1954 in Canadian football

The Edmonton Eskimos upset the Montreal Alouettes to send the Grey Cup trophy back west for the first time since 1948.[1]

Canadian Football News in 1954

1954 is generally recognized as the start of the modern era of Canadian football.[2]

The BC Lions joined the WIFU and adopted the colours of burnt orange and brown. The NBC national network were televising IRFU games.[3]

Winnipeg's Gerry James (RB), became the first player to win the Most Outstanding Canadian Award.[4]

This was the last season that the Ontario Rugby Football Union would be allowed to challenge for the Grey Cup.[5]

Regular season

Final regular season standings

Source:[5]

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points

Western Interprovincial Football Union
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Edmonton Eskimos16115025516322
Saskatchewan Roughriders16104223920422
Winnipeg Blue Bombers1686220219018
Calgary Stampeders1688027116516
BC Lions1611501003452
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Montreal Alouettes14113034114822
Hamilton Tiger-Cats1495027520718
Toronto Argonauts1468021226512
Ottawa Rough Riders1421201293374
Ontario Rugby Football Union
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen1292126918319
Sarnia Imperials1274121819315
Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers1211101692802
  • Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
  • Edmonton has a bye and will play in the WIFU Finals.

Grey Cup playoffs

Source:[5]

Note: All dates in 1954

Semifinals

WIFU semifinals – game 1
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DateAwayHome
October 30Saskatchewan Roughriders 14Winnipeg Blue Bombers 14
WIFU semifinals – game 2
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Saskatchewan Roughriders
DateAwayHome
November 1Winnipeg Blue Bombers 13Saskatchewan Roughriders 11
  • Winnipeg won the total-point series by 27–25. The Blue Bombers will play the Edmonton Eskimos in the WIFU Finals.

Finals

ORFU Finals – Game 1
Sarnia Imperials @ Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
DateAwayHome
November 3Sarnia Imperials 12Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 13
ORFU Finals – Game 2
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen @ Sarnia Imperials
DateAwayHome
November 11Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 16Sarnia Imperials 8
  • Kitchener-Waterloo wins the best of three series 2–0. The Dutchmen will advance to the Grey Cup semifinal.
WIFU Finals – Game 1
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos
DateAwayHome
November 6Winnipeg Blue Bombers 3Edmonton Eskimos 9
WIFU Finals – Game 2
Edmonton Eskimos @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DateAwayHome
November 11Edmonton Eskimos 6Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12
WIFU Finals – Game 3
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos
DateAwayHome
November 13Winnipeg Blue Bombers 5Edmonton Eskimos 10
  • Edmonton wins the best of three series 2–1. The Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup semifinal.
IRFU Finals – Game 1
Montreal Alouettes @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats
DateAwayHome
November 17Montreal Alouettes 14Hamilton Tiger-Cats 9
IRFU Finals – Game 2
Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Montreal Alouettes
DateAwayHome
November 20Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19Montreal Alouettes 24
  • Montreal wins the best of three series 2–0. The Alouettes will advance to the Grey Cup game.

Grey Cup semifinal

Edmonton Eskimos @ Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
DateAwayHome
November 20Edmonton Eskimos 38Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 6
  • The Edmonton Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup game.

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Grey Cup
         
IRFU Montreal Alouettes
IRFU BYE
IRFU Montreal Alouettes 14-24
EAST
IRFU Hamilton Tiger Cats 9-19
IRFU Hamilton Tiger Cats
IRFU BYE
IRFU Montreal Alouettes 25
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 26
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 9-12-10
WIFU Winnipeg Blue Bombers 3-6-5
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 38
WEST
ORFU Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 6
ORFU Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 13-16
ORFU Sarnia Imperials 12-8
  • Final appearance in the Grey Cup playoffs by the ORFU

Grey Cup Championship

November 27

42nd Annual Grey Cup Game: Varsity StadiumToronto, Ontario

WIFU ChampionIRFU Champion
Edmonton Eskimos 26Montreal Alouettes 25
The Edmonton Eskimos are the 1954 Grey Cup Champions

Canadian Football Leaders

1954 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars

Offence

Defence

1954 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars

Offence

Defence

1954 Ontario Rugby Football Union All-Stars

NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.

  • QB – Bob Celeri, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • RB – Cookie Gilchrist, Sarnia Imperials
  • RB – Paul Amodio, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • RB – Nayland Moll, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • RB – Blake Taylor, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • E – Harvey Singleton, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • E – Gerry McTaggart, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • FW – Carl Totzke, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • C – Bruce Mattingly, Sarnia Imperials
  • G – Jay Fry, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • G – Lloyd "Dutch" Davey, Sarnia Imperials
  • T – Keith Carpenter, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • T – Danny Nykoluk, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers

1954 Canadian Football Awards

References

  1. "Grey Cup Memories: 1954". CFL.ca. 2005-11-10. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  2. "Mullin: Changing the game - The Ratio". CFL.ca. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  3. "Canadian Football Timelines (1860-2005)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. https://www.cfl.ca/gibsons Archived 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Gibsons Finest Player Awards
  5. "1954". www.cflapedia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  6. "CFLapedia".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.