After 20 years, Stallions finally celebrate Grey Cup win

[sj-roc]

Baltimore lead the CFL with an average attendance of over 40,000 in '94, not the 7,000 as quoted in the article. While some critics claim their tremendous fan support was due to fans wanting to send a message to the NFL...they did draw over 45,000 to Memorial stadium for their playoff game which was not part of the season ticket package. Baltimore was 2nd in attendance in '95 averaging over 34,000 fans. So American expansion wasn't a total failure as many pundits claim today.

I think what happened to the Baltimore fans was that initially they wanted to send a message to the NFL, but then they found out that the CFL was fun and entertaining and that they had a very competitive team and that is when the support really grew.

Initially I thought that the Toronto football fans would treat the Bills in TO series in a similar way or that Rogers would even promote the games as a vehicle to show support for a future NFL team in TO. Turns out there really are no football fans in TO or at least none who want to go to games in person. BMO field and a successful Argos team may help increase attendance but I fear it won't be by much.

That sounds about right. The problem — well, one of the problems — with US expansion was too many of the teams were run by people with plenty of NFL/NCAA experience but none in the CFL and — much like the common narrative of players with NFL backgrounds who come up here perhaps thinking they can dominate right out of the chute only to fail out, sometimes in spectacular fashion — we got similar results with those teams.

Baltimore was seemingly the only team that understood it was a different game and recognised the value of having coaches and players either with CFL experience or skill sets suited to the CFL game. Mike Pringle was the future considerations of an earlier incomplete trade with Sacramento. Elfrid Payton, a 1993 league all-star who went on to be named an all-star six more times, was basically a gift from Shreveport who had cut him after just five games. They also had several free agents who had played in Canada like Tracy Ham and Jearld Baylis. This was in stark contrast to a team like Memphis whose head coach Pepper Rodgers came off like a buffoon every time he opened his mouth, expressing confusion over rules like you can't head to the dressing room with 30 seconds left in the half.

They also had one of the better stadiums among the US teams, at least in terms of fitting the Cdn field. At the Liberty Bowl, Memphis's endzones as I recall were less than ten yards deep. Even worse, the first several yards of the field starting from each sideline were natural grass as opposed to the artificial turf on the rest of the interior, which comprised the American regulation sized portion of the field. It was a nightmare in terms of players, especially receivers and DBs, trying to find the right footwear to play on such a combination field. With these field quality issues, the league was handcuffed to showcase the high-scoring offences of the day so it was no surprise that some of the lowest scoring games of the US expansion era came in Memphis. I distinctly recall one (Mad?) dog of a game there that ended in an 11-5 score, one which would not have looked out of place had it been played during last season's doldrums.

[Robbie]

This reminds me of when the 1964 BC Lions finally received their much belated Grey Cup rings - by then a few of them have passed away. I don't think any of the 1995 Stallions have passed away although a few of them have serious health issues like Don Matthews and especially O.J. Brigance.

Do you have a favourite player from the 1995 Stallions?

Great story, too bad no update on Don Matthews.I do recall an interview in the GC that Baltimore didn't win vs BC at BC Place (game I was at) where Danny Mc said that day no one on the Lions wanted to be the first team that let the GC go south of the border. Big Lu missing a FG than hitting the winning one was super. Great battle. That year was special especially the '94 playoff game to eliminate Calgary (posted by Almo on You tube - my favourite sequence of all time)

That said as I've stated numerous times even though it was an uphill climb as well the 2000 Grey Cup Lions only get about 10% of the attention compared to the 1994 team and along with that, the 2000 game MVP Robert Drummond. I hope he was able to attend the event. In the 1994 GC for Baltimore he dropped a near certain touchdown catch which would have dramatically changed the outcome of the game.

Perhaps little consolation but on the other hand a huge achievement for a expansion team reaching to the finals, it's nice that Jim Speros provided division championship rings to his players in 1994.

[sj-roc]

This reminds me of when the 1964 BC Lions finally received their much belated Grey Cup rings - by then a few of them have passed away. I don't think any of the 1995 Stallions have passed away although a few of them have serious health issues like Don Matthews and especially O.J. Brigance.

Chris Wright — who opened the scoring in their championship game with an 82yd punt return, a Grey Cup record for longest PR that still stands — was murdered in Atlanta, 10 years ago this very week, as reported in this CBC article. He was only 32.

