Fred Wagman was always among the first to be a seconder.
As recently as June 21, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders held their annual general meeting to close the books on the 2022-23 fiscal year, Fred was convivial and conspicuous.
A quarter-century after stepping down as the community-owned CFL team’s volunteer President, Fred retained an intense interest in his beloved Green and White.
So there he was at Mosaic Stadium’s Studio 620 Harvard Lounge, not even a month ago, seconding a motion put forth by the outgoing Board Chair, Barry Clarke.
Fred wasn’t there to grandstand. He wasn’t present for any reason other than to celebrate the existence of a club that he had guided through a perilous period — a team that he had embraced since first purchasing season tickets in 1960.
Wagman became a regular attendee three years before Ron Lancaster, George Reed and Hugh Campbell first set foot on Taylor Field, six years in advance of the franchise’s first Grey Cup championship, and mere months before the team faced a dire financial crisis.
In good years and bad, and there were plenty of both, Fred was steadfast in his support of the Roughriders.
He was a great fan … and a great man.
Fred passed away on Tuesday, at age 86.
Even though he lived a long life, the sad news still hit us all like a thunderbolt.
After all, we had crossed paths with him just recently at the AGM.
On the final day of March, when we celebrated the retirement of Ticket Manager Gail Mund, Fred was there, too — chatting with fellow Past-Presidents Tom Shepherd and John Lipp.
We all gathered in the Roughriders’ state-of-the-art dressing room to pay tribute to Gail.
I sat in a corner with Messrs. Wagman, Lipp and Shepherd and swapped stories.
I remember wondering — but not inquiring about, which I regret — what Fred made of it all. Here we were, sitting in a $278-million stadium, when once upon a time the franchise could barely afford a shipment of new pencils.
Taylor Field, far past its best-before date, was leaking. Financially, the team was losing money by the bucketload, as was the league.
So it was Fred’s duty, in his first year as President, to sit before the cameras and the media on Dec. 11, 1996 and make a sombre announcement.
“Our debt exceeds our line of credit,” he said. “The crisis is real. I’m convinced that if we don’t meet these two components, we’ll be shutting down.”
The franchise was $2.623 million in debt after a 1996 season in which the team had lost $1.7 million.
“Read my lips,” Fred said, memorably.
“The crisis is real.”
As was the resolve, from the top down, to sustain the franchise.
Fred announced that a telethon would be held on March 15, 1997. He did not sugar-coat the state of the team, declaring that it would cease operations if 200,000 game tickets were not sold in just over three months’ time.
It was touch and go for a while but, ultimately, the objective was reached — with 15,222 tickets to spare.
Considerable assistance was provided by the NFL, which had extended to the CFL a seven-figure loan. The Roughriders’ share of the NFL money ($520,000) was converted into approximately 30,000 seats. That total ultimately put the Roughriders over the top.
A beaming Fred made the announcement on province-wide television just nine minutes before March 16, 1997.
The announcement was made in a cramped Roughriders dressing room that wasn’t even remotely comparable to the current version.
But nobody complained about the surroundings. The day, the team, had been saved.
The following year, Fred had even better news to report. The Roughriders had made $540,000 on their 1997 operations, thanks in large part to the team’s surprising surge to a berth in the 85th Grey Cup game.
During the same AGM at which Fred announced the surplus, he told the gathering that he would be leaving the President’s post for personal reasons, a year before the expiration of his term.
“I’ll still bleed green,” Fred told the crowd on Jan. 31, 1998. “My wife, Anita, and I have a lot of memories of our 38-year love affair with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and, God willing, we’ll have a lot more.”
Fred and Anita were married on June 8, 1959 and remained together for 62 years, until her death on Dec. 1, 2021. They were the proud parents of Lisa and Troy.
Fred could also be considered the father of cable television in Regina. He was the founding general manager (later the President-CEO) of Cable Regina, which was established in 1975.
Younger generations will likely find it impossible to believe that, until 1978, residents of Regina and area were limited to two English-language stations — Channels 2 (CTV) and 9 (CBC).
Thanks to Fred and his associates at what is now known as Access Communications, we were finally able to enjoy Monday Night Football, the NBA playoffs, Saturday Night Live, Major League Baseball’s Game of the Week (I loved Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek on NBC), Johnny Carson (the best!) and, yes, some shakily produced commercials and newscasts, emanating from Williston, N.D.
Long gone were the days when Ronnie, George and their families would drive down to Minot and check into a hotel, principally for the purpose of watching U.S. college bowl games.
Remembering my excitement from a life-changing July afternoon in 1978, when the cable man rang the Vanstones’ doorbell at 4428 Acadia Drive, I approached Fred at the Roughriders’ 2018 AGM and said, “Happy 40th!”
Over the years, Fred had received countless congratulatory messages during a life full of accomplishments.
One fine day in 1969, for example, Fred was the skip of a curling team that recorded an eight-ender in the Commercial Teachers’ League.
In the early 1970s, he was the radio-television consultant with Regina Catholic Schools. In a Regina Leader-Post story that was published on May 22, 1971, Wagman is quoted as touting the Regina-based Miller as the first Canadian high school to offer its students a radio-television centre.
A broadcasting pioneer in so many respects, Fred received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2001.
The very same year, Fred submitted a report to the Roughriders’ Management Committee (now known as the Board of Directors) regarding the team’s governance structure.
For him, the title of Past-President wasn’t simply an honorific. It was something he took seriously — something that allowed him to give back to the team and the community that he loved so dearly.
For 25 years, you could count on running into Fred Wagman, Past-President, at Roughriders games or functions.
Whether he was observing the protocol at an AGM or simply chatting about life and/or football, it was always such a pleasure to spend time with him.
On a day like this, when we wish we had even more treasured time to share with Fred Wagman, there is an accompanying feeling of gratitude for the depth of his devotion, the warmth of his smile and the legacy he has left.
