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American Football In Canada
Professional gridiron football is one of the most popular sports in Canada. Unlike most countries, but paralleling its counterpart, the United States, ''football'' in Canada refers to the gridiron-based game developed in both countries over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and not to association football (which is known in Canada as ''soccer''). Only one professional football league has a permanent presence in Canada: the Canadian Football League (CFL), an organization founded in 1958 to accommodate the ongoing trend of professionalism in the Canadian football ranks since the 1940s. The CFL, like most amateur Canadian football leagues, plays on a larger field using a rulebook with several significant rule differences compared to the game as it is played in the United States. The league is composed of two divisions and nine teams in most of the largest Canadian markets, with at least one team in each province between British Columbia ( BC Lions) and Quebec (M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Gridiron Football
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country. Currently, there are multiple professional football leagues in North America: the two best known are the National Football League (NFL) in the U.S. and the Canadian Football League (CFL) in Canada. American football leagues have existed in Europe since the late 1970s, with competitive leagues all over Europe hiring American Imports to strengthen rosters. The Austrian Football League and German Football League top division are known as the best leagues in Europe. The Japan X-League is also a strong league that has a long history since 1971. The NFL has existed continuously since being so named in 1922. The best American football players are among the highest paid athletes in the world. Organization Compared to the other major professional sports leag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traveling Team
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements, as in the case of tourism. Etymology The origin of the word "travel" is most likely lost to history. The term "travel" may originate from the Old French word ''travail'', which means 'work'. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known use of the word ''travel'' was in the 14th century. It also states that the word comes from Middle English , (which means to torment, labor, strive, journey) and earlier from Old French (which means to work strenuously, toil). In English, people still occasionally use the words , which means struggle. According to Simon Winchester in his book ''The Best Travelers' Tales (2004)'', the words ''travel'' and ''travail'' both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tampa Bay Bandits
The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal owner (John F. Bassett), head coach (Steve Spurrier), and home field (Tampa Stadium) during the league's three seasons of play (1983–1985). The Bandits were one of the most successful teams in the short-lived spring football league both on the field and at the ticket booth. Spurrier's "Bandit Ball" offense led them to three winning seasons and two playoff appearances, and their exciting brand of play combined with innovative local marketing helped the Bandits lead the league in attendance. However, the franchise folded along with the rest of the USFL when the league suspended play after the 1985 season. Prominent alumni from the Bandits include future NFL Pro Bowlers Nate Newton and Gary Anderson and coach Steve Spurrier, who spent 25 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin. The ideas behind the USFL were conceived in 1965 by New Orleans businessman David Dixon, who saw a market for a professional football league that would play in the summer, when the National Football League and college football were in their off-season. Dixon had been a key player in the construction of the Louisiana Superdome and the expansion of the NFL into New Orleans in 1967. He developed "The Dixon Plan"—a blueprint for the USFL based upon securing NFL-caliber stadiums in top TV markets, securing a national TV broadcast contract, and controlling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximately from both Toronto and Detroit; and about from Buffalo, New York. The city of London is politically separate from Middlesex County, though it remains the county seat. London and the Thames were named in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe, who proposed the site for the capital city of Upper Canada. The first European settlement was between 1801 and 1804 by Peter Hagerman. The village was founded in 1826 and incorporated in 1855. Since then, London has grown to be the largest southwestern Ontario municipality and Canada's 11th largest metropolitan area, having annexed many of the smaller communities that surround it. London is a regional centre of healthcare and education, being home to the University of Western Ontario (which brands it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. From North to South The team was originally slated to be based in Toronto, Canada, with the nickname of the Northmen. However, when Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced that no U.S.-based professional football league would be allowed in Canada in competition with the Canadian Football League under the Canadian Football Act, a change in venue and nickname was announced. From the beginning, Memphians disliked "Southmen" and the team was informally known as the Memphis Grizzlies. The name appeared to come from the logo, a representation of a bear backed by the sun. The "Grizzlies" were owned by John F. Bassett. A multi-millionaire, Bassett gave the league instant credibility by signing three stars from the Nation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Football Act
