1940 in Canadian football

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The only two-game total point series in Grey Cup history was played between the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers. It was Ottawa's first Grey Cup championship since the Senators won back-to-back titles in 1925 and 1926. It was Balmy Beach's fourth and final appearance at a Grey Cup, winning two times in four opportunities. [1]

Contents

The Canadian Rugby Union arranged the series after it refused to allow the WIFU winners, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to compete in the final. The reason for the refusal was based on the WIFU season being played under rules that varied from IRFU rules. [2]

Regular season

Final regular season standings

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points

Western Interprovincial Football Union
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 86201085812
Calgary Bronks 844079768
Regina Roughriders 826039924
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Ottawa Rough Riders 65101164010
Toronto Argonauts 642058798
Hamilton Tigers 624045734
Montreal Football Club (Bulldogs) 615039662
Ontario Rugby Football Union
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Toronto Balmy Beach 6600751212
Sarnia 2/26 Battery 642059368
Hamilton Alerts 514016492
Camp Borden 50507600

*Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs

A tie game between the Hamilton Alerts and Camp Borden was ordered to be replayed but was cancelled.

BCRFU - Three V League
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Victoria Revellers440044148
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds413025422
Vancouver Bulldogs413014272

Grey Cup playoffs

Note: All dates in 1940

Division finals

WIFU Finals – Game 1
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Calgary Bronks
DateAwayHome
November 2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 7 Calgary Bronks 0
WIFU Finals – Game 2
Calgary Bronks @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DateAwayHome
November 9 Calgary Bronks 2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23
ORFU Finals – Game 1
Sarnia 2/26 Battery @ Toronto Balmy Beach
DateAwayHome
November 16 Sarnia 2/26 Battery 0 Toronto Balmy Beach 12
ORFU Finals – Game 2
Toronto Balmy Beach @ Sarnia 2/26 Battery
DateAwayHome
November 23 Toronto Balmy Beach 24 Sarnia 2/26 Battery 0
IRFU Finals – Game 1
Toronto Argonauts @ Ottawa Rough Riders
DateAwayHome
November 16 Toronto Argonauts 1 Ottawa Rough Riders 12
IRFU Finals – Game 2
Ottawa Rough Riders @ Toronto Argonauts
DateAwayHome
November 23 Ottawa Rough Riders 8 Toronto Argonauts 1
  • Ottawa won the total-point series by 20–2. Ottawa will play Toronto Balmy Beach (ORFU Champions) in the Grey Cup game.

Grey Cup Championship

November 30

28th Annual Grey Cup Game – Game 1: Varsity StadiumToronto, Ontario

Ottawa Rough Riders @ Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers (ORFU)
AwayHome
Ottawa Rough Riders 8 Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers (ORFU) 2
December 7

28th Annual Grey Cup Game – Game 2: Lansdowne ParkOttawa, Ontario

Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers (ORFU) @ Ottawa Rough Riders
AwayHome
Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers (ORFU) 5 Ottawa Rough Riders 12
Ottawa won the total-point series by 20–7.

The Ottawa Rough Riders are the 1940 Grey Cup Champions

1940 Interprovincial Rugby Football Union All-Stars

NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.

1940 Western Interprovincial Football Union All-Stars

NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.

1940 Ontario Rugby Football Union All-Stars

NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.

1940 Canadian Football Awards

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The Toronto Argonauts won the Grey Cup for the second time in five years.

For the second consecutive season the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers met for the Grey Cup. The Argonauts won the game.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers played in their third consecutive Grey Cup final. A last-second rouge gave Winnipeg its second title in five years.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were once again permitted to challenge for the Grey Cup following a rule dispute a year earlier. In a meeting of the previous two Grey Cup champions, the Blue Bombers prevailed, sending the coveted mug west for the third time.

Football returned to relative normal in 1945 following the conclusion of World War II. Two rivals from the pre-war years met once again in the annual Grey Cup, but on this occasion, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were no match for the Toronto Argonauts. For Winnipeg, it was the worst loss by a western team in the Grey Cup since 1923 when Queen's University routed the Regina Roughriders 54–0.

For the first time in Grey Cup history, the same two teams challenged for the trophy for the third consecutive year. But unlike the previous two years, the Toronto Argonauts needed some late game heroics to win their third consecutive title.

The Calgary Stampeders had an opportunity to defend their Grey Cup title in 1949, but the Montreal Alouettes returned the trophy to Quebec for just the third time in its history.

After a 17-year absence, the Saskatchewan Roughriders returned to the Grey Cup final. Their losing streak in the big game continued, however, as it was the other Rough Riders that took home the prize.

The Toronto Argonauts faced the Edmonton Eskimos in the Grey Cup. Although the Argos would hold on to win the game and their tenth Grey Cup championship, an Argo would not sip from the silver mug again until 1983.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the annual Grey Cup in 1953.

The Edmonton Eskimos upset the Montreal Alouettes to send the Grey Cup trophy back west for the first time since 1948.

The Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes in the first Grey Cup held in the west. This was also the first year that the Grey Cup was open to professional teams only, as the amateur Ontario Rugby Football Union was not invited to compete in an inter-union playdown, leaving only the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the Western Interprovincial Football Union to compete for the Canadian championship.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup.

References

  1. "Grey Cup Memories: 1940". CFL.ca. 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  2. "Year". www.cflapedia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  3. Braunwart, Bob (1979). "All Those A.F.L.'s: N.F.L. Competitors, 1935-1941" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2019.