| 1961 CFL season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | June – October, 1961 |
| East champions | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| West champions | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 49th Grey Cup | |
| Date | December 2, 1961 |
| Venue | Exhibition Stadium, Toronto |
| Champions | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
The 1961 CFL season is considered to be the eighth season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the fourth Canadian Football League season.
The Western Canada Intercollegiate Rugby Union merged with the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union.
The WIFU changed its name to become the Western Football Conference.
The CFL season schedule was partially interlocked to allow teams of the Eastern Football Conference to play regular season games against the teams of the Western Football Conference. Beginning this season, teams played opponents in their own conference three times and opponents in the other conference once, meaning the length of the regular season remained unchanged in both conferences (i.e. sixteen games for Western teams and fourteen games for Eastern teams). The format remained as such until 1974 when the Eastern Conference extended its schedule to sixteen games.
A third consecutive year of interleague exhibition matches were scheduled with teams in the National Football League. As in 1959 and 1960, both CFL teams lost, with the Toronto Argonauts falling to the St. Louis Cardinals, 36–7, on August 2, and the Montreal Alouettes losing to the Chicago Bears, 34–16, on August 5). The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had a better idea for success: challenge the nascent American Football League to a duel. The Tiger-Cats faced off against their cross-border "rivals", the Buffalo Bills, on August 8. The Tiger-Cats defeated the Bills, 38–21, giving the Canadian league its first win over an American team since 1941. The AFL, embarrassed over the loss, declined to play another international game, and with the CFL consistently losing to NFL teams, the CFL ended international competition.
The 49th edition of the Grey Cup went to overtime for the first time at Toronto's CNE Stadium. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won championship over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 21–14.
The CFL made rule changes for the 1962 season, permitting four defensive backs per team to have unlimited blocking during rushing plays, as long as they are lined up outside the ends. Additionally the tackle-eligible play became illegal.
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 360 | 251 | 26 |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 334 | 257 | 21 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 300 | 311 | 14 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 211 | 314 | 11 |
| BC Lions | 16 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 215 | 393 | 4 |
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 340 | 293 | 20 |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 359 | 285 | 16 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 255 | 258 | 15 |
| Montreal Alouettes | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 213 | 225 | 9 |
Note: All dates in 1961
| Edmonton Eskimos vs Calgary Stampeders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Away | Home |
| 1 | November 11 | Edmonton Eskimos 8 | Calgary Stampeders 10 |
| 2 | November 13 | Calgary Stampeders 17 | Edmonton Eskimos 18 |
| Calgary won the total-point series by 27–26 | |||
| Toronto Argonauts @ Ottawa Rough Riders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Away | Home |
| November 11 | Toronto Argonauts 43 | Ottawa Rough Riders 19 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Calgary Stampeders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Away | Home |
| 1 | November 18 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers 14 | Calgary Stampeders 1 |
| 2 | November 22 | Calgary Stampeders 14 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers 43 |
| Winnipeg wins the best of three series 2–0 | |||
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs Toronto Argonauts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Away | Home |
| 1 | November 18 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats 7 | Toronto Argonauts 25 |
| 2 (OT) | November 25 | Toronto Argonauts 2 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats 48 |
| Hamilton won total-point series by 55–27 | |||
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | 49th Grey Cup | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 55 (7+48) | ||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | Toronto Argonauts | 27 (25+2) | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Ottawa Rough Riders | 19 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Toronto Argonauts | 43 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 14 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 21 (OT) | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 2 (14,43) | ||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Calgary Stampeders | 0 (1,14) | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Edmonton Eskimos | 26 (8+18) | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Calgary Stampeders | 27 (10+17) | ||||||||||||
| December 2 | |
|---|---|
| Western Champion | Eastern Champion |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21 (OT) | Hamilton Tiger-Cats 14 |
| The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are the 1961 Grey Cup Champions | |
| |
The 1961 Grey Cup was the first CFL championship game to be decided in overtime. The 2005, 2016, and 2021 Grey Cups were also decided in overtime. It also marked the fourth time in five years that the championship was decided between the Blue Bombers and Tiger-Cats. [2]
The 2004 CFL season is considered to be the 51st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 47th Canadian Football League season.
The 2003 CFL season is considered to be the 50th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 46th Canadian Football League season. The pre-season began on May 30, 2003 and the regular season started on June 17, 2003. Taylor Field in Regina, Saskatchewan hosted the 91st Grey Cup on November 16, with the Edmonton Eskimos defeating the Montreal Alouettes 34–22.
The 2001 CFL season is considered to be the 48th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 44th Canadian Football League season.
The 1998 CFL season is considered to be the 45th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 41st Canadian Football League season.
The 1982 CFL season is considered to be the 29th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 25th Canadian Football League season.
The 1980 CFL season is considered to be the 27th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 23rd Canadian Football League season.
The 1977 CFL season is considered to be the 24th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 20th Canadian Football League season.
The 1976 CFL season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season.
The 1974 CFL season is considered to be the 21st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 17th Canadian Football League season.
The 1973 CFL season is considered to be the 20th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 16th Canadian Football League season.
The 1972 CFL season is considered to be the 19th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 15th Canadian Football League season.
The 1971 CFL season is considered to be the 18th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it was officially the 14th Canadian Football League season.
The 1970 CFL season is considered to be the 17th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 13th Canadian Football League season.
The 1969 CFL season is considered to be the 16th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it was officially the 12th Canadian Football League season.
The 1968 CFL season is considered to be the 15th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 11th Canadian Football League season.
The 1958 CFL season was the inaugural season of the Canadian Football League, although the season structure was essentially identical to that of the previous season conducted under the Canadian Football Council. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers met again for Canadian football supremacy. The Blue Bombers turned the tables on the Tiger-Cats this time, winning their first Grey Cup since 1941.
The 1962 CFL season is considered to be the ninth season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the fifth Canadian Football League season.
The 1964 CFL season is considered to be the 11th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the seventh Canadian Football League season.
The 1966 CFL season was the Canadian Football League's ninth season since the 1958 merger of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the Western Interprovincial Football Union to create a national league. It was the 13th season in modern-day Canadian football.
The 1965 CFL season is considered to be the 12th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the eighth Canadian Football League season.
