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  • The First Legal Forward Pass in Canadian Football

    An account of the forward pass. Source: The Calgary Albertan, 23 September 1929, page 6

    It’s hard to imagine, but up until the 1920s the forward pass was an illegal play in Canadian football. Early Canadian football resembled the game of rugby more than the pass happy version of gridiron football we are accustomed to watching today.

    The forward pass, a staple offensive play in gridiron football, was first introduced in American football in 1906. Illegal and experimental forward passes were seen in the Canadian game over a decade later.

    It wasn’t until 1929 that the Canadian Rugby Union formally allowed the use of the forward pass. Eastern teams didn’t use it right away, however. The first official completed* forward pass in Canadian football was thrown on Saturday, September 21, 1929 in Edmonton in a game between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Calgary Tigers. Calgary player Gerry Seiberling (pictured below) threw the historic pass to Ralph Losie. Calgary won the game 33-8.

    Gerry Seiberling
    Source: The Calgary Herald, 23 September 1929, page 6.

    *The first legal attempted forward pass was actually thrown earlier in the day in a game in Winnipeg. The pass by Norm McLeod’s (St. John’s) was intercepted by Ronnie Gay (Tammany Tigers) in the first quarter of the game.

  • Queen’s Over Elks in 1922 Grey Cup

    Queen's Grey Cup win over Edmonton Elks in 1922 article
    Source: The Edmonton Bulletin, 4 December 1922, page 7

    On Saturday December 2, 1922, Queen’s University defeated the original Edmonton Elks 13-1 in the 10th Grey Cup game held at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, Ontario. In those days, the road to the national championship was a convoluted affair featuring playoffs between the champions of multiple leagues across the country. The Wikipedia article “1922 in Canadian football” does a good job illustrating the national playoff picture.

    Edmonton was the champion of the Alberta Rugby Football Union and had defeated Regina and Winnipeg to emerge as the western champion. Queen’s was the champion of the Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union, the conference featuring university teams, and emerged as the eastern representative after defeating the Toronto Argonauts.

    Click on the article below to read a detailed write up of the game that appeared in the Edmonton Bulletin the following Monday.

  • Tiger-Cat Defence Strangles Roughriders

    “Tiger-Cat defence strangles Roughriders” read the headline in The Ottawa Citizen on Monday December 4, 1967. That pretty much sums up Hamilton’s 24-1 win over Saskatchewan in the 1967 Grey Cup game played a couple days earlier.

    1967 Grey Cup action (Ottawa Citizen)
    Source: The Ottawa Citizen, 4 December 1967, page 23.

    1967 – being Canada’s Centennial and all – featured the Grey Cup being played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. Tiger-Cats quarterback Joe Zuger (who recently passed away at the age of 84) scored a running touchdown, passed for a touched down, and kicked three singles, leading him to be named Grey Cup MVP.

    The Hamilton Tiger-Cats used this commemorative logo in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s Centennial. (courtesy SportsLogos.Net)

  • Roaring B.C. Lions Surprise Mighty Blue Bombers

    BC Lions first game action (Vancouver Sun)
    Source: The Vancouver Sun, 30 August 1954, page 14.

    On August 28, 1954, the British Columbia Lions made their debut in the Western Interprovincial Football Union narrowly losing to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 8-6 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver.

    Winnipeg halfback Tom Casey (#91) was a key player in the Bombers’ victory.

    The game attracted a crowd of 20,606.

  • Sacramento Gold Miners in a Wild West Shoot Out

    Ad for the Sacramento Gold Miners' home opener
    Source: The Sacramento Bee, 17 July 1993, page 17.

    In 1993, the CFL expanded into the United States with the addition of the Sacramento Gold Miners. Here is an ad that appeared in the Sacramento Bee hyping the Gold Miners’ home opener at Hornet Field vs. the Calgary Stampeders.

    The ad features a comparison of Sacramento quarterback David Archer to Calgary quarterback Doug Flutie.

    Calgary won the game 38-36 in front of a crowd of 20,082.