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Flutie Freezes as Edmonton Defeats Calgary in Frigid, Snowy 1993 Western Final

Canadian football in November can be cold – especially when played on the Prairies. Bone-chilling temperatures, coupled with blowing snow, made the 1993 Western Final at McMahon Stadium between the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos one of those games where the weather might have played a bigger role in the game than the players on the field.

Coverage of the 1993 Western Final in the Calgary Herald (22 November 1993)

Led by marquee quarterback Doug Flutie, the Stampeders entered the game with a league best 15-3 regular season record. They were the defending Grey Cup champions and were, without a doubt, the class of the CFL in 1993. While the underdog, Edmonton was still a strong team, having finished second in the West Division with a 12-6 record.

The city of Calgary and much of Alberta was under a winter storm warning. Game time temperatures hovered below minus 20 degrees Celsius with a windchill making it feel even colder. The cold along with the wind and snow created blizzard-like conditions. Not exactly an ideal day for football.

Coverage of the 1993 Western Final in the Calgary Herald (22 November 1993)

Calgary scored first thanks to a punt return touchdown by Pee Wee Smith. A field goal by Mark McLoughlin put the Stampeders up 10-0 after the first quarter. Calgary continued to lead 13-8 at the half. The third quarter was delayed thanks to the accumulation of snow. But when the teams returned to the field, Edmonton got on a roll.

Edmonton quarterback Damon Allen made only 8 completions on 19 passing attempts in the game. But four of those completions were touchdowns. Edmonton scored 28 points in the second half compared to Calgary’s meagre 2 (a safety late in the game). As the temperature continued to fall, Flutie’s hands literally froze, affecting his ability to throw the football. Fans in the stands and television viewers across the country were in disbelief that the CFL’s best quarterback seemed to be completely neutralized by the cold weather.

Freezing Flutie (Calgary Herald)

When the final whistle was blown, Edmonton had secured a 29-15 victory and advanced to the Grey Cup that was being played at McMahon Stadium the following week. A dedicated crowd of over 20,000 braved the elements but left disappointed that their team wasn’t going to repeat as champions. The hope of the hometown team playing in the Grey Cup was over.

Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman’s reaction (Calgary Herald)

In the aftermath of the loss, Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman was not a happy camper. He insisted the CFL move up the season to avoid such wintery games in the future. Either that or build a domed stadium in Calgary. The Western Final on November 21, 1993, was one of the coldest – if not the coldest – football games played in Canada. He might’ve had a good point.

Source(s):
The Calgary Herald, 22 November 1993
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November 5, 2025
Getting Ready for the Grey Cup’s TV Debut

It’s September 1952 and a new technology – black and white television – is taking the country and much of the world by storm. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) entered the TV business with two flagship stations: CBFT in Montreal and CBLT in Toronto.

Grey Cup Advertisement for Sweet Caps cigarettes in the Toronto Star (27 November 1952)

The decision was soon made to broadcast the upcoming Grey Cup game on CBLT. The Canadian Rugby Union championship was scheduled for Saturday November 29th at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.

Grey Cup Advertisement by Northern Electric in the Toronto Star (27 November 1952)

The novelty factor of the new technology coupled with the popularity of the hometown Toronto Argonauts, who were playing in the championship, helped drive sales for television sets in Toronto. Several ads selling TVs appeared in local newspapers. These didn’t come cheap, but vendors were more than happy to set up affordable payment plans for excited football fans.

Ads promoting TV sales

While the Grey Cup game itself was the first Canadian football game ever televised, broadcast crews did a practice run a few days before in the playoff game between the Argonauts and the Sarnia Imperials of the Ontario Rugby Football Union. In those days, the ORFU still challenged for the Grey Cup. The Toronto-Sarnia Grey Cup semi-final game at Varsity Stadium was used as the dress rehearsal for the big game. The 1952 Grey Cup commentators Norm Marshall and Larry O’Brien were actually chosen after an audition for the roles was held during the Sarnia game.

