1990's scrapbook                                                     

           ' Doug Flutie rolls out of the pocket...

         No player in CFL history was more dominant

           than Flutie in the 1990's.'

-- team --

Toronto

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Montreal

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Hamilton

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Ottawa

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Winnipeg

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Saskatchewan

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British Columbia

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Edmonton

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Calgary

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U.S. Expansion

-- 1990 --

Michael 'Pinball' Clemons (pictured) led a potent Argonaut attack posting an incredible 689 points en route to 10 wins. Don Matthews guided the Argonauts offence with Matt Dunigan and Rickey Foggie at the controls. Winnipeg would finish first in the East led by a strong defence. The Blue Bombers under Mike Riley would go on to route the Edmonton Eskimos 50-11 in the Grey Cup. Ottawa was respectable with 7 wins, enjoying a strong season from Damon Allen who had 34 touchdown passes. Hamilton would finish the season with 6 wins. The Calgary Stampeders finished atop the West with Danny Barrett leading the offence. Tracy Ham had another terrific season for Edmonton who would advance to the Grey Cup and be defeated handily. Saskatchewan fought the Grey CUp hangover to 9 wins but would lose to Edmonton in the West semi-final.  Murray Pezim owner of the B.C. Lions brought in several big names; among Marc Gastineau and Major Harris it was Heisman winner Doug Flutie who would dominate the league over the next 8 seasons.

-- 1991 --

Bruce McNall purchased the Toronto Argonauts in 1991 and shocked the football world when he signed top prospect Raghib 'Rocket' Ismail (pictured) out of Notre Dame and away from the NFL. Ismail was as advertised in 1991 posting strong receiving a return totals. With an average of 36,353 things looked good for Toronto and with a Grey Cup victory over Calgary the dream season was capped. Winnipeg finished with 9 wins as Greg Battle won his 2nd consecutive Most Outstanding Defesnive Player award. Ottawa finished with 7 wins a Damon Allen played his last season in the Capital. Hamilton finihsed with just 3 wins but 1 was on Labour Day over Toronto. Edmonton was tops in the West but fell short again in the playoffs. Calgary led by Danny Barrett at quarterback would advance to the Grey Cup. Doug Flutie was Outstanding for the B.C. Lionsas an average of 40,888 came to see his exploits with top rookie Jon Volpe. Saskatchewan slipped to 6 victories as their defence allowed an incredible 710 points.

-- 1992 --

Doug Flutie (Pictured) joined the Calgary Stampeders and the team responded with the league's best offence. Flutie would capture his 2nd Most Outstanding Player award and lead the team to a Grey Cup 24-10 victory over Winnipeg and Matt Dunigan in Toronto. Edmonton had 10 wins in Tracy Ham's final season with the Eskimos. Saskatchewan had 9 wins as Ray Elgaard captured top Canadian honours. The B.C. Lions suffered with Danny Barrett replacing Flutie and finished 3-15. Matt Dunigan joined the Blue Bombers and the team had great success uncovering top rookie in running back Michael Richardson. Hamilton with Damon Allen at the controls had a strong season with 11 wins. Ottawa finished at .500 with Tom Burgess at quarterback and Reggie Barnes rushing the ball. Toronto suffered a massive Grey Cup hangover and Raghib Ismail quickly wore out his welcome with disinterested play and a incident vs. Calgary where he stepped on an opposing players head along the sidelines. Ismail would leave the CFL after the season with a payout on his massive contract and join the Los Angeles Raiders. 

-- 1993 --

1993 saw the CFL expand to the United States with the arrival of the Sacramento Gold Miners. A 2nd expansion team in San Antonio was cancelled when financing did not materialize. The first game in Sacramento was versus the powerhouse Calgary Stampeders. Quarterback David Archer (pictured) was terrific in his first season in Canadian football. For the season Calgary would dominate with Doug Flutie leading a tremendous offence. The Stampeders would be upset in the playoffs by 2nd place Edmonton who with Damon Allen back would defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who started Sammy Garza in place of injured Matt Dunigan in the game. Saskatchewan had 11 wins as Kent Austin spent his final season as a Roughrider player, The BC Lions won 10 games as Danny McManus had his first exposure as a regular starting quarterback. Sacramento had a strong 6 wins in their first season. Winnipeg was strong on offence with Matt Dunigan leading the way including a 713 yard passing effort. Hamilton would limp to 2nd place with 6 wins as Don McPherson threw 21 interceptions. Ottawa managed just 4 wins while the Tracy Ham experiment in Toronto was a failure with just 3 wins.

