Best Grey Cup Champ by Franchise

I’m looking for opinions on the best Grey Cup champions by franchise since 1983 or thereabouts. I put the cutoff at '83 because I think the first Facts, Figures & Records book came out in '84, but I could be mistaken. I haven’t looked at my pile lately.

Anyhow, Ottawa will have to be '76 since they haven’t won one since then and Saskatchewan would be '89. Baltimore is clearly '95.

So I need opinions on the best Grey Cup champions for other 7 franchises from 1983-2006.

Opinions on pre-'83 Grey Cup winners are also welcome.

Matt

Flutie and co for the argos, pick one.

Flutie and co for the stamps.

85 for the Leos.

Sonny Wade and the Alouettes over Edmonton in the ice bowl.

Last second win by Lui in 94.

2003 Eskimos

1990 Blue Bombers over Edmonton in BC. (sadly, this our last cup win as well) - An absolute thrashing from start to finish. Best defense ever.

StatiK76
GO BOMBERS!!!

I sould point out he seems to be asking for best team, not best game??

Yes, best team, not best Grey Cup game. Sorry for any confusion.

Matt

Yeah, my pick as well.

Which Eskimo team do you want to pick? The Lions looked awesome last year no doubt about it.

"Awesome"? I don't think so...........

They deserved to win the Grey Cup, don't get me wrong, but the fact remains they only scored ONE offensive touchdown.

That is less than "awesome" in my books.

again, dont look at one cup game, but the team performance for the whole yr.

For the leos, 94 was indeed the most awesome playoff run and cup win, but both the 85 and the 2005 teams were best total season performance. IMO

I would think that one or all of the 5 in a row Eskimo teams from '78-'82 would have to get some consideration.

It's one thing for a "great" team to win one Grey Cup together. It's an accomplishment of an entirely higher magnitude for a "great" team to repeat as Grey Cup Champions the next year. And the next year. And the next year. And the next year.

And yes, I realize that the original question was only for Grey Cups since '83, but some of us can remember further back than that :wink: .

You are correct about the '78-82 Eskimo teams. I just looked through my books and I have the Facts, Figures & Records books back to '85, which I think was the first year. And I have copies of record manauls from 1984 back to the 1954 season for the east and 1950 season for the west. However, the west didn't keep defensive stats until 1963 or thereabouts.

So I will change the original limit from '83 to '63. Again, I am looking for the best team that won a Grey Cup for each franchise, not the best Grey Cup, unless the two are the same.

Thanks to all who have replied!

Matt

Are there no Hamilton fans on this board? All the other teams have had at least a suggestion put forth.

Matt

Most of them like to hang out in the specific ti-cat section.

I am not certain why the "facts & figures" book is a necessary parameter, but to a certain extent I'll live with it.
A better guide in my mind might be the "CFL years" or the modern era of Grey Cup history, so from 1958 forward.
Having said that, it eliminates a few teams from contention like the 1948 Stamps, of the 3-peat 'Smoes.

But moving on, here is my pick for all teams.
I'll start with the easy ones.
The 78-82 'Smoes might be the best team period. So to pick the best team for the 'Smoes, is a crap shoot among those 5. I'll take the middle, 1980 because it was Moon's first year as a starter.

The Riders are easy as well.
We only have 2 to pick from so....1966.
1989 was a lot of fun, and a pretty good team.
But 1966 represented the high point of a very strong and steadfast team, that went to 13 straight West finals, and 5 Grey Cups. Ron Lancaster is a top 3 alltime Qb and George Reed is #1 running back ever. And many of the other players are hall of famers as well. They would have been even more successful except for 3 things.

Which leads me to the Stamps. It was a tough call here.
I am going with the 1998 version. The team owned the 90s, just like the Riders owned the late 60s early 70s, but until the Garcia led team, they had not taken full advantage.
I also considered the 1971 team. That team, as much as anything else, was responsible for preventing the Riders from winning a number of Cups. Almost as good a team, the two had to play the nasty best of 3 series each year and then the survivor had to travel east.
It is not a coincidence that both teams only Grey Cup win came when they got to play in Vancouver.

The second thing was the 1969 Ottawa team. Unfortunately, while the Green Riders fielded their best teams, so did the Black and Red. Something had to give.
Which brings us to the 3rd problem.
I am also picking the 1967 Ticat team. The 3rd championship in 5 years.
Any of these 4 teams could have repeated as champs--they were good enough--except for the existance of the others.
The rest of the league were not contenders.

But speaking of the rest of the league...
I think the most recent BC team is their best ever.
3 years in first, 2 out of 3 in the Cup, and now a win after cruising through the regular season, speaks to a very, very solid team.

I believe the 1996 TO team is their best.
Again, a great team, that owned the league, and even repeated.
With Montreal, I picked the 1974 version. It was the first year of a streak of 5 appearances in 6 years, with 2 victories.

And, last, but not least, the Bombers.
I return to the early years of the CFL.
I'll have to take a shower after this, but one thing is consistant in all my picks--not just winning once, but winning consistantly over time plays huge in my decisions. So I grudgingly agree with a previous poster....
And the Bombers won 4 Cups in 5 years, from
1958 to 1962, and I picked the 2nd edition of that most dominant Bomber team ever. Just because I was born that year!

Thank you, Arius! And, indeed, to all who have posted.

Clearly, you are a long time CFL fan and I appreciate the input.

The reason I limited the choices was because I am looking for teams I can find stats for. I have the FF&R's back to '85 and the Manuals back to '50 for the West and '54 for the East, though the West did not keep Defensive stats until the '63 season.

The only team you listed that I will not have stats for is the '59 Bombers (missing the defensive stats), so I might go with the '90 version instead.

Matt

Great post Arius!

Bombers, 1984, that team destroyed everybody in the playoffs, easily the best team they ever had.

50 - 22 over Edmonton in the West Semi
31 - 14 over BC in the West Final
47 - 17 over Hamilton in the GC

128 - 53 overall in the playoffs that year.