Today I want to talk about fields. Canadian football fields, that is. There is still a lot of chatter about the CFL’s decision to adjust its field size in 2027, adopting a 100-yard-long field with 15-yard end zones. Previously, I have written about early Canadian football being played on 100-yard fields in the past. And there have been exhibition games played on similar length fields such as the 1992 game in Portland, Oregon.
But what if I told you there was a CFL game played on a 90-yard-long field? Yes, 90 yards. And ten-yard end zones. Say what? This was no exhibition match, either; rather it was a regular season CFL game that counted in the standings. It happened on Sunday November 3, 1991 in Winnipeg for a game between the Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos.
Thanks to a blizzard the previous day, the turf at Winnipeg Stadium was left covered in snow and ice. Although crews had worked diligently through the night, the field was still deemed too dangerous in the end zones and along the sidelines. So, a decision was made to modify the field dimensions in the name of player safety.
After consulting with the two teams, the CFL reduced the length of the playing surface to only 90 yards. End zones were reduced to ten yards. And the goal posts were placed in the back of the end zone. The width of the field was also reduced to just 58 yards. Ironically there were concerns players would run into the goal posts at the back of the end zones.
Both Winnipeg and Edmonton made the best of the less-than-ideal situation, though. In the end, Edmonton emerged as victors, winning 28-18 to secure first placed in the Western Division.
So, as we football fans continue to debate the CFL’s pending field dimensions in 2027 let us remember the day the league played on a frozen shrunken field back in 1991.
Sources:
Edmonton Journal, 4 November 1991
Ottawa Citizen, 4 November 1991
Winnipeg Sun, 4 November 1991
