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.
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…
