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 BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks were founded in 1949 as the Edmonton Eskimos and have won the Grey Cup championship fourteen times, most recently in 2015. The team has a rivalry with the Calgary Stampeders and is one of the three community-owned teams in the CFL. The team discontinued using the Eskimos name in 2020, with the new name Elks formally announced on June 1, 2021.
Tom Wilkinson is an American former professional football quarterback best known for his time with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, where he played on six Grey Cup-winning teams. He was a Western Conference and CFL all-star quarterback in 1974, 1978 and 1979 and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 1974. Wilkinson has been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
John Dickerson "Jackie" Parker was an American gridiron football player and coach. He was an All-American in college football and an outstanding professional football player in the Canadian Football League (CFL) at the running back, quarterback, defensive back, and kicker positions. He is primarily known for his play with the Edmonton Eskimos. Later in his career, he played for the Toronto Argonauts and the BC Lions, and coached the Eskimos and Lions after his playing career ended.
Damon Duval is an American former professional placekicker and punter. Duval played college football for Auburn University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He played professionally for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL), and the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Joe Poplawski is a former professional Canadian football receiver who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1978 to 1986.
Lui Passaglia is a former professional Canadian football player. Passaglia was the placekicker/punter for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League for a record-breaking 25 years (1976–2000) and scored more points in that time than any professional gridiron football player in history. He is a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, and the BC Lions Wall of Fame. Passaglia's #5 jersey is one of nine numbers retired by the Lions. In 2003, Passaglia was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration. In 2006, Passaglia was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#30) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
Tommy Joe Coffey was an American-born Canadian Football League (CFL) player who was an end, wide receiver and place kicker for the Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.
The 70th Grey Cup, also known as the "Rain Bowl", was the 1982 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos, who were making their sixth consecutive appearance in the CFL championship game, defeated the Argonauts 32–16 on the Eskimos' way to their fifth straight Grey Cup. The game was played on Sunday, November 28, 1982, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
The 69th Grey Cup was played on November 22, 1981, at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec in front of 52,487 fans. The 1981 Grey Cup game is considered to be one of the ten best Grey Cup games of all time. CFL football fans saw an unexpectedly exciting game, as the 22.5 point underdog Ottawa Rough Riders, sporting a woeful record of 5–11, came within three seconds of beating the Edmonton Eskimos, who had won the championship the last three straight years. The Eskimos, with a 14–1–1 record, were almost the victims of what would have been the biggest upset in the history of the Grey Cup. With the win, the Eskimos became the first team in league history to win the Grey Cup four consecutive times.
The 63rd Grey Cup was played on November 23, 1975, before 32,454 fans at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. In a tight, defensive battle, the Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Montreal Alouettes 9–8. Just before the contest began, a young woman "streaked" during the coin toss.
The 68th Grey Cup was played on November 23, 1980, before 54,661 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 48–10 in one of the most lopsided victories in Grey Cup history.
Elmer Roland "Rollie" Miles was a professional football player for the Canadian Football League Edmonton Eskimos. Miles played offence, defence, and special teams, during his eleven-year career with the Eskimos. Miles is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and the Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour. In November 2006, Miles was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#48) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
Willie Pless is a former Canadian football linebacker in the Canadian Football League. 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.
The 74th Grey Cup was the 1986 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Tiger-Cats unexpectedly dominated the Eskimos 39–15.
Ron Estay is a former defensive lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Brian Fryer is a retired football player who starred at wide receiver for the University of Alberta, and played professionally for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos and Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Sean Whyte is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Rene Paredes is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Stampeders in 2014 and 2018 and is a four-time CFL All-Star. He also won the John Agro Special Teams Award as the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams player in 2013.
