The Grey Cup is the championship of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team. The trophy is named after Albert Grey, the Governor General of Canada from 1904 until 1911. He donated the trophy to the Canadian Rugby Union in 1909 to recognize the top amateur rugby football team in Canada. By this time Canadian football had become markedly different from the rugby football from which it developed. Although it was originally intended to be awarded only to amateur teams (like the Stanley Cup), over time, the Grey Cup became the property of the Canadian Football League as it evolved into a professional football league. Amateur teams ceased competing for the Cup by 1954; since 1965, the top amateur teams, playing in U Sports, have competed for the Vanier Cup.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Grey_Cup_circa_2006.jpg/170px-Grey_Cup_circa_2006.jpg)
The Grey Cup game is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 4 million.[2][3] Two awards are given for play in the game, Most Valuable Player and the Dick Suderman Trophy as most valuable Canadian player.[4] As a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Andrew Harris was the first player to win both the Dick Suderman Trophy and the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player the same year, which he did in 2019.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have made the most appearances (28), while the Toronto Argonauts have won the most championships (18) and have the best record in the Grey Cup composite standings (18–6). Despite the CFL's brief U.S. expansion era in the mid-1990s, the Grey Cup has never been played outside of Canada. The Baltimore Stallions were the only American team to appear in the Grey Cup (twice, losing in 1994 and winning the following year).
Although the first Grey Cup game was in 1909, none were played from 1916 to 1919 or in 2020, thus the most recent final was the 110th Grey Cup game which was played on November 19, 2023, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. Appearing in their fourth-straight championship game, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were defeated for the second year in a row, this time by the Montreal Alouettes.
Results
edit- Numbers in parentheses indicate the cumulative number of times that a team has won the Grey Cup or that a city/venue has hosted the game.
- ^ Played as a two-game series; Ottawa won by a total score of 20–7
- ^ a b c Game was decided in overtime
- ^ Game was suspended with 9:29 remaining in the fourth quarter due to extremely dense fog, and completed the next day
- ^ The location of the game was originally awarded to Baltimore, Maryland, but the CFL's exit from the United States, which took place as a result of the 1996 relocation of the Baltimore Stallions to Montreal in the wake of the relocation of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, resulted in the game being moved to Edmonton during the 1996 season.
- ^ Game was decided in double overtime
- ^ Originally awarded to Ottawa, but declined due to lawsuits and delays on the renovation of Frank Clair Stadium
Win/Loss records
editAlthough the official website of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats considers them as the same team,[21] the Tiger-Cats, Hamilton Alerts, Hamilton Tigers and Hamilton Flying Wildcats are all listed separately because, when the latter three were active, the teams competed as separate franchises. The Tigers and Flying Wildcats merged in 1950 to create the Tiger-Cats.[22]
As defined in the 2016 CFL's Facts, Figures, and Records and the 2023 CFL Guide & Record Book, for historical record purposes and by the current Ottawa Redblacks' request, the Ottawa Football Clubs are considered to be a single entity since 1876 with two periods of inactivity (1997–2001 and 2006–2013).[23][24] Consequently, figures from the Ottawa Football Club (1876–1898), Ottawa Rough Riders (1899–1919, 1931–1996), Ottawa Senators (1920–1930), Ottawa Renegades (2002–2005), and Ottawa Redblacks (2014–present) are included as one.[24]
Toronto is the city with the most wins, 25, followed by Hamilton (15), Edmonton (14), Winnipeg (12), Ottawa (10), Montreal (10), Calgary (8), Vancouver (6), Regina (4), Kingston (3), Sarnia (2) and Baltimore (1).
