1975 Ottawa Rough Riders season

The 1975 Ottawa Rough Riders finished in 1st place in the Eastern Conference with a 10–5–1 record.

1975 Ottawa Rough Riders season
Head coachGeorge Brancato
Home fieldLansdowne Park
Results
Record10–5–1
Division place1st, East
Playoff finishLost Eastern Final
Uniform

Offseason

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats sent Tony Gabriel off to the Rough Riders because Gabriel suggested that the players should get a raise when the East increased the number of games played from 14 to 16 in 1974. Gabriel would lead the Rough Riders and the Eastern Division in receiving.

Quarterback controversy

Jerry Keeling was projected as the starting quarterback for the Rough Riders while Tennessee's Condredge Holloway was expected to be the quarterback of the future. Holloway was selected in the 12th round of the 1975 NFL Draft by New England Patriots[1] but they were projecting him only as a wide receiver or defensive back.

General Manager Frank Clair made five trips to try to get Holloway signed. Clair also pursued another well known college quarterback, Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Tom Clements. Clements had just been dropped from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers negotiation list and following a substantial bonus offer, signed with Ottawa. After the acquisition of Clements, Holloway soon signed with the club.[2]

Bill Robinson, a Canadian quarterback who led schools to appearances in the 1973 and 1974 Vanier Cup[3] was trying to earn a spot on the roster as a quarterback.

Robinson competed for the spot against Clements and Holloway. Before training camp, Robinson was treated poorly by the organization as his $13,000 contract was mailed to him. The contract stated that there was no signing bonus and no negotiation.[4]

Tony Gabriel stated that Robinson was the best passer in camp. Even Tom Clements stated that Robinson threw better than him. In an intra squad game, Robinson completed 10 of 13 passes.[4] In his first preseason game, Robinson completed 3 of 6 passes, included a 48-yard pass to Tony Gabriel.[4]

In the three remaining preseason games, Robinson only had 8 minutes of playing time. CFLPA president George Reed was furious at the Rough Riders organization. Fans were highly critical of the poor treatment that Robinson received. The problem was that the Rough Riders guaranteed the contracts of Clements and Holloway.[4] Robinson would be placed on the 21-day injury list with tonsillitis although his tonsils had been removed years earlier. He would make the team as a defensive back and special teams player. Surprisingly, Holloway and Clements developed so quickly that Brancato decided to trade Keeling to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats prior to the season-opener.

Preseason
Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
A July 1 at Edmonton Eskimos L 20–21 0–1
A July 3 at BC Lions L 31–41 0–2
B July 9 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 20–16 1–2
C July 16 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 19–21 1–3

Regular season

Standings
Eastern Football Conference
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Ottawa Rough Riders16105139428021
Montreal Alouettes1697035334518
Hamilton Tiger-Cats16510128439511
Toronto Argonauts16510126132411

Schedule
WeekDateOpponentScoreResultRecord
1July 24at Toronto Argonauts18–16Win1–0
2July 30at Hamilton Tiger-Cats31–9Win2–0
3Aug 6vs. Toronto Argonauts16–14Loss2–1
4Aug 12vs. Montreal Alouettes34–31Loss2–2
5Aug 21at Calgary Stampeders23–6Loss2–3
5Aug 24at Saskatchewan Roughriders23–16Win3–3
6Bye
7Sept 3at Montreal Alouettes17–11Win4–3
7Sept 7vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats56–31Win5–3
8Sept 13at Montreal Alouettes19–13Loss5–4
9Sept 17vs. Edmonton Eskimos38–25Win6–4
10Sept 27vs. Toronto Argonauts13–9Win7–4
11Oct 1at Hamilton Tiger-Cats16–11Win8–4
12Oct 8vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats31–4Win9–4
13Oct 19at Winnipeg Blue Bombers25–25Tie9–4–1
14Oct 25vs. BC Lions25–15Loss9–5–1
15Nov 2vs. Montreal Alouettes46–6Win10–5–1

[5]

Postseason
Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
East Final Mon, Nov 17 vs. Montreal Alouettes L 10–20 10–6–1 Lansdowne Park 32,699

[5]

Player stats

Passing
PlayerAttemptsCompletionsPercentageYardsTouchdownsInterceptions
Tom Clements25214457.120131313
Condredge Holloway[2]1486040.598469

Receiving
PlayerGames PlayedReceptionsYardsAverageLongTouchdowns
Tony Gabriel[6]1665111517.24610
Art Green4753711.4393

Rushing
PlayerRushesYardsAverageTouchdownsLong
Art Green25811884.61147

Awards and honours

References
  1. "1975 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  2. "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  3. Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.131, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  4. Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.132, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  5. "1975 Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  6. "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  7. Canadian Football Hall of Fame - Tom Clements
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