 | |
| Founded | January 24, 1945 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Home field | McMahon Stadium (1960–present) Mewata Park Stadium (1945–1959) |
| Mascot | Ralph the Dog |
| League | Canadian Football League |
| Division | West |
| Colours | Red, white, black[1][2][3] |
| Nickname | Stamps |
| Personnel | |
| Head coach | Dave Dickenson |
| General manager | Dave Dickenson |
| Owner | Calgary Sports and Entertainment |
| Championships | |
| Grey Cup wins | 8 (1948,1971,1992, 1998,2001,2008,2014,2018) |
| Website | stampeders.com |
| Current uniform | |
 | |
 Current season | |
TheCalgary Stampeders are a professionalCanadian football team based inCalgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in theWest Division of theCanadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games atMcMahon Stadium and are the fifth oldest active franchise in the CFL. The Stampeders were officially founded in 1945, although there were clubs operating in Calgary since the 1890s.[4]
The Calgary Stampeders have won eightGrey Cups, most recently in2018, from their appearances in 17 Grey Cup Championship games. They have won 20 Western Division Championships and one Northern Division Championship in the franchise's history. The team has aprovincial rivalry with theEdmonton Elks, as well as fierce divisional rivalries with theSaskatchewan Roughriders and theBC Lions.
Prior to the formation of the Stampeders in 1945, football in Calgary can be dated back as early as 1891, when Edmonton defeated Calgary 6–5 in the Alberta Total-point Challenge Series.[5] A team from Edmonton (actually the outlying community ofFort Saskatchewan) had a picture taken of themselves after they defeated a Calgary team (in Calgary,) declaring themselvesChampions of Alberta; the picture has two dates on it, being taken in either 1893 or 1895.[6]
TheCalgary Rugby Foot-ball Club played for the Alberta championship in 1907, became the Calgary Tigers and joined theCalgary Rugby Football Union in 1908 and theAlberta Rugby Football Union in 1911. The ensuing decades saw Calgary based teams come and go; including theCalgary Canucks, the50th Battalion, the Tigers again, the Calgary Altomahs, and finally theCalgary Bronks of theWestern Interprovincial Football Union. These teams were a dominant force in Alberta football, winning the AFRU championship 15 times over the next 25 years. World War II and 1940 brought a halt to football in Calgary, the final year for the Bronks.
None of these earlier Calgary based teams are part of the Stampeders official history or records.[7]
The WIFU returned to Calgary on September 29, 1945, with the formation of the Calgary Stampeders. In their first game played on October 20 at Mewata Stadium they beat theRegina Roughriders 12–0 before 4,000 fans in attendance. It was a taste of success to come that decade under the direction of head coachLes Lear and talented stars such asWoody Strode,Paul Rowe,Keith Spaith,Dave Berry,Normie Kwong andEzzert "Sugarfoot" Anderson.
The year 1948 was perhaps the greatest season in Stamps history, achieving a perfect regular season of 12–0 and capping the year a 2-0-1 record in the playoffs including a Grey Cup victory over theOttawa Rough Riders at Toronto'sVarsity Stadium, memorable for the team's scoring a touchdown on a "sleeper play". It was also during that same Grey Cup festival that Calgary fans brought pageantry to the game and made it into a national celebration, featuringpancake breakfasts on the steps of City Hall, starting the Grey Cup parade and even riding a horse in the lobby of theRoyal York Hotel.
They returned to the Grey Cup the following year (1949), with a 13–1 record but lost to theMontreal Alouettes 28–15 in the title game. It was 19 years until Calgary once again reached the Grey Cup, losing 24–21 to Ottawa in the 1968 final and not until 1971 when they were crowned champions, defeating theToronto Argonauts 14–11. The Stampeders, like all the teams playing in the WIFU and IRFU, joined the newly formed Canadian Football League in 1958.
The year1960 brought the Stampeders a new home,McMahon Stadium. Their first game in their new stadium was on August 15, 1960, a 38–23 loss to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers.
From 1968 to 1971, the Stampeders made it to theGrey Cup game three out of those four years (missing in 1969), winning it in 1971.
After having some great years at the end of the 1960s which culminated in their 1971 Grey Cup championship, 1972 started a long period of struggles for the Stampeders. In the 18 seasons from 1972 to 1989, the Stampeders made the playoffs only 7 times, and although they reached the Western Final in1978 and1979 underJack Gotta (which were their only two playoff wins and appearances for the rest of the 1970s) losing both times to their provincial rivals inEdmonton, who were in the midst of an unprecedented five-year Grey Cup victory run at the time), the next decade was less than kind to the team. During the 1980s, the Stampeders were the only CFL team that did not win a playoff game (the team made five appearances during the decade, all but one of which came on the road and all resulting in losses in the West Semi-Final).
