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“His camera was a $4 Brownieand I sprang for the extra-cost flash attachment,” Wunsch recalls. “I never regretted that.

“In 1966, four of us flew to El Paso in February. While taking picturesin the desert, and others in the city showing Mexican influence on housestyles, I got the bright idea that it was somewhat stupid flying allover the place and taking black-and-white pictures with a little Brownie.

“So I did my research and bought a really nice 35-millimetre camera with a couple oftelephoto lenses. For about the next decade, it went everywhere I went.”

Wunsch went to a Roughriders game for the first time on Oct. 8, 1966, when the Green and White — just 57 days away from its first Grey Cup victory — lost 35-18 to the visiting Calgary Stampeders.

The result was not entirely surprising, considering that Lancaster was sidelined due to injury. Bruce Bennett (a converted safety) and Mike Ringer handled the quarterbacking that day.

Wunsch returned to the stadium — but not as part of a grand plan — 11 months later and saw the Roughriders defeat Edmonton 18-6 on a sunny September day.

“Back in ’67, I went out to airport as usual on a really hot and calmSunday,” he says. “A friend was working on his airplane that he used to make aliving with. He said he didn’t have time to go to a CFL game. He offeredme his ticket for $5.50. So, camera in hand, off I went.

“And the restis history.”

rvanstone@postmedia.com

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Quick! Name Ron Lancaster’s backup quarterback in 1967. If you answered Jesse Kaye — without cheating, or looking at the above caption — congratulations. Beginning on Oct. 15, 1966, Lancaster did not miss a regular-season start until Oct. 30, 1977. Kaye, shown standing behind Lancaster and to his left, spent only one season with the Riders. Lancaster’s subsequent understudies were Rick Cassata (1968), Bubba Wyche (1969, 1971 and 1972), Gary Lane and Don Weiss (both in 1970), Bob Pearce (1973), Randy Mattingly (1974, 1975), Dave Syme (1976), Eric Guthrie (1977) and Larry Dick (1978). Mattingly, by the way, is the older brother of former New York Yankees slugger Don Mattingly. More trivia: Lane, who started a 1970 playoff game because Lancaster was injured, went on to become an NFL official who drew two Super Bowl assignments. Even more trivia: Wyche’s brother, Sam, was the Cincinnati Bengals’ head coach in the 1989 Super Bowl, for which Lane was part of the officiating crew.