-- 1994 --

The 1994 season saw the league expand to 12 teams with new franchises in Baltimore, Shreveport and Las Vegas. Baltimore would prove to be a tremendous success, on top of attracting an average of 37,347 fans, the Colts (CFLers) would win 12 games and advance to the Grey Cup only to lose on a thrilling last second Lui Passaglia field goal to B.C. Don Matthews had Tracy Ham and Mike Pringle lead his Baltimore team. Winnipeg would finish 1st in the East with 13 wins but Matt Dunigan’s squad would fall to Baltimore in the playoffs. Toronto had a good season with 7 wins getting strong play from rookie quarterback Marvin Graves. Ottawa and Hamilton had identical 4 wins seasons with high profile Timm Rosenbach leaving Steeltown midseason when his pay stopped. Shreveport went the longest in the league before recording their first victory but drew 17,870 per game. Calgary was again dominant with 15 wins and Allen Pitts (pictured) 21 touchdowns. Calgary would lose to Darren Flutie and the B.C. Lions in one of the greatest games ever played for the West Final. Edmonton after 13 wins fell victim to B.C. in the West semi. The Lions had a dream season hosting the Grey Cup the tandem of Kent Austin and Danny McManus were magic for the Lions in the playoffs. Saskatchewan had a good season with 11 wins. Sacramento improved to 9 wins but drew worse than year 1 while the Las Vegas Posse were a disaster and were forced to move their final home game to Edmonton.

-- 1995 --

The CFL in 1995 was a 13 team league. Birmingham and Memphis joined the circuit while Sacramento moved to San Antonio and Las Vegas folded. The Baltimore team now dubbed the Stallions were the class of the league. In the newly formed CFL South Baltimore won 15 games and would return to the Grey Cup this time defeating Doug Flutie and the Calgary Stampeders 37-20. San Antonio enjoyed spectacular seasons from David Archer and Mike Saunders finishing 13-5. Matt Dunigan had his finest statistical season with Birmingham but a broken finger sidelined him for the playoff loss to San Antonio. Memphis with Damon Allen and a strong defence led by Tim Cofield finished 11-7 while Shreveport struggled to ? wins. Calgary finished with 15 wins while an injury sidelined Flutie the team uncovered a future star in Jeff Garcia. Kerwin Bell had a strong season starting for Edmonton while the B.C. Lions could not match the magic of 1994 finishing 10-8. Anthony Calvillo picked up his career with Hamilton while Reggie Slack gave Winnipeg a late season spark. Saskatchewan struggled with 6 wins while Kent Austin had a terrible season for the 4-14 Argonauts. Ottawa had a forgettable campaign at 3-15 with Sammy Garza and Odessa Turner as top contributors.

-- 1996 --

In 1996 the CFL returned to its Canadian roots with 9 teams including the relocated Stallions in Montreal. Doug Flutie brought his considerable talents to Toronto who had a terrific season going 15-3 under Don Matthews. The Argonauts powered past Montreal in the East Final and in a thrilling Grey Cup in the snow edged the Eskimos 43-37. Hamilton similarly made a splash bringing in Matt Dunigan who had the Tiger Cats on a roll before a concussion in Week 4 would end his career and hopes of a hometown Grey Cup champion. Montreal had a strong club with 12 wins as Tracy Ham and company adjusted to the surroundings at the Big O. Ottawa brought aboard David Archer (pictured) but club finances quickly became an issue – 3 victories and an absentee owner proved to be the death knell for the franchise. Calgary with Jeff Garcia in full control had a strong season with 13 wins. Edmonton welcomed Danny McManus and Darren Flutie and went all the way to the Grey Cup under Ron Lancaster only to fall to Toronto with a controversial non-fumble thrown in. Winnipeg was Kent Austin’s final stop in the CFL as a player capped with a humiliating playoff defeat. Saskatchewan struggled with 5 victories while B.C. transferred ownership as David Braley stepped in to buy the club and start the slow rebuilding processs.

