Willard Reaves | |
|---|---|
| Leader of theManitoba Liberal Party | |
| Assumed office September 29, 2025 | |
| Deputy | Cindy Lamoureux |
| Preceded by | Cindy Lamoureux |
| Deputy Leader of theManitoba Liberal Party | |
| In office November 28, 2023 – June 26, 2024 | |
| Leader | Cindy Lamoureux (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Cindy Lamoureux |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Willard Sheldon Reaves (1959-08-17)August 17, 1959 (age 66) Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Occupation | Politician, football player |
| Football career | |
| No. 38 | |
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Flagstaff (AZ) Coconino |
| College | Northern Arizona |
| Career history | |
| 1981 | Green Bay Packers[1] |
| 1983 | Edmonton Eskimos* |
| 1983–1987 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 1988–1989 | Washington Redskins |
| 1989 | Miami Dolphins |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Stats atPro Football Reference  | |
Willard Sheldon Reaves (born August 17, 1959) is an American-Canadian politician and former professionalgridiron footballrunning back who has served as the leader of theManitoba Liberal Party since 2025.[2] He previously served as the party's deputy leader from 2023 to 2024, and unsuccessfully ran to representFort Whyte in theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba in 2022[3] and 2023,"Manitoba election 2023 results: Fort Whyte".Global News. Winnipeg, MB: Corus Entertainment Inc. September 18, 2023. RetrievedNovember 22, 2025. losing both times to fellow ex-Blue BomberObby Khan of theProgressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.
Reaves played for theWinnipeg Blue Bombers inCanadian Football League (CFL), as well as for theMiami Dolphins and theWashington Redskins in theNational Football League (NFL).[2]
Reaves playedcollege football atNorthern Arizona University from 1977 to 1980. He rushed for 2,139 yards at university, the best being 1979 when he rushed for 1,084 yards and was voted First-team All Big Sky Conference First-team All American.[citation needed]
In 1992, Reaves was inducted into the Northern Arizona University Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2002 he became a member of theManitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.[4]
Reaves played five seasons for the Blue Bombers from 1983 to 1987. He rushed for 898 yards in his first year and was runner up for theCFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award and an all star. In 1984, he led the league rushing for 1,733 yards on 304 carries and 18 touchdowns, all team records. He also set a CFL record with 2,140 yards from scrimmage. He won theCFL's Most Outstanding Player Award.[5] He also helped his team win the72nd Grey Cup, their first victory since 1962.[5]
Reaves rushed for 1,000 yards two other times (1,323 in 1985 and 1,471 in 1987), he led the league in both seasons. He finished his career with 5,923 total rushing yards for the Blue Bombers. He led the CFL inrushing 3 times in his career. He was a three time CFL all star.[citation needed]
In 1988, he got into a contract dispute with the Bombers, who wanted Reaves to take a massive paycut. He was released and tried out with theNFL (he was originallyundrafted) and in 1989 he played two games with theMiami Dolphins and one game with theWashington Redskins.[6][7]
| CFL statistics | Rushing | ||||||
| Year | Team | GP | Rush | Yards | Y/R | Lg | TD |
| 1983 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 9 | 164 | 898 | 5.5 | 75 | 9 |
| 1984 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 304 | 1733 | 5.7 | 68 | 14 |
| 1985 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 267 | 1323 | 5.0 | 68 | 9 |
| 1986 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 6 | 104 | 498 | 4.8 | 27 | 3 |
| 1987 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 15 | 271 | 1471 | 5.4 | 69 | 9 |
| 1989 | Washington Redskins | 2 | 1 | −1 | −1.0 | −1 | 0 |
| 1989 | Miami Dolphins | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| CFL totals | 62 | 1110 | 5923 | 5.3 | 75 | 44 | |
In October 2021, Reaves was announced as theManitoba Liberal Party's candidate in the 2022Fort Whyte by-election to theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba.[8] Reaves ultimately lost toProgressive Conservative candidate and fellow former Blue Bomber,Obby Khan. Reaves was defeated by Khan in a rematch in the2023 Manitoba general election.[3]
On November 28, 2023, Reaves was named deputy leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.[9] He stepped down from that position a few months later on June 26, 2024.[10]
On September 7, 2025, he announced his run for leader of the Manitoba Liberals, being endorsed by former MLP leaderJon Gerrard.[11][12] He was acclaimed as leader on September 29, 2025.[2]
Following his retirement from the NFL, Reaves moved back to Winnipeg and became a sergeant with the Manitoba Sheriff Service. Willard's eldest son,Ryan Reaves, is a professional ice hockeyright wing for theSan Jose Sharks of theNational Hockey League. Willard's youngest son,Jordan Reaves, is a professional football player with theEdmonton Elks of the CFL. He also has two daughters, Regina and Renee.[13]
Reaves is the great-great-grandson ofBass Reeves, a former slave who was the first black lawman west of the Mississippi River and among the first black U.S. deputy marshalls; Reeves' life is the focus of the 2023 TV seriesLawmen: Bass Reeves.[14] Bass served as a deputy U.S. marshal inFort Smith, Arkansas, under the direction of judgeIsaac C. Parker, known as the "Hanging Judge".[citation needed]
| 2023 Manitoba general election:Fort Whyte | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Obby Khan | 5,442 | 47.87 | −9.32 | $45,057.75 | |||
| Liberal | Willard Reaves | 4,213 | 37.06 | +19.44 | $19,578.06 | |||
| New Democratic | Trudy Schroeder | 1,714 | 15.08 | −2.81 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 11,369 | 99.61 | – | $66,506.00 | ||||
| Total rejected and declined ballots | 45 | 0.39 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 11,414 | 64.37 | +4.02 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 17,732 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservativehold | Swing | −14.38 | ||||||
Source(s) | ||||||||
| Manitoba provincial by-election, March 22, 2022:Fort Whyte Resignation ofBrian Pallister | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Obby Khan | 3,050 | 42.51 | −14.68 | ||||
| Liberal | Willard Reaves | 2,853 | 39.77 | +22.53 | ||||
| New Democratic | Trudy Schroeder | 1,112 | 15.50 | −2.38 | ||||
| Independent | Patrick Allard | 101 | 1.41 | — | ||||
| Green | Nicolas Geddert | 55 | 0.77 | −6.00 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 7,174 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 15 | 0.21 | −0.33 | |||||
| Turnout | 7,189 | 42.62 | −14.57 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 15,907 | — | −0.29 | |||||
| Progressive Conservativehold | Swing | −18.61 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Manitoba[18] | ||||||||
Reaves and his wife, Lise M. Reaves: daughters Renee, 44; Regina, who lives in Phoenix, 40; and sons Ryan, 36, and Jordan, 33.