Sports Take

The quest for the Grey Cup continues on November 9th as it comes down to the final four teams still with a chance at capturing one of the most historic trophies in North American sports. Allow me if you will to bring you on a journey through the years of the second oldest trophy in North American sports, and the unloved gem in Canada.

The Grey Cup was named after Earl Grey, the Governor General of Canada from 1904-1911, which he donated to the Canadian Rugby Union in 1909. The game of football comes directly from the game of rugby, in the NFL for instance the fair catch comes from a mechanism called a ‘mark’ in rugby. Basically the same principle. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909 in a 26-6 University of Toronto Varsity Blues victory over Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, and has since been handed out 110 times so far with the 111th edition on November 17th. The Canadian Football League took control of the Grey Cup in 1958 when the CFL was founded, with the core 9 teams, the British Colombia Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos(now Elks), Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Rough Riders, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (still officially called Winnipeg Football Club).

The Toronto Argonauts are the winningest club with 18 Championships in 24 appearances, well 25 now with the advance today. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the most appearances in the penultimate game with 30. The 2 most common matchups in the Grey Cup game is Edmonton and Montreal a total of 11 times, and Hamilton versus Winnipeg, also 11 times.

Before 1948 the Grey Cup was just another championship game, few fans traveling to watch the game. But a raucous group of Calgarians changed that forever, riding horses into the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, serving up pancakes, and putting on a rodeo created the spectacle of the Grey Cup Week. A week long gathering of diehard CFL fans from coast-to-coast-to-coast, united by passion and love for the game, that has continued every year since.

The Grey Cup is more than just another trophy, it is the great unifying and binding force for all Canadians. The Grey Cup is ours, no one else’s (minus that Baltimore thing in 1994). The Grey Cup is a Canadian Icon.