Notes about the TV practice run done during the Grey Cup semi-final between Toronto and Sarnia (Toronto Star, 27 November 1952)

Pubs in and around Toronto with television sets were packed on the day of the game. Meanwhile, in nearby Hamilton, Westinghouse set up several TVs so that employees and friends could watch the game. The broadcast even included a short pre-game show hosted by Annis Stukus.

In the end, the Argonauts defeated Edmonton by a score of 21-11 in front not only record crowd at Varsity Stadium but also tens of thousands of television viewers in the Toronto area. A new era for the Grey Cup and for Canadian television was here.

Sources:

Patskou, Paul. “The First Televised Grey Cup Game.” Canadian Football Research Society. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.canadianfootballresearch.ca/the-first-televised-grey-cup-game/.

The Toronto Star, 27 November 1952

October 28, 2025
100 Yard Fields in Early Canadian Football

When CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston announced sweeping rule changes to the Canadian game last month, one modification that probably alarmed traditionalists the most was the change to the size of the CFL football field. In 2027, the field will shrink from 110 yards in length to 100 yards between the goal lines.

I can certainly sympathize with the “Save the 55” crowd. After all, we humans tend not to like change. Especially when it comes to changing something we cherish. But upon further review, it appears that 100-yard football fields are not new to Canadian football.

From the Rules of the Rugby Union Game of Football adopted by the Canadian Rugby Football Union, 14 September 1880

In fact, early Canadian football was played on 100 yard long fields. In 1880, the very first rule in the new Canadian Rugby Football Union rule book stated that “The Grounds shall be, as near as possible, 100 yards long by 50 yards broad.” Of course, it’s important to remember that the game around this time was more like rugby football than the gridiron game we are accustomed to today. But still, that’s a small field.

100 yard long field being adopted by the CRFU in November 1885. (Montreal Star, 14 November 1884)

100 yard long fields continued to be the norm for several years. While the 1884 CRFU Laws of the Game stated that the field of play should not exceed 110 yards in length, in 1885, the CRFU clarified that the field should be 100 yards long by 65 yards wide.
It appears the 110 yard by 65 yard standard was finally widely adopted by the 1890s. That is the size of the field mentioned in the rules when the new Canadian Rugby Union was formed in 1891.

The 110 x 65 field we are accustomed to (taken from the Canadian Rugby Football Union Constitution and Laws of the Game published in 1884).

So, what’s the point of this discussion? Well, nothing really except to reiterate that Canadian football is not static. The rules and regulations of the game have been evolving since the beginning. And in the case of the 100 yard long field coming in 2027, it can be equally argued that rather than moving the CFL closer to the American game, we are instead taking Canadian football back to its early years.

Sources:
Rules of the Rugby Union Game of Football adopted by the Canadian Rugby Football Union, 14 September 1880
Canadian Rugby Football Union Constitution and Laws of the Game, 1 July 1884
The Montreal Star, 14 November 1885

October 15, 2025
The Death of Earl Grey

On August 29, 1917, newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic reported that Earl Grey had died at the age of 65. How well do you know the man who donated the trophy that bears his name, that symbol of Canadian football supremacy?

Born Albert Henry George Grey in 1851 in London, England, he became the 4th Earl Grey upon the death of his uncle. He was a lawyer by profession and a former politician, serving as an MP in the British Parliament. He also briefly served as the administrator for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

In 1904, King Edward VII appointed Earl Grey as the Governor General of Canada. In those days, the vice regal not only represented the monarch in Canada but also acted as a representative for the British government. As such, the appointees were always a member of the British peerage and sometimes even a member of the Royal Family.

News of Earl Grey’s death as reported in the Ottawa Citizen on August 29, 1917.

By most accounts, Earl Grey was an immensely popular Governor General. He travelled the country intensively and was active in many areas of Canadian politics. Earl Grey was a strong supporter of national unity (he was largely responsible for the success of Quebec’s tercentenary celebrations!) and advocated for greater social justice for Canadians. Two of his other interests failed to gain traction, that being electoral reform and transforming the British Empire into an Imperial Federation.

As Governor General, Earl Grey lent his support to several Canadian arts and sports initiatives. In 1909, he donated a trophy to be awarded for the Amateur Rugby Football Championship of Canada. Soon, the trophy would become known as the Grey Cup.

