The 1991
Canadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
season is considered to be the 38th season in modern-day
Canadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, although it is officially the 34th Canadian Football League season.
CFL News in 1991
Harry Ornest sold the
Toronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
to
Bruce McNallBruce Patrick McNall is a former Thoroughbred racehorse owner, and a sports executive who once owned the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League .McNall claimed to have made his initial fortune as a coin collector, though...
,
Wayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
and
John CandyJohn Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
on Monday, February 25. On Wednesday, July 24, the Board of Directors of the
Ottawa Rough RidersThe Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
resigned, causing the
CFLThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
to assume the ownership duties of the franchise, two days later. Three months later, the Rough Riders were sold by the CFL to Bernie and Lonie Glieberman on Saturday, October 19. Furthermore, the
Calgary StampedersThe Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
was purchased by
Larry RyckmanLawrence G. Ryckman is an entertainment, technology and sports entrepreneur born in Toronto, Canada. He is best known for developing technologies used in the music and entertainment industries and for his ownership of the Calgary Stampeder Football Team of the CFL. He has also served as CEO of...
from Stampeder Football Club Limited on Friday, October 24.
All eight clubs combined for a record 64.2 points per game and attendance figures broke the 2 million mark for the 10th time in CFL history (2,001,858). The
Grey CupThe Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
game was hosted by the city of
WinnipegWinnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
for the first time on Sunday, November 24. In that game, the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Calgary Stampeders 36–21 in front of 51,985 football fans. The Grey Cup game was also the most-watched Canadian television show with an audience of 3,531,000 viewers.
J. Donald CrumpJohn Donald Crump was Commissioner of the Canadian Football League from January 1990 to December 1991. During the previous two decades he had worked for Harold Ballard as an executive of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and financial officer of Maple Leaf Gardens.He was a chartered accountant by training...
resigned as CFL Commissioner on Tuesday, December 31.
Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
West Division
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
Edmonton EskimosThe Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
|
18 |
12 |
6 |
0 |
671 |
569 |
24 |
Calgary StampedersThe Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
|
18 |
11 |
7 |
0 |
596 |
552 |
22 |
BC LionsThe BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
|
18 |
11 |
7 |
0 |
661 |
587 |
22 |
Saskatchewan RoughridersThe Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
|
18 |
6 |
12 |
0 |
606 |
710 |
12 |
|
East Division
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
Toronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
|
18 |
13 |
5 |
0 |
647 |
526 |
26 |
Winnipeg Blue BombersThe Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
|
18 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
516 |
499 |
18 |
Ottawa Rough RidersThe Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
|
18 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
522 |
577 |
14 |
Hamilton Tiger-CatsThe Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
|
18 |
3 |
15 |
0 |
400 |
599 |
6 |
|
- Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
- Edmonton and Toronto have first round byes.
Grey Cup playoffs
The
Toronto ArgonautsThe Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
are the 1991
Grey CupThe Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
champions, defeating the
Calgary StampedersThe Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
36–21, at Winnipeg Stadium. This was the first championship for the Argonauts in eight years. The Argonaut's Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (WR) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player and Stampeder's
Dave SapunjisDavid B. Sapunjis is a former wide receiver for the Calgary Stampeders from 1990-1996. Sapunjis won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award two times and was the Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian three times. He played college football at the University of Western Ontario where he was also a...
(SB) was the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.
Playoff bracket
1991 CFL Awards
- CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The Most Outstanding Player award can be compared to the National Football League's Most Valuable Player, otherwise known as the "MVP" award...
– Doug FlutieDouglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
(QB), BC Lions
- CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually rewarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. This is the second-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted. The two nominees...
– Blake MarshallBlake Marshall was Canadian football player with the Edmonton Eskimos for 8 seasons. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1991 and was a CFL All-Star three years in a row....
(FB), Edmonton Eskimos
- CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually rewarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian Football League. This is the third-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
– Greg BattleGreg Battle was an award-winning Canadian Football League linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1987 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1998.He graduated from Arizona State University...
(LB), Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award
The Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually rewarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. This is the fourth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
– Jim MillsJames Anthony Mills is a former American football and Canadian football offensive lineman....
(OT), BC Lions
- CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award
The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually rewarded to the player deemed to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. This is the fifth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it...
– Jon VolpeJon Volpe was a star running back in the Canadian Football League.Volpe took an unusual and inspiring path to football stardom. Coming from a family where his father would leave by the time he was 5 years old, his mother would become an alcoholic and live on the street, and his brother would go to...
(RB), BC Lions
- CFLPA's Most Outstanding Community Service Award
Every year the Canadian Football League Players' Association presents the Tom Pate Award. It is not a "Jock Award," but rather an award given to players who display qualities that distinguish them from their peers....
– Stu LairdStuart Laird is a former professional Canadian football defensive tackle who played thirteen seasons for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He is the president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association.-External links:*...
(LB), Calgary Stampeders
- CFL's Coach of the Year
The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada...
– Adam RitaAdam Rita is a Canadian Football League executive who has served as the head coach of Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Rough Riders, and BC Lions and as general manager of the Lions and Argonauts....
, Toronto Argonauts