Another more in-depth contemporary article, for which Wright's family was interviewed, appeared in the National Post on the day of his funeral. The original seems to have disappeared; the preceding link goes to where someone posted it on the Eskimos fan board in 2008.

[Robbie]

Chris Wright — who opened the scoring in their championship game with an 82yd punt return, a Grey Cup record for longest PR that still stands — was murdered in Atlanta, 10 years ago this very week, as reported in this CBC article. He was only 32.

[video][/video]
Okay, I forgot about Chris Wright being killed and I was thinking of those who passed away of natural causes - like those from the 1964 Lions with Dave Skrien most recently.

Let's debate whether Buono should have put Jeff Garcia, who had a successful stint replacing an injured Doug Flutie during the regular season, into that Grey Cup game at some point.

Sincerely,
Debating whether Buono should have put Casey Printers, who had a successful stint replacing an injured Dave Dickenson during the regular season, into that Grey Cup game at some point

Hmmm.....good debate.

One notable difference between the two Grey Cup games would be the player in question with regards to the division championship game. For Doug Flutie and the 1995 Calgary Stampeders, after being upset at home in the 1993 and 1994 WDF, they wanted to ensure that there would be no more repetition so Doug Flutie and the Stampeders played an outstanding game in the Northern Division Final by completely demolishing and crushing the Edmonton Eskimos 37-4. With that dominant performance, Buono was completely convinced that Flutie had completely recovered from his injury and was in absolute top form. In the 1995 Grey Cup, Flutie wasn't bad by any means by passing for a touchdown and scoring one himself, and his slotback Dave Sapunjis won MVC. It looks like it was bad special teams and defence by the Stampeders that allowed the Stallions to score 37 points, with two touchdowns caused by a punt return and then a blocked punt.

On the other hand, in the 2004 WDF the fact that Printers got injured and Dickenson finished the game and certainly clouded Buono's decision. We don't know exactly how injured Printers was by Grey Cup game, and the fact that Dickenson started off very strong by a solid first drive from scrimmage that led to a quick TD and 7-0 lead made Buono confident that he would have a strong outing.

[dat]

Good for them ! I thought the Grey Cup the Lions won against Baltimore in the 90's was amazing. At that time the Stallions did not have Canadian players and had a full roster of Americans. That showed how far Canadian football talent had progressed. Before the game a Baltimore O lineman had been chirping and making fun of BC D Lineman Doug Petersen who was from a small town in BC. During the game Petersen handed him his lunch and he shut up by half time. However back then the Baltimore fans embraced the CFL and were among the attendance leaders while other Canadian and US teams were struggling at the gate. I don't think it is any coincidence that the NFL came to Baltimore after this. Joe Theisman who played QB in both leagues and won a Super Bowl said that he thought the CFL field and rules made for a better game. I'm always annoyed that all sports are covered here on TV sports but when you are in the US you will see NFL, NHL and NFL scores but never the CFL. It's like the NFL juggernaut opposes any coverage of anything non NFL. I have heard that there is still a group of Baltimore Stallion fans that still attend annual Grey Cup games after their initial appearances in the 90's. The Stallions were also coached by ex Lions great coach Don Matthews. Even though I cheered for the Lions I enjoyed the Baltimore Stallion teams and their fans when they were in the CFL. They were possibly the only successful US franchise in the CFL expansion era. They were responsible for spreading more knowledge of the Canadian game down south. I hope they enjoyed the celebration of the only US team to win a Grey Cup. DAT

[Toppy Vann]

This is a story on the 1994 GC team that BC won at home and some stuff in this story I had not heard before like who was doing the fighting. I knew about the fighting as McManus in public tells that but he never said IIRC who was in this.

Honestly the details in this story of sound like a movie script. When you add in the comeback in the snow and ice versus Calgary and Doug Flutie - what more would you need when you read this stuff of the fights the day before the game. Reichelt should retire and write that book and get it published.

This is an Ed Willes story in the National Post I hadn't seen but may be a repeat for you guys:

There's never been a game like the 1994 Grey Cup

Republish Reprint
Ed Willes | November 25, 2011 9:00 AM ET

But that didn’t tell the whole story. “That was the year of all the crazies,” says Jamie Taras, the team’s right guard.

