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  • The Grey Cup of Hockey?

    Did you know that Governor General Earl Grey originally intended his Grey Cup trophy to be a national amateur hockey championship? The idea was for amateur hockey teams in various leagues across Canada to compete in a national playoff with the winner being awarded the Grey Cup. The Grey Cup was to be to be the amateur version of the Stanley Cup.

    Grey Cup for amateur hockey article in the Toronto Star
    Source: The Toronto Star, 14 January 1909, page 12

    However, in late 1908 Sir Montagu Allan – a prominent Montreal businessman – donated a trophy (the Allan Cup) that ultimately became the national amateur hockey championship.

    By summertime the Grey Cup was repositioned to be the amateur rugby football championship of the Dominion of Canada. Below is a Toronto Star article about Canada’s new rugby football trophy.

    Grey Cup for the rugby championships article in the Toronto Star
    Source: The Toronto Star, 1 June 1909, page 10

    The Allan Cup was first awarded on March 6, 1909 to the Ottawa Cliffsides. A week later Queen’s University challenged them to a game and win the trophy.

    The first Grey Cup was played on December 4, 1909 with the University of Toronto winning the championship.

  • The Grey Cup vs. The Super Bowl

    It’s Super Bowl week down in America. The National Football League, arguably one of the most successful sports leagues in the world, will crown their champion. So, how does the NFL’s Super Bowl stack up against Canada’s Grey Cup? Both championships are steeped in history. Let’s take a closer look at how the two big games compare.

    The Grey Cup championship trophy

    The Grey Cup is the Canadian Football League championship played annually between the East Division champion and the West Division champion.

    The Trophy: The Grey Cup trophy – donated by and named for Albert Henry George Grey (4th Earl Grey). Earl Grey served as the Governor General of Canada from 1904 to 1911.

    First Game: The first Grey Cup was played in 1909 in Toronto. The University of Toronto defeated Toronto Parkdale by a score of 26-6.

    Most Wins: Toronto Argonauts (19)

    Most Times Hosted: Toronto (48)

    Largest Crowd: 68,318 (1977 at Olympic Stadium, Montreal)

    Highest Scoring Game: 83 total points (1989, Saskatchewan 43 Hamilton 40)

    The Super Bowl is annual National Football League championship played between the NFC champion and the AFC champion.

    The Trophy: The Vince Lombardi trophy – named after former NFL head coach Vince Lombardi. Unlike the Grey Cup a new trophy is made and presented each year.

    First Game: The first Super Bowl was called the AFL–NFL World Championship Game. It was played in 1967 in Los Angeles between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Green Bay won the game 35-10.

    Most Wins: Pittsburgh Steelers (6) / New England Patriots (6)

    Most Times Hosted: Miami, Florida (11) *New Orleans will host its 11th Super Bowl this Sunday.

    Largest Crowd: 103,985 (1980 at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California)

    Highest Scoring Game: 75 total points (1995, San Francisco 49 San Diego 26)

  • Northmen condemned by health minister

    Tariffs, protectionism, and the Manifest destiny are all the talk this week following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Of course, Canada-United States relations is a centuries old subject that will likely always be a matter of discussion for Canadians.

    What the heck does this have to do with football? Well, any CFL fan over the age of forty will remember the league’s foray into the United States in the early 1990s. But, those a bit older will also recall the time when a new U.S.-based league was about to set up shop here in the Great White North.

    In 1973, the fledging World Football League was established, and the Toronto Northmen were going to be one of their flagship franchises. They were owned by John Bassett Jr., who just happened to be the son of Toronto Argonauts owner John Bassett Sr. Yes, there were plenty of accusations of conflict of interest.

    Here is an article that appeared in the Vancouver Sun where the Minister of Health at the time Marc Lalonde denounced the new WFL and the Northmen.

    Source: The Vancouver Sun, 22 February 1974, page 21.

    A foreign football league coming to Canada was perceived as a real threat to the CFL. And, maybe it was, but we will never truly know. In response, the federal government moved rather quickly. The Minister introduced the Canadian Football Act in Parliament. This act would have given a monopoly over professional football in Canada to the CFL.

    Toronto Northmen logo (SportsLogos.net)

    Seeing the writing on the wall, Bassett decided to move his Northmen to Memphis, Tennessee and rebrand them as the Southmen. The American gridiron invasion was halted.

    In the aftermath, the Canadian Football Act ultimately wasn’t passed into law. John Bassett Sr. sold the Argos. And, the World Football League played just two years before folding during its second season in 1975.

  • Advertisement for 1951 Toronto Argonaut Season Tickets

    Toronto Argonauts season ticket advertisement in the Toronto Star

    It’s the summer of 1951 in southern Ontario, and the Toronto Argonauts are in the final push to sell season tickets for the upcoming season. Here is an ad that appeared in the Toronto Star on June 14 soliciting fans to purchase (or “subscribe for”) tickets for the Argos’ home games at Varsity Stadium.

    Check out the pricing for these tickets. $17.10 for the best seats in the house. That’s still less than $200 in today’s dollars. Good value for six games.

    The Argos went 7-5 in 1951, third place in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union but good enough to qualify for the postseason. One of their star players that season was a running back named Ulysses “Crazy Legs” Curtis. He was one of the first black players to don the Double Blue.

  • The Very First CFL Schedule

    Happy New Year. As football fans across the country (im)patiently await the release of the 2025 CFL schedule, let’s go back in time to the very first CFL season schedule in 1958.

    In 1956, the eastern (IRFU) and western (WIFU) professional football leagues in Canada formed an umbrella organization called the Canadian Football Council. Two years later on January 19, 1958, the CFC was renamed the Canadian Football League.

    The inaugural CFL season kicked off on Thursday August 14, 1958 in Winnipeg with the Blue Bombers hosting the Edmonton Eskimos. Winnipeg won 29-21.

    For the first few CFL seasons eastern and western teams did not play one another. All regular season games were against teams in their respective conferences; interconference games didn’t occur until 1961. The only time the east played the west was in the Grey Cup.

    WIFU schedule makers in 1958
    Early CFL schedule makers putting together the 1958 WIFU schedule. (Source: The Regina Leader Post, 20 January 1958, page 19.)

    A quick glance tells the tale of a gruelling schedule in 1958. Eastern teams played 14 games while their western counterparts played 16. All games were played within a short 12-week schedule kicking off in August. This meant western teams often played two games within two or three days. Ouch.

    CFLdb Statistics, an excellent online resource that is equally fun and informative, provides the full 1958 Canadian Football League schedule here: https://stats.cfldb.ca/league/cfl/schedule/1958/. Check it out and see how your favourite team did that year.

    And now, back to waiting on the 2025 CFL schedule…