1971 Canadian Football championship game
The
59th
Grey Cup
was played on November 28, 1971, before 34,404 fans at
Vancouver
's
Empire Stadium
.
The
Calgary Stampeders
defeated the
Toronto Argonauts
on a slick, rain-covered field, 14?11.
Box Score
[
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]
First Quarter
Calgary - TD -
Herm Harrison
14 yard pass from
Jerry Keeling
(
Larry Robinson
convert)
Second Quarter
Toronto - FG -
Ivan MacMillan
11 yards
Calgary - TD -
Jesse Mims
6 yard run (
Larry Robinson
convert)
Third Quarter
Toronto - TD -
Roger Scales
33 yard fumble return (lateral from
Joe Vijuk
) (
Ivan MacMillan
convert)
Toronto - Rouge -
Ivan MacMillan
27 yard missed FG
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
Teams
|
1 Q
|
2 Q
|
3 Q
|
4 Q
|
Total
|
Calgary Stampeders
|
7
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
14
|
Toronto Argonauts
|
0
|
3
|
8
|
0
|
11
|
Background
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]
The Argonauts had not appeared in a Grey Cup championship game since
1952
. The Stampeders were making their third Grey Cup appearance in four years, but had not actually won a championship since
1948
.
The 10-4 Argonauts faced the 9-6-1 Stampeders for the first time in the Grey Cup. Both teams finished in first place in their divisions, but Toronto, led by star rookie quarterback
Joe Theismann
, was the favourite. The 1971
Grey Cup
was the first to be played on
artificial turf
(Tartan Turf).
The game
[
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]
Field conditions were poor, as a steady downpour left sheets of water over the
artificial turf
at Empire Stadium.
Calgary opened the scoring with
Herm Harrison
making an incredible one-handed grab of a
Jerry Keeling
pass in the end zone for a touchdown. Toronto countered with a big play, a 55-yard pass reception by fan favourite tight end
Mel Profit
, but would come away from this drive deep into Stampeder territory with only a field goal from Ivan McMillan.
Jesse Mims
added another Stampeder major, ending the scoring for the half and for Calgary on the day.
The second half saw
Joe Theismann
replaced by Greg Barton, but the Argos could not move the ball. Their only touchdown came when sure-handed Calgary punt returner
Jim Silye
dropped a punt which was then recovered by
Joe Vijuk
. Vijuk had the presence of mind to lateral to
Roger Scales
, who ran 33 yards for the touchdown.
Late in the fourth quarter
Dick Thornton
, a great two-way player who had already made a fantastic reception, intercepted a Calgary pass and returned it to the Stampeder 11-yard line. Theismann, now back in the game, handed the ball off to
Leon McQuay
, the Argonauts' star running back. As McQuay cut left, he promptly slipped on the soggy turf and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Stampeder Reggie Holmes. To this day, there is still some dispute about this play, as McQuay dropped the ball when his elbow hit the ground and he had not been contacted by a Stampeder defender, thus bringing up the football adage that "the ground can't cause a fumble."
Nevertheless, Toronto still had a chance to pull out a victory. With 1:53 left in the game and Calgary deep in their own end, they punted on third down. Argo returner
Harry Abofs
, in an effort to capture the wet ball, accidentally kicked it out of bounds while reaching down. CFL rules state that when a ball is kicked out of bounds, possession goes to the opposing team, thus giving Calgary possession once again. Had Abofs knocked the ball out of bounds with his hand, Toronto would have had one last offensive series. Instead,
Calgary
ran out the clock and captured the 1971
Grey Cup
.
Legacy
[
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]
Argonaut coach
Leo Cahill
, who won the 1971 Coach of the Year award, would later say, "When Leon (McQuay) slipped, I fell." He was fired in 1972 after the team, beset by injuries, stumbled to a 3-11 finish. He would return to coach the Argos in 1977, but was fired midway through the 1978 season.
Jim Silye was later a
Member of Parliament
for Calgary.
Dick Suderman, the first recipient of the newly-created Most Valuable Canadian award for the game, died the following year and the trophy was renamed in his honour.
The 1971 Argonaut team was the focus of an episode of
Engraved on a Nation
.
This was the first Grey Cup game to be played on a Sunday on a permanent basis; the first such game to be played in full on a Sunday came
two years earlier
.
Videos
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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