1954 in Canadian football

(Redirected from 1954 CFL season)

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 edit

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 edit

Final regular season standings edit

Source:[5]

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

Western Interprovincial Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Edmonton Eskimos 16 11 5 0 255 163 22
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 10 4 2 239 204 22
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 8 6 2 202 190 18
Calgary Stampeders 16 8 8 0 271 165 16
BC Lions 16 1 15 0 100 345 2
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Montreal Alouettes 14 11 3 0 341 148 22
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 14 9 5 0 275 207 18
Toronto Argonauts 14 6 8 0 212 265 12
Ottawa Rough Riders 14 2 12 0 129 337 4
Ontario Rugby Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 12 9 2 1 269 183 19
Sarnia Imperials 12 7 4 1 218 193 15
Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 12 1 11 0 169 280 2
  • Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
  • Edmonton has a bye and will play in the WIFU Finals.

Grey Cup playoffs edit

Source:[5]

Note: All dates in 1954

Semifinals edit

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

Finals edit

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

Grey Cup semifinal edit

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

Playoff bracket edit

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 edit

November 27

42nd Annual Grey Cup Game: Varsity StadiumToronto, Ontario

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

Canadian Football Leaders edit

1954 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars edit

Offence edit

Defence edit

1954 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars edit

Offence edit

Defence edit

1954 Ontario Rugby Football Union All-Stars edit

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

1954 Canadian Football Awards edit

References edit

  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. ^ a b c "1954". www.cflapedia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  6. ^ "CFLapedia".