Earl Grey’s death as reported in the Montreal Star on August 29, 1917.

Earl Grey’s death as reported in the Newcastle Journal (UK) on August 30, 1917.

Earl Grey’s tenure as Governor General ended in 1911, and he returned to England. Earl Grey died at his family home in Howick, England on August 29, 1917. He was remembered fondly by the press in both Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in countries around the world. He was survived by his wife Alice and three adult children.

One particular quote (attributed to Sir Hamar Greenwood) nicely sums up Earl Grey and his impact on and connection to Canada: “Earl Grey came to Canada an Englishman and returned to England as a keen Canadian.”

In reading the many newspaper articles about Earl Grey’s death you will notice a glaring omission. Most of them make little to no reference to the Grey Cup or to Grey’s support for Canadian football. At first glance, this appears rather odd. But it’s important to remember the times. At the time of Earl Grey’s death, Canada was in the midst of the First World War. Meaningful football hadn’t been played in Canada since 1914. There had only been six previous Grey Cup games, so the tradition hadn’t yet taken hold. In some ways, the Grey Cup was largely forgotten during the war years. Finally, the game was resurrected in 1920, setting up Earl Grey’s greatest legacy to Canada: the Grey Cup.

Earl Grey was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963, the year the hall was established.

Sources:

The Ottawa Citizen (29 August 1917)
The Montreal Star (29 August 1917)
The Newcastle Journal (30 August 1917)
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October 8, 2025
Portland Hosts Fast Break CFL Football, Precursor to CFL USA Expansion

In 1992, the Canadian Football League was looking to grow. Larry Smith was appointed the CFL’s new commissioner with a mandate to expand the CFL. Of course, Montreal and Halifax were high on Smith’s list of potential sites. But so, too, were several cities south of the border. One of these cities was Portland, Oregon.

Located in the northwestern United States, Portland was a mid-sized city with a suitable stadium and a credible ownership group with the needed capital to both pay for and operate an expansion franchise. It was close enough to the border so that something “Canadian” didn’t sound too foreign. Heck, it was almost as if it could be a natural rival for the BC Lions. Paul Allen, the owner of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, was the man hoping to bring the CFL to Oregon.

To test the Portland market, the CFL played an exhibition game on Thursday, June 25, 1992 at Civic Stadium. The game was a rematch of the 1991 Grey Cup between the Toronto Argonauts and the Calgary Stampeders. The Argos had Raghib “the Rocket” Ismail as their marquee player. Calgary had the recently acquired future Hall of Famer Doug Flutie as their new quarterback. The stage was set for a great exhibition of Canadian football for the American fans featuring the CFL’s two biggest stars.

In the lead up to the exhibition game, the Portland media seemed quite eager to welcome the CFL to town. Ads ran in the Oregonian newspaper promoting “fast-break,” “high flying” and “wide open” CFL football. Unsurprisingly, the Rocket was heavily promoted. Even the Trail Blazers’ Jerome Kersey was featured in advertising for the game.

A decent crowd of 15,362 fans turned out on a hot Thursday night to watch the game. All in all, reviews were positive despite a rather lacklustre game. Calgary won 20-1. Yes, Americans got to see a Canadian rouge scored. In the end, though, no CFL expansion team came to Portland. Instead, Sacramento was awarded the CFL’s first U.S.-based expansion team. After a few years the CFL’s foray into the United States was over. Despite lots of talk and speculation, the CFL-in-Portland story was limited to a single exhibition game only.

100 yard long fields are included in the Johnston Rules announced by CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston recently. The 1992 exhibition game in Portland was the last time the CFL played on a field that was 100 yards in length. The standard CFL field didn’t fit at Portland Civic Stadium without heavy modifications, so the game was played on an American length football field that included ten-yard end zones. Have a look at the screen shots below to get a taste of what Canadian football on 100 yards will (sort of) look like in the future.

You can watch the Toronto-Calgary exhibition game in Portland on the CFL Classics YouTube channel. The game was televised nationally on TSN.

Sources:
The Oregonian, 2 May 1992
The Oregonian, 26 June 1992
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October 1, 2025