.

“He was never one to seek honours and glory. He was very humble. He never had any trophies displayed in his house,” he said.

“He never liked the spotlight. He loved the game, loved his teammates, loved the city. He would be surprised by what he did… He would improvise things like, 'Oh my god, I've been looking for something like this.'”

The football, a Spalding J5E with the 1956 Grey Cup logo, has been authenticated and will be preserved in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. McWhinney said it was a major event in the league's history.

“The DNA of whoever touched this ball,” he said, carefully handling the ball in his white gloves. “I look at it and it tells me who touched this ball and what history they made.

“We didn't score a touchdown in 1956, but we changed ourselves and understood that we all belong here. The Canadian Football League is probably the greatest history book I can talk about on diversity and inclusion.”

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