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. As of 2024, it features a 21-week regular season in which each team plays 18 games with three bye weeks. This season traditionally runs from mid-June to early November. Following the regular season, six teams compete in the league's three-week playoffs, which culminate in the Grey Cup championship game in late November. The Grey Cup is one of Canada's largest annual sports and television events. The CFL was officially named on January 19, 1958, upon the merger between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union or "Big Four" and the Western Interprovincial Football Union.
James Edward Finks was an American football and Canadian football player, coach, and executive.
Scott Flory is the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan's Huskies football team. He is also a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played for 15 years for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.
Tyrone Robert Williams is a Canadian former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is the first player to win a Vanier Cup, a Super Bowl and a Grey Cup. He played university football at the University of Western Ontario.
Clifton Eugene Abraham, Jr. is a former American and Canadian football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for Florida State University, and was recognized as an All-American. He played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers of the NFL. Abraham also played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
The CFL draft is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from the ranks of U Sports football or NCAA college football. Member clubs make selections based on the reverse order of the previous year's standings, with the team with the worst record being awarded the first selection, the Grey Cup runner-up getting the second-to-last selection and the Grey Cup champion selecting last. The draft is held once every year, approximately six weeks prior to the start of the upcoming season.
Less Browne is a former gridiron football defensive back who played in the United States Football League (USFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Pittsburgh Maulers (USFL), Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Rough Riders and the BC Lions.
Gary Fay Wood was an American football quarterback who played 63 games in the National Football League (NFL), for the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, from 1964 until 1969.
Robert F. Waldrop is a former American college and professional gridiron football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Arizona, where he was a two-time consensus All-American for the Wildcats. Waldrop played professionally for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, and the Memphis Mad Dogs and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Willie Pless is a former Canadian football linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and Saskatchewan Roughriders, winning the 1993 Grey Cup with the Eskimos. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Jim Corrigall is a Canadian former football player and coach He was all-star defensive end for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Corrigall served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1994 to 1997, compiling a record of 8–35–1. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
Don Paul "Suds" Sutherin was a Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) defensive back and placekicker. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1992).
Barry Todd Wilburn is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the eighth round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Wilburn played in eight NFL seasons from 1985 to 1996 and in two CFL seasons for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the British Columbia Lions. He played in one final season in 1999 for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before retiring.
U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, and Atlantic University Sport. At the end of every season, the champions of each conference advance to semifinal bowl games; the winners of these meet in the Vanier Cup national championship.
The following is a list of first round selections from Canadian college drafts from 1956 to 1969, which are annual sports drafts in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) selected eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from the ranks of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football or NCAA college football. Member clubs made selections based on the reverse order of the previous year's standings, with the team with the worst record being awarded the first selection. Prior to 1956, only Interprovincial Rugby Football Union clubs participated in the draft while the Western Interprovincial Football Union not only chose by territorial rights, but would also try to sign away players that were drafted by eastern clubs. To create a level playing field, the Canadian Football Council was formed which later evolved into the Canadian Football League. Following the creation of the CFC, all nine member clubs participated in the 1956 draft. The order of selection was determined by reverse record with the losing conference picking first.
Lee Gissendaner is currently the player personnel executive for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He served as a scout with the Green Bay Packers for 17 years (1998–2014) before joining the New York Jets with the same position from 2015 to 2017. In 2018, Gissendaner would return to Green Bay under the position of player personnel executive.
Michael Allen is a former Canadian football defensive back who played seven seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Rough Riders and BC Lions. He was drafted by the Blue Bombers in the fourth round of the 1988 CFL Draft. He played at Bemidji State University, Division II NCAA in Bemidji, Minnesota, USA in 1984. He then transferred to CIS football at Carleton University in 1986. Allen won three Grey Cup championships, two with the Blue Bombers and one with the Lions.
Brian Jones is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver and is the special teams coordinator for the York Lions of U Sports football. He played professionally for the Toronto Argonauts, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) football with the Acadia Axemen.
Ante Milanovic-Litre is a Canadian professional football running back and fullback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL).