Melvin "Fritz" Hanson (July 13, 1914 in Perham, Minnesota – February 14, 1996 in Calgary, Alberta) was a Canadian Football League player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders. Hanson was signed by the Blue Bombers for $125 a game and free room and board, which was a considerable sum in the cash-strapped dirty thirties. Nicknamed the 'Galloping Ghost', 'Twinkle Toes', and the 'Perham Flash', Hanson was one of the pioneers of foo...
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Melvin "Fritz" Hanson (July 13, 1914 in Perham, Minnesota – February 14, 1996 in Calgary, Alberta) was a Canadian Football League player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders. Hanson was signed by the Blue Bombers for $125 a game and free room and board, which was a considerable sum in the cash-strapped dirty thirties. Nicknamed the 'Galloping Ghost', 'Twinkle Toes', and the 'Perham Flash', Hanson was one of the pioneers of football in Western Canada and a huge star at the time. Although he weighed only 145 pounds he used his incredible quickness to evade defenders. He helped lead the Blue Bombers to the first Grey Cup victory by a western Canadian team in 1935 and won again with the Bombers in 1939 and 1941. In the 1935 Grey Cup Game Hanson recorded 300 punt return yards, a record that still stands today, including a sensational 78 yard return for the winning touchdown. He played with Winnipeg from 1935 through 1946 then spent two years playing for the Calgary...
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