Canadian Football History

Celebrating the rich history of the great game of Canadian football. Curated by @hammerdunner.bsky.social | More at canadianfootballhistory.ca

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CFL preseason: There must be a better way, for fans’ sake (1985)

The 2026 CFL preseason is underway with a full slate of games this weekend. I'm always happy to have football back - even if the games don't really matter much to us fans. It's safe to say that the co…

1d ago·2 min read·240 words

Canadian Football’s Quirky Playoffs, Part I: Tie Schedules and Challenge Cups in 1884

With the recent announcement that the CFL is changing its playoff format in 2027, I thought it would be an interesting learning experience to revisit some of the old playoff systems used in Canadian f…

May 13·5 min read·854 words

Robokicker Dave Ridgway Retires

On April 24, 1996, one of the most prolific kickers to play the Canadian game announced his retirement. Dave Ridgway played every game throughout his 14-year career in the Canadian Football League wit…

Apr 24·6 min read·1009 words

Calgary Tigers First Winners of the Hugo Ross Trophy

On October 21, 1911, representatives from the Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba rugby football unions met at the King’s Hotel in Regina to form the Western Canada Rugby Football Union. The new leagu…

Apr 9·3 min read·458 words

Tigers Quit the Big Four

In the Spring of 1948, the Hamilton Tigers shocked the Canadian football world when they announced their withdrawal from the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. A founding member of the league also …

Apr 1·5 min read·897 words

The CFL’s Early Websites

At high school in the mid 1990s we were asked to use a new technology called the "World Wide Web” for a research project. Yours truly balked and wanted to stick with the tried-and-true volumes of Ency…

Mar 26·5 min read·887 words

1955 East-West Game a Success

In the 1950s, the Shriners organization sponsored an East-West all-star game featuring the best players of Canadian football. The game was played the week after the Grey Cup between all-stars from the…

Mar 11·3 min read·564 words

CFL Ends U.S. Expansion, Retreats Back to Canada

On Friday February 2, 1996, the Canadian Football League officially ended its American expansion efforts. During the CFL’s annual winter meetings, the league announced that the Birmingham Barracudas, …

Mar 5·4 min read·638 words

Pirate Ball Comes to the CFL

Of all the U.S. cities that the CFL awarded teams to as part of its American expansion in the 1990s, Shreveport had to be the most obscure choice. Whereas the other cities had teams in the defunct Wor…

Feb 27·7 min read·1210 words

A Fan Remembers the Baltimore Stallions

Baltimore Stallions logo (SportsLogos.Net) Doug Phillips was just five years old when his father took him to his first football game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. He got to see the Johnn…

Feb 11·6 min read·1009 words

CFL Adds More American Teams

After the Sacramento Gold Miners joined the Canadian Football League in 1993 and despite some scepticism and opposition, the league sought to grow its footprint in the United States with additional te…

Feb 4·6 min read·1120 words

Winnipeg Leads Opposition to CFL American Expansion

When the Canadian Football League rolled out American expansion in the early 1990s, support for the idea was far from unanimous. Yes, proponents argued that U.S. expansion was the way forward to grow …

Jan 21·5 min read·968 words

The CFL Expands to the USA

When I first started following CFL football in the early 1990s, two issues dominated the league: struggling Canadian franchises and U.S. expansion. They kind of went hand in hand, the idea being that …

Jan 7·6 min read·1007 words

Happy Anniversary to Us

Wow. Time sure does fly. It's been just over a year since I launched the Canadian Football History website. Admittedly, I wasn't quite certain there would be an audience for the content I wanted to sh…

Dec 3·2 min read·311 words

The Vanier Cup Becomes Canada’s University Football Championship

Universities in Canada have played football since…well…since football has been played in Canada. Teams from the University of Toronto, McGill University, and Queen’s University played what would becom…

Nov 26·3 min read·551 words

Varsity Wins the Almost Forgotten Grey Cup

In 1909, Governor General Earl Grey donated a trophy to be awarded to the amateur rugby football champions of Canada. The University of Toronto won the inaugural championship with a 26-6 win over Toro…

Nov 12·2 min read·400 words

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 Ca…

Nov 5·3 min read·551 words

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 t…

Oct 28·3 min read·459 words

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 th…

Oct 15·3 min read·489 words

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 …

Oct 8·4 min read·626 words

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 l…

Oct 1·3 min read·561 words