The scraps tended to involve a handful of Canadians, which included running back Ryan Hanson, linebacker Brian Forde, defensive back Donovan Wright and a few others. The group was actually good friends but it did not take much to set them off.

The day before the Grey Cup game, for example, Forde got into a beef over who was getting taped. The four taping tables were overturned as was trainer Bill Reichelt’s ultrasound machine. Most of the players had left the locker room and had to run back to break up the brawl. Stevenson was running in as Reichelt was walking out.

“I’ve had enough,” said the trainer. “You deal with them.”

Then there was Barry Wilburn, a former NFL All-Pro who had won a Super Bowl with the Redskins in 1988 and made the NFL All-Pro team as a cornerback that year. But he went down with an injury, missed a couple of years and tried to play his way back to the NFL through the CFL. Eric Tillman, the Lions’ boy GM, and Wilburn were both Ole Miss alums and the defensive back signed with the Lions, largely to cover Calgary slotback Allen Pitts.

At least that was Wilburn’s belief. His first day with the Lions, he wandered into a meeting, watched film for a minute and came to the realization he was in a special teams’ meeting. Standing up while the film was still running, he proclaimed: “I don’t play no special teams,” and made a beeline for head coach Dave Ritchie’s office.

Tillman was working in his own office when he heard a bang and a crash. He jumped over his desk and sprinted down the hall where Ritchie had Wilburn pinned against the wall.

The Lions also had the use of a hyperbaric chamber Grey Cup week and, given their gruelling march to the championship game, it was in demand. Reichelt was trying to organize a schedule for the players and asked Wilburn to come in at noon.

“That’s no good,” Wilburn said.

“How about eight in the morning,” Reichelt said.

“That’s better,” Wilburn said. “I’m on the bong by noon and I’m not good for anything.”

But, like all the crazies, he could play.

“We had all the characters,” Millington says. “It was like a gang of convicts. They all came from different backgrounds with different histories but for, whatever reason, when we got on the field together, we played.

“We were Rocky Balboa. We took the punches but we hung in there long enough to land the knockout punch.”

[sj-roc]

Another article on the 20th anniversary of the Stallions's 1995 Grey Cup season, a lengthy one — from Rolling Stone magazine of all places. I didn't know they even had any sports coverage.

Their Grey Cup win came 20 years ago tomorrow on Nov 19, 1995.

Wild Stallions: How a Team From Baltimore Rocked Canadian Football

Excerpt:

Twenty years ago, a group of American players won the Grey Cup, broke the heart of a nation and helped bring the NFL back to Baltimore

By Erik Malinowski November 18, 2015

On November 19, 1995, more than 52,000 people trudged into Taylor Field in Regina, Saskatchewan, to witness what would become the most pivotal game in the history of the Canadian Football League. It was the day of the 83rd Grey Cup, so named for the silver trophy bestowed upon the CFL's annual champion.

The weather was very Canadian, with temperatures dipping below zero and winds gusting to around 50 mph. The crowd, though, was spirited, ready for anything and decidedly on the side of the Calgary Stampeders, led by superstar quarterback Doug Flutie. The former Boston College star had been named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player for four years running, but 1995 was arguably his most incredible season yet. Surgery in August on a torn tendon in his throwing elbow was supposed to keep him out eight months, but he returned in time for Calgary's regular-season finale and led them through the playoffs and to the championship game. With backup quarterback Jeff Garcia keeping the team afloat and competitive in Flutie's absence, Calgary had gone 15-3, tied with their Grey Cup opponent for the best record in the league.

That team was the Baltimore Stallions, a franchise in only its second year of existence. (The Stampeders date back to 1935, older than all but eight NFL teams.) Under the guidance of CFL Commissioner Larry Smith – himself a former CFL player for nine seasons in Montreal – Canadian football officially entered the American market in 1993 with the Sacramento Gold Miners, excavated from the remains of the Sacramento Surge of the defunct World League of American Football. In 1994, the CFL added franchises in Las Vegas; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Baltimore. But in 1995, Smith orchestrated a radical expansion project that essentially split the CFL conferences into direct, opposing entities: the North Division with eight Canadian teams and the South Division with five American teams. CFL franchises were awarded to Memphis and Birmingham, Alabama, and the Sacramento team moved to San Antonio to play in the Alamodome as the newly christened Texans.