The Stampeders nearly folded after the1985 season due to years of declining attendance, financial woes and a poor 3–13 record. However, a successfulSave Our Stamps campaign in 1986 resulted in season ticket sales of 22,400, additional funds and stability that translated to improved on-field play which laid the groundwork for both their first playoff win since 1979 in 1990, and back-to-back Grey Cup berths in1991 and1992 when they won the title overWinnipeg.
Wally Buono took over the head coaching duties in 1990 (after having served as an assistant coach for the previous three years). Late in the 1991 season, the team, after being community-owned since its inception, went private whenLarry Ryckman purchased the team.[8] The next 13 years were some of the most successful years in Stampeders history. Led by quarterbacksDoug Flutie,Jeff Garcia andDave Dickenson, receiversAllen Pitts,Terry Vaughn andDave Sapunjis, and a rock-steady defence led by Western All StarsAlondra Johnson,Stu Laird, andWill Johnson the Stampeders racked up a 153–79–2 record during these years. They reached the Grey Cup six times, winning in 1992, 1998, and 2001, losing in 1991, 1995, and 1999. In 1996, Ryckman was found by theAlberta Securities Commission to have run astock manipulation scheme, was fined $492,000 and was forced to give up the Stampeders, who were subsequently purchased by Sig Gutsche via a receivership court for $1.6 million on April 3.[9][10] Gutsche helped rectify the team's debts and made the team profitable again.[11] The team finished the 1990s having made the playoffs in every year that decade.
On October 8, 2001, Sig Gutsche sold the team to California businessman Michael Feterik.[12] Unlike previous owners, Feterik was intimately involved in the club's football operations. Feterik's most notorious move was to give the starting quarterback position to his sonKevin Feterik, angering both fans and Buono. Buono left to join theBC Lions after the 2002 CFL season.
After Wally Buono departed from the Stampeders, the team went through three different head coaches in three years.Jim Barker succeeded Buono in 2003, but was let go after a 5–13 season, and he was replaced byMatt Dunigan, who fared no better in his lone season in 2004, going 4–14. The coaching carousel ended with Tom Higgins taking over in 2005, who brought the team back to respectability led byHenry Burris at quarterback andJoffrey Reynolds at running back, but lost in three straight years in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Western semi-final games in that span. During this time, the team lost money, and in January 2005, Feterik sold the team to a group led by Ted Hellard, Doug Mitchell and former Stampeder John Forzani, and theCalgary Flames Limited Partnership, the organization that represents theNHL'sCalgary Flames.[13]
In 2008, one-time Stamps QB John Hufnagel took the coaching reins, and the Stampeders ended their playoff victory drought en route to winning the team'ssixth Grey Cup 22–14 against the Montreal Alouettes. Burris was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player with DeAngelis being the top Canadian for their efforts. John Hufnagel had been interviewed by several NFL and college football teams, but is still the team's general manager to this day. Hufnagel was also the team's head coach until the end of the2015 season, when he turned over the head coaching duties to former Stampeder andBC Lions starDave Dickenson.
Between2009 and2014, the Stampeders reached the Western Final every year except2011, when the team lost the semi-final game to theEskimos in Edmonton, 33–19. The following year, the organization by now known as Calgary Sports and Entertainment became the majority owner of the team; the company previously only had a 5% stake in the team. They were able to reach the Grey Cup gamethat year only to come up short against theArgonauts, falling by a score of35–22. Following another defeat in the Western Final in2013, the Stampeders were once again able to reach theGrey Cup the following year. This time, they came out on top with the franchise's seventh championship, defeating theHamilton Tiger-Cats 20–16.
After the 2015 season, Hufnagel stepped down from his dual responsibility as head coach and general manager, becoming purely a general manager and handing the coaching reins to former Stamps QBDave Dickenson. The Stamps continued their success in 2016, winning the West Division again with a 15–2–1 record, but falling to the third-yearOttawa Redblacks in the104th Grey Cup in overtime.
In 2017, the Stampeders finished 13-4-1 (with the league's best record for the season) and made their second straightGrey Cup appearance, but lost to theToronto Argonauts again, just as they didfive years earlier.[14]
In 2018, the Stampeders finished 13-5 and made a third straight Grey Cup appearance, winning the title over the Redblacks 27–16 in Edmonton. Bo Levi Mitchell won Most Outstanding Player at the 2018 CFL Awards as well as the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player. Lemar Durant was named the game's Most Valuable Canadian.[15] The Calgary Stampeders quest for a fourth consecutive Grey Cup appearance came to an abrupt end in 2019, as the team lost a step, finishing second in the West with a 12–6 record, falling to the eventual Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Semi-Final 35–14.
