800km
497miles

Alouettes

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Blue Bombers

Roughriders

Eskimos

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Canadian Football League team locations: West, East

The1996 CFL season is considered to be the 43rd season in modern-dayCanadian football, although it is officially the 39thCanadian Football League season.

At theCFL's Board of Governors Meetings in February 1996, it was decided to end the league's four-yearAmerican experiment.

TheShreveport Pirates had already disbanded; the league folded theMemphis Mad Dogs and rejected a sale and relocation plan that would have allowed theBirmingham Barracudas to move to Shreveport and survive, forcing that team's closure as well. TheGrey Cup championBaltimore Stallions had opted to move elsewhere rather than face the daunting prospect of competing with theNFL'sBaltimore Ravens. When it was apparent the CFL was refocusing on Canada, Stallions ownerJim Speros gave up the Stallions franchise and moved his organisation toMontreal as the third iteration of theMontreal Alouettes. Up until this time, the city of Montreal had been withoutCanadian football for nine seasons. Speros revived the Als' traditional colour scheme of blue, white, and red. Their logo was an angry bird running with a football; it was their helmet logo until 2019. Unwilling to continue as the lone American team in the league, theSan Antonio Texans voluntarily folded.

A dispersal draft was held for the players on four of the five American teams—all except the Stallions. However, all of the Stallions players were released from their contracts. Alouettes general managerJim Popp, who followed the Stallions organisation to Montreal, managed to re-sign many of them; he was limited to half of the Alouettes roster, since the Stallions as an American team were not subject to the league's requirement that half of a team's roster comprise Canadian citizens, and the Alouettes would be subject to that rule. To stock the roster with Canadians, a special expansion draft, in which only the Canadian citizens on each other team's roster were subject, was held to stock the Alouettes' roster.

With the removal of the American teams, the CFL reverted to its traditional "East-West" alignment. The revived Alouettes were placed in the East Division and theWinnipeg Blue Bombers were placed back into the West Division, after 10 seasons.

TheBC Lions and theCalgary Stampeders underwent ownership changes.

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

• Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
• Calgary and Toronto both have first round byes.

TheToronto Argonauts are the 1996Grey Cup champions, defeating theEdmonton Eskimos 43–37, atHamilton'sIvor Wynne Stadium. The Argonauts'Doug Flutie (QB) was named theGrey Cup's Most Valuable Player andMike Vanderjagt (K) was theGrey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.

• CFL Passing Leaders
• CFL Rushing Leaders
• CFL Receiving Leaders^[1]

• P –Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• K –Mark McLoughlin, Calgary Stampeders
• ST –Jimmy Cunningham, Toronto Argonauts

• P –Tony Martino, Calgary Stampeders
• K –Mark McLoughlin, Calgary Stampeders
• ST –Marvin Coleman, Calgary Stampeders

• P –Paul Osbaldiston, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• K –Terry Baker, Montreal Alouettes
• ST –Jimmy Cunningham, Toronto Argonauts

^[2]

• CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award –Doug Flutie (QB), Toronto Argonauts
• CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award –Leroy Blugh (DE), Edmonton Eskimos
• CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award –Willie Pless (LB), Edmonton Eskimos
• CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award –Mike Kiselak (C), Toronto Argonauts
• CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award –Kelvin Anderson (RB), Calgary Stampeders
• CFLPA's Outstanding Community Service Award –Mike "Pinball" Clemons (RB), Toronto Argonauts
• CFL's Coach of the Year –Ron Lancaster, Edmonton Eskimos
• Commissioner's Award -John Tory, Toronto

• Canadian Football League (1996).1996 Facts, figures and records. Toronto: Canadian Football League.ISBN 978-1-55144-139-9.

• Canadian Football League seasons
• 1996 in Canadian football

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use Canadian English from August 2024
• All Wikipedia articles written in Canadian English
• Use mdy dates from August 2024
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