-- 1997 --

The Doug Flutie (pictured) show had 1 final blow-out season with the Argonauts in 1997. The regular cast from 1996 welcomed talented receiver Derrell Mitchell to the fold and the Boatman coasted to 15 regular season victories and a repeat Grey Cup in a convincing win over Saskatchewan. Montreal again fell short to Toronto but posted a strong season behind Tracy Ham and Mike Pringle. Winnipeg moved back to the East and struggled to find consistency at Quarterback with 4 wins while Hamilton had a forgettable season with 2 victories as Anthony Calvillo took his lumps. Edmonton finished atop the West with McManus and Flutie again leading the way. Jeff Garcia led Calgary to a strong season but it was the surprise Saskatchewan Roughriders led by Reggie Slack who upset first Calgary and Dave Dickenson starting in place of injured Garcia and then Edmonton at Commonwealth to advance to the Grey Cup. It would not be a magical finish as in ’89 as Saskatchewan was handily defeated by the Argonauts. Damon Allen grew more comfortable in B.C. and the Lions crossed over to face Montreal in the East Semi-Final discovering the unpolished jewel of Molson Stadium.

-- 1998 --

Ron Lancaster arrived as coach in Hamilton and brought with him from Edmonton Danny McManus and Darren Flutie. The turn-around was instantaneous as the Tiger Cats roared to 12 wins and a first place finish. With Toronto falling back it was now Hamilton that stood in Montreal’s way as they failed to advance past the East final for the 3rd straight year. Mike Pringle (pictured) rushed for 2,065 yards and was named the leagues Most Outstanding.  Kerwin Bell had the unenviable task of replacing Doug Flutie and did his best with a strong season but the Argonauts would fall to Montreal in the East Semi. Winnipeg looked for answers with a forgettable 3 wins to finish in last place. Calgary finished atop the West as Jeff Garcia concluded his CFL in style with 28 touchdown passes as Calgary would capture the Grey Cup over Hamilton 26-24 on a last second Mark McLoughlin field goal in Winnipeg. Kay Stephenson coached and David Archer came out of retirement for 1 season for the 9-9 Edmonton Eskimos. Robert Drummond arrived in BC and helped the Lions to a 3rd place finish. Saskatchewan floundered to 5 wins and needed a ticket telethon and a CFL orchestrated loan from the NFL to remain solvent.

-- 1999 --

Danny McManus (pictured) enjoyed an incredible season in 1999, his Hamilton Tiger Cats captured the Grey Cup in a thrilling victory over Calgary at BC Place. McManus was named the League Most Outstanding Player and add to that the Most Outstanding Player for the Grey Cup. Darren Flutie made a signature 1 handed catch to highlight the victory for Hamilton. Montreal finished first in the East with 12 wins but the Als were upset by Hamilton on a late touchdown pass to the unlikely Joe Hagans. After the disappointment Tracy Ham retired passing the quarterbacking mantle to Anthony Calvillo. Toronto finished 3rd in the East with Barker’s leading the way Jim as coach and Jay as quarterback. Winnipeg again finished in last place happy to turn the page on a decade that started so promising. In the West Damon Allen led a strong Lions squad to 1st place only to miss playing host to the Grey Cup losing to Calgary in the West Final. For Calgary, Dave Dickenson replaced Jeff Garcia at quarterback and the team did not miss a beat – that is until the Grey Cup. Edmonton struggled to an uncharacteristic 6-12 record with Marcus Crandell and Nealon Greene sharing the quarterback duties. Saskatchewan found that Steve Sarkisian was not the answer at quarterback with just 3 wins.