The CFL went on hiatus in 2020, but returned in 2021, and the Stampeders finished one game back of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the shortened 2021 season with an 8–6 record. The team met an early playoff exit at the hands of the Riders in the West Semi-Final in an overtime heartbreaker, 33–30. The team reached the playoffs again in 2022 with a 12–6 record, but fell to the second place BC Lions in the West Semi-Final 30–16. On December 12, 2022, it was announced that Dickenson had been named the team's newgeneral manager in addition to retaining his head coaching duties.[16]
| Year | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Calgary Stampeders | 12–7 | Ottawa Rough Riders | 36th Grey Cup | Varsity Stadium, Toronto |
| 1971 | Calgary Stampeders | 14–11 | Toronto Argonauts | 59th Grey Cup | Empire Stadium, Vancouver |
| 1992 | Calgary Stampeders | 24–10 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 80th Grey Cup | SkyDome, Toronto |
| 1998 | Calgary Stampeders | 26–24 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 86th Grey Cup | Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg |
| 2001 | Calgary Stampeders | 27–19 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 89th Grey Cup | Olympic Stadium, Montreal |
| 2008 | Calgary Stampeders | 22–14 | Montreal Alouettes | 96th Grey Cup | Olympic Stadium, Montreal |
| 2014 | Calgary Stampeders | 20–16 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 102nd Grey Cup | BC Place, Vancouver |
| 2018 | Calgary Stampeders | 27–16 | Ottawa Redblacks | 106th Grey Cup | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton |
| Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | ||||
| No. | Name | Inducted | Position(s) | Tenure |
| 22 | Rowe, PaulPaul Rowe | 1964 | RB | 1945 -1950 |
| - | Griffing, DeanDean Griffing | 1965 | C | 1945 -1947 |
| 95 | Kwong, NormanNorman Kwong | 1969 | RB | 1948 -1950 |
| 55 | Harris, WayneWayne Harris | 1976 | LB | 1961 -1972 |
| 21 | Wylie, HarveyHarvey Wylie | 1980 | DB | 1956 -1964 |
| 27 | Lunsford, EarlEarl Lunsford | 1983 | RB | 1956,1959–1963 |
| 77 | Helton, JohnJohn Helton | 1986 | DT | 1969 -1978 |
| 62 | Luzzi, DonDon Luzzi | 1986 | OT /DT | 1958 -1969 |
| 56 | Pajaczkowski, TonyTony Pajaczkowski | 1988 | OG | 1955 -1965 |
| 76 | Harrison, HermHerman Harrison | 1993 | LB /TE | 1964 -1972 |
| 15 | Robinson, LarryLarry Robinson | 1998 | DB /K | 1961 -1975 |
| 10 | Burden, WillieWillie Burden | 2001 | RB | 1974–1981 |
| 18 | Pitts, AllenAllen Pitts | 2006 | WR | 1990–2000 |
| 59 | Romano, RoccoRocco Romano | 2007 | OG | 1987,1992 -2000 |
| 20 | Flutie, DougDoug Flutie | 2008 | QB | 1992–1996 |
| 51 | Johnson, AlondraAlondra Johnson | 2009 | LB | 1991 -2003 |
| 15 | Dickenson, DaveDave Dickenson | 2015 | QB | 1996–2000,2009 |
| 32 | Anderson, KelvinKelvin Anderson | 2017 | RB | 1996–2002 |
| 9 | Cornish, JonJon Cornish | 2019 | RB | 2007–2015 |
| Coaches and Contributors | ||||
| Name | Inducted | Position(s) | Tenure | |
| Griffing, DeanDean Griffing | 1965 | Coach, Owner | 1945 -1947 | |
| Anselmo, TonyA.G. "Tony" Anselmo | 2009 | President | 1973–1974 | |
| 5 | Harry Hood |
| 10 | Willie Burden |
| 13 | Mark McLoughlin |
| 18 | Allen Pitts |
| 22 | Tom Forzani |
| 55 | Wayne Harris |
| 75 | Stu Laird |
The Presidents' Ring was established in 1967 by Calgary Stampeders Football Club team presidentGeorge McMahon and general manager Rogers Lehew. Formerly presented to the team's most valuable player,[17] it is currently awarded to the player who best demonstrates leadership ability.[18] As of 2012[update], 29 players have won the award, including three-time winnersHenry Burris,Danny Barrett andStu Laird.[19]
The Stampeders Wall of Fame recognizes the greatest players and most important off-field contributors in Stampeders history; it was Instituted in 1985.
Builders:
Builders honoured as of 2012
Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
| Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
| |||||
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Here are some key points of the Red and White's schedule
On Oct. 23, 1991, with the threat of the franchise's extinction still looming menacingly, the Stamps were privatized under the ownership of Larry Ryckman.
Calgary businessman Sig Gutsche, through a successful bid, became the club's second private owner.
In Calgary, Larry Ryckman left the scene. Sid Gutsche purchased the Stampeders on April 3, 1996. Ryckman had been penalized by the Alberta Securities Commission for stock manipulation, fined $492,000 and banned for 18 years from trading in stock in Albert and "prohibited from being an officer of any Province-based company which would presumably include the Stampeders."
Jim Finks as 1960 interim coach: Toronto Globe and Mail, Saturday 20 August 1960, p. 21, "Calgary Coach Resigns".
Media related toCalgary Stampeders at Wikimedia Commons
