The Grey Cup

Summary: The Grey Cup is the name of both the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy (Cup) that is awarded to the victorious team (The Grey Cup Winners). The Cup was donated in 1909 by the then Governor General of Canada, Lord Earl Grey. The cup was to be recognized to the top amateur rugby football team in Canada. At this time Canadian rugby had become extremely different from the rugby union football from which it originated. The Cup, over time, became the property of

The Grey Cup is the name of both the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy (Cup) that is awarded to the victorious team (The Grey Cup Winners). The Cup was donated in 1909 by the then Governor General of Canada, Lord Earl Grey. The cup was to be recognized to the top amateur rugby football team in Canada. At this time Canadian rugby had become extremely different from the rugby union football from which it originated. The Cup, over time, became the property of the Canadian Football League, which is known as the CFL. The CFL had evolved and become a professional league that played Canadian football. The university football teams compete now for the Vanier Cup. Recent changes in the league have brought about the consideration of changing the name of the Grey cup to the name of the current years corporate sponsor. Traditionalists of the CFL have openly objected the idea, stating that the Canadian Football league should not trade a historical and national treasure for shore term leage profit. So far the cup hasn't been renamed! As I mentioned earlier the cup was first used in 1909. Below I have listed every fifth grey cup winner from 1909 up until this year, 2005. 1909 - University of Toronto Varsity Blues (26-6) over the Toronto Parkdale 1914 - Toronto Argonauts (14-2) over the University of Toronto 1919 - Not held due to the Spanish Flu Pandemic 1924 - Queen's University Golden Gaels (11-3) over the Toronto Balmy Beach 1929 - Hamilton Tigers (14-3) over the Regina Roughriders 1934 - Sarnia Imperials (20-12) over the Regina Roughriders 1939 - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-7) over the Ottawa Rough Riders 1944 - Montreal HMCS (7-6) over the Hamilton Flying Wildcats 1949 - Montreal Alouettes (28-15) over the Calgary Stampeder 1954 - Edmonton Eskimos (26-25) over the Montreal Alouettes 1959 - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (21-7) over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 1964 - B.C. Lions (34-24) over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 1969 - Ottawa Rough Riders (29-11) over the Saskatchewan Roughriders 1974 - Montreal Alouettes (20-7) over the Edmonton Eskimos 1979 - Edmonton Eskimos (17-9) over the Montreal Alouettes 1984 - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (47-17) over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 1989 - Saskatchewan Roughriders (43-40) over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 1994 - B.C. Lions (26-23) over the Baltimore Football Club 1999 - Hamilton Tiger-Cats (32-21) over the Calgary Stampeders 2004 - Toronto Argonauts (27-19) over the B.C. Lions Amont the active teams here are the overall Grey Cup standings for most wins in the CFL: - Toronto Argonauts: 15 wins - Edmonton Eskimos: 12 wins - Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 10 wins - Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 8 wins - Calgary Stampeders and Montreal Alouettes: 5 wins each - British Columbia Lions: 4 wins - Saskatchewan Roughriders: 2 wins - Ottawa Renegades: 0 wins