The ''Canadian Football Act'' (1974), also known in its long title as ''An Act respecting Canadian Professional Football'', was a proposed Act by the Parliament of Canada in April 1974 designed to give a government-protected monopoly over professional football in Canada to the Canadian Football League (CFL). Although it was never signed into law, the move by the government eventually compelled the World Football League's Toronto Northmen to move to the United States as the Memphis Southmen. Despite the proposal of the Canadian Football Act, Portland Storm owner Robert Harris paid the Detroit Wheels to move their September 2nd road game against the Wheels to London, Ontario, which was Harris' hometown, and where he had visions of building a new stadium to host a WFL franchise in time for the 1976 season. The game at Little Stadium attracted only 5,101 announced fans, and any further Canadian expansion did not occur. The spectre of the Act was again raised when John F. Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The league folded midway through its second season, in 1975. A new minor football league began play as the World Football League in 2008 after acquiring the rights to its trademarks and intellectual property; it folded in 2011. History Gary Davidson, a California lawyer and businessman, was the driving force behind the World Football League. He had helped start the moderately successful American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association, some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the more established National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, respectively. Unlike his two previous efforts, the World Football League did not bring a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Northmen
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designated i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Steelers
The Spokane Shockers were a professional American football team based in Spokane, Washington. The team was founded in 1967 as the Victoria Steelers of the Continental Football League but transferred to Spokane during the 1967–68 offseason. While in Spokane the team played its home games in Joe Albi Stadium. The Shockers had a farm team arrangement with the American Football League's Oakland Raiders, and their most notable player during their brief existence was future Hall of Fame quarterback Ken Stabler. As a result of the demise of the COFL, Spokane was first forced to suspend operations and then cease them altogether. As late as June 1970, plans to continue operating the COFL's Pacific Division as a separate entity were considered viable, but these plans were abandoned when the Sacramento Capitols folded in July and the Portland Loggers The Portland Loggers were a professional American football team based in Portland, Oregon. They were members of the Continental Football Leag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montreal Beavers
The Montreal Beavers were a professional American football team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The franchise began as the Indianapolis Warriors of the United Football League in 1961, where they played for four seasons. During that time the Warriors made the UFL playoffs three times, and advanced to the league championship in 1964. The team moved to Fort Wayne in January 1965, and became a charter member of the Continental Football League (CFL) when it was formed the next month. Unable to find financial success in Indiana, team owner Al Savill sold the Warriors to a group from Montreal led by construction magnate, and former Montreal Alouette, Johnny Newman in March 1966. Led by former South Carolina head coach Marvin Bass, the Beavers finished with a 7-7 record in 1966 and a 4-8 mark in 1967. The team denied rumours of a sale in early 1968, but nevertheless folded before the season began. The Indianapolis Capitols The Indianapolis Capitols were a professional American footb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Rifles
The Toronto Rifles were a minor-league professional American football team active between 1964 and 1967. It was based in Toronto, Ontario. The team's home fields were Maple Leaf Stadium (1965) and Varsity Stadium from 1966 to 1967.http://virology-online.com/Store/store001/8141-section219/Continental-Football-League--1965-69----Toronto-Rifles.html The team was owned by Montreal businessman Johnny Newman. As the Quebec Rifles, the team was the first professional American football team to be based in Canada. It played the 1964 season in Montreal, Quebec in the original United Football League. When the Continental Football League (COFL) was established for the 1965 season with former UFL teams, the Quebec Rifles were admitted and transferred to Toronto to become the Toronto Rifles due to the lack of a suitable facility in Montreal. The Rifles competed in the Continental League from 1965–67, but the owners pulled out in the middle of their final season after having lost a reported $40 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