Active teams
editAppearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Last Win |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
28 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 12 | 16 | .429 | 2021 |
24 | Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 6 | .750 | 2022 |
23 | Edmonton Eskimos/Elks | 14 | 9 | .609 | 2015 |
22 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 8 | 14 | .364 | 1999 |
19 | Montreal Alouettes | 8 | 11 | .421 | 2023 |
19 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 4 | 15 | .211 | 2013 |
18 | Ottawa Senators/Rough Riders/Redblacks | 10 | 8 | .556 | 2016 |
17 | Calgary Stampeders | 8 | 9 | .471 | 2018 |
10 | BC Lions | 6 | 4 | .600 | 2011 |
Grey Cup Records post-merger era (1958)
editAppearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|
20 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 6 | 14 | .300 |
19 | Edmonton Eskimos/Elks | 11 | 8 | .579 |
17 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 9 | 8 | .529 |
15 | Calgary Stampeders | 7 | 8 | .467 |
15 | Montreal Alouettes | 7 | 8 | .467 |
11 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 4 | 7 | .364 |
11 | Toronto Argonauts | 8 | 3 | .727 |
10 | BC Lions | 6 | 4 | .600 |
10 | Ottawa Rough Riders/Redblacks | 6 | 4 | .600 |
Defunct and amateur teams
editAppearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|
8 | Hamilton Tigers | 5 | 3 | .625 |
6 | University of Toronto | 4 | 2 | .666 |
4 | Toronto Balmy Beach | 2 | 2 | .500 |
3 | Queen's University | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
3 | Sarnia Imperials | 2 | 1 | .667 |
2 | Baltimore Stallions | 1 | 1 | .500 |
2 | Hamilton Flying Wildcats | 1 | 1 | .500 |
2 | Edmonton Eskimos & Elks | 0 | 2 | .000 |
2 | Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club | 0 | 2 | .000 |
2 | Winnipeg RCAF Bombers | 0 | 2 | .000 |
1 | Hamilton Alerts | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
1 | Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
1 | St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Navy | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
1 | Toronto RCAF Hurricanes | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
1 | Toronto Rowing Association | 0 | 1 | .000 |
1 | Winnipeg Tammany Tigers | 0 | 1 | .000 |
See also
editReferences
edit- General
- "Grey Cup Recaps". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- "Grey Cup history". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- "Canadian Football League -- Grey Cup Champions". Canadian Online Explorer.
- "Grey Cup Almanac – Past Winners". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- Ichniowski, Scott. "CFL Grey Cup History". Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- Specific
- ^ "Grey Cup history". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Houston, William (December 20, 2006). "Grey Cup moves to TSN in new deal". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ William Houston (2006-11-20). "Minor rise in Grey Cup ratings good for CBC". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ^ "MVP and Top Canadians". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ John Steadman (1997-11-09). "It's time to tee up Grey Cup week minus expected host Baltimore – tribunedigital-baltimoresun". Articles.baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ "CFL announces Vancouver will host 2011 Grey Cup". The Sports Network. 2009-02-27. Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ 100th Grey Cup coming to Toronto in 2012 Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Roughriders to host the 2013 Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium". Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ Back to BC: 102nd Grey Cup awarded to Vancouver Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 103rd Grey Cup awarded to city of Winnipeg Archived 2014-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw awarded to Toronto | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ "Ottawa to host 105th Grey Cup in 2017". Canadian Football League. July 31, 2016. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
- ^ Scott, Morley; Mertz, Emily (June 5, 2017). "Edmonton officially named 2018 Grey Cup host city". CHED. Edmonton: Global Edmonton. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- ^ "107th Grey Cup presented by Shaw coming to Calgary in 2019". CFL.ca. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "Going for Two: CFL awards 2020 and 2021 Grey Cups". cfl.ca. February 21, 2019. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "CFL Announces Plans To Return-to-play For 2021 Season". cfl.ca. April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ "CFL, Roughriders announce Saskatchewan Grey Cup moved to 2022". 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ "Full house for 2021 Grey Cup; Hamilton awarded 2023 game". Canadian Football League. October 14, 2021. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "112th Grey Cup in 2025 awarded to Winnipeg". Canadian Football League. March 14, 2023. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Bombers announce 112th Grey Cup ticket pricing". Canadian Football League. August 16, 2024.
- ^ "History – Grey Cup". Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Archived from the original on 2007-09-24. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ "Tiger-Cats History". Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Archived from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ "CFL GUIDE & RECORD BOOK: 2016 EDITION" (PDF). Canadian Football League. p. 155. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "2023 CFL Guide & Record Book" (PDF). Canadian Football League. pp. 20, 179. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
External links
edit- Canadian Football League – Official website
- Grey Cup – Official website
- CBC Digital Archives – Grey Cup: The Fans and the Fanfare Archived 2006-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
- 96th Grey Cup Game 2008 in Montreal
- Canadian Football Resources, includes images of souvenir programmes