The Canadian Football League is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a city in Canada. They are divided into two divisions: four teams in the East Division and five teams in the West Division.
The Grey Cup is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners of the CFL's East and West Divisional playoffs and is one of Canadian television's largest annual sporting events. The Toronto Argonauts have the most Grey Cup wins (18) since its introduction in 1909, while the Edmonton Elks have the most Grey Cup wins (11) since the merger in 1958. The latest, the 109th Grey Cup, took place in Regina, Saskatchewan on November 20, 2022, when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24–23.
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, the team is the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name, as well as the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division. The team's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Argonauts played their home games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016 when the team moved to BMO Field, the fifth stadium site to host the team.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the current Grey Cup champions. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Field.
Frank James Clair was an American gridiron football player, coach, and executive. Nicknamed "the Professor" for his ability to recognize and develop talent, he served as a head coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Toronto Argonauts from 1950 to 1954 and the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1956 to 1969. Clair ranks third all-time in CFL history with 147 regular season wins and first in postseason victories with 27. He is also tied for the most Grey Cup championships won by a head coach with five. He won the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's coach of the year in 1966 and 1969.
The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.
The Sarnia Imperials were a football team from Sarnia, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League and contested for the Grey Cup until 1955. In their history, the Imperials appeared in three Grey Cup championship games, winning twice in 1934 and in 1936.
The Hamilton Alerts were a Canadian football-rugby union team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1911 to 1912. The club won the 4th Grey Cup in 1912, becoming the first ever team from Hamilton to win the Grey Cup and the first team from the ORFU to win the Cup.
The 5th Grey Cup was played on November 29, 1913, before 2,100 fans at A.A.A. Grounds at Hamilton.
The Hamilton Tigers were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and 1948 to 1949 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1947. The club was a founding member of both the ORFU in 1883 and the IRFU in 1907. Throughout their history, the Tigers won five Grey Cup Championships and two Dominion Championships, including the 1908 title, the year before the Grey Cup was first awarded. After struggling to compete on a sound financial level with the Hamilton Wildcats, who had joined the ORFU in 1941 and later the IRFU, the two clubs merged in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The 35th Grey Cup was played on November 29, 1947, before 18,885 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto.
The 39th Grey Cup was the Canadian Football League's championship game of the 1951 season, played on November 24, 1951.
The 31st Grey Cup was played on November 27, 1943, before 16,423 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto.
The 24th Grey Cup was played on December 5, 1936, before 5,883 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto.
The 22nd Grey Cup was played on November 24, 1934, before 8,900 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto.
The 9th Grey Cup was played on December 3, 1921, before 9,558 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto. Edmonton was the first western team to challenge for the Grey Cup.
The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 season. A rematch of the 107th Grey Cup, the game was played on December 12 between the defending Grey Cup and West Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the East Division champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. The Blue Bombers defeated the Tiger-Cats 33–25 in overtime for their second straight title, making them the first team in 11 years to win two straight Grey Cups. This game was also the fourth Grey Cup to go into overtime, with the other three instances coming in 1961, 2005 and 2016.
