1996 Toronto Argonauts season

The 1996 Toronto Argonauts season was the 107th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 15–3 record and qualified for the playoffs after missing out during the previous season when they finished 4–14. The 11 win improvement was the greatest single-season turnaround in franchise history and the team's 15 regular season wins was the most ever recorded by an Argonaut team. In the playoffs, the Argonauts defeated the newly relocated Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 84th Grey Cup. Toronto defeated the Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 43–37, the second highest scoring Grey Cup game in history, and won their 13th Grey Cup championship.

1996 Toronto Argonauts season
Head coachDon Matthews[1]
Home fieldSkyDome[2]
Results
Record15–3
Division place1st, East
Playoff finishWon Grey Cup

Offseason

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CFL draft

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Round Pick Player Position School
1 2 Kelly Wiltshire CB James Madison
3 20 L.J. Eiben WR Humboldt State
4 36 Tom Hipsz DE Toronto
6 46 Tim Biakabutuka RB Michigan
7 55 Craig Poole WR Windsor

[3]

Preseason

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Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
A June 13 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 27–37 (OT) 0–1 SkyDome 13,247
B June 19 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–6 1–1 Frank Clair Stadium 14,024

[4]

Regular season

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Season standings

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East Division
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Toronto Argonauts 18 15 3 0 556 359 30
Montreal Alouettes 18 12 6 0 536 467 24
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 8 10 0 426 576 16
Ottawa Rough Riders 18 3 15 0 352 524 6

[5]

Regular season

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Week Date Opponent Location Final score Attendance Record
1 June 27 at Montreal Alouettes Olympic Stadium W 27–24 24,653 1–0
2 July 4 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats SkyDome L 36–38 26,333 1–1
3 July 11 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers Winnipeg Stadium W 35–14 24,882 2–1
4 July 17 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders SkyDome W 34–4 17,288 3–1
5 July 26 at Saskatchewan Roughriders Taylor Field W 40–16 24,902 4–1
6 Aug 1 vs. Montreal Alouettes SkyDome W 40–31 20,302 5–1
7 Aug 8 vs. Edmonton Eskimos SkyDome W 24–21 20,030 6–1
8 Aug 15 at Ottawa Rough Riders Frank Clair Stadium W 42–19 15,220 7–1
9 Aug 24 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders SkyDome W 28–21 17,186 8–1
10 Sept 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats Ivor Wynne Stadium W 38–7 27,517 9–1
11 Sept 8 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders SkyDome W 31–13 17,576 10–1
12 Sept 14 at BC Lions BC Place L 11–35 15,323 10–2
13 Sept 21 vs. Calgary Stampeders SkyDome W 23–22 27,209 11–2
14 Bye
15 Oct 5 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers SkyDome W 28–12 17,310 12–2
16 Oct 14 at Calgary Stampeders McMahon Stadium L 23–30 27,436 12–3
17 Oct 20 at Edmonton Eskimos Commonwealth Stadium W 24–17 27,567 13–3
18 Oct 27 vs. BC Lions SkyDome W 25–21 20,657 14–3
19 Nov 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats Ivor Wynne Stadium W 47–14 23,001 15–3

[4]

Postseason

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Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
East Final Sun, Nov 17 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 43–7 1–0 SkyDome 28,390
Grey Cup Sun, Nov 24 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 43–37 2–0 Ivor Wynne Stadium 38,595

[4]

Awards and records

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[8]

1996 CFL All-Stars

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WR- Terrance Lawrence [8]

References

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  1. ^ "All-Time Coaching". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  2. ^ "Toronto Argonauts Stadium History". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  3. ^ "All-Time Draft List". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  4. ^ a b c "1996 Toronto Argonauts". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  5. ^ "1996 Regular Season Standings". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  6. ^ "Most Outstanding Player". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  7. ^ "Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  8. ^ a b 2010 Toronto Argonauts Media Guide (PDF). Toronto Argonauts. 2010. p. 168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.