The 76th Grey Cup was the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

championship game that was played at

Lansdowne Park Lansdowne Park is a urban park, historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located on Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal in The Glebe neighbourhood of central Otta ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, between the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

and the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22–21. This was the first Grey Cup game between two teams from west of Ontario, and the first to be won by a team which had only a .500 season.

Game summary

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (22) - TDs, James Murphy; FGs,

Trevor Kennerd Trevor Kennerd (born December 23, 1955) was a kicker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1980-1991. He was a three-time CFL All-Star (1981, 1985 Football Reporters of Canada All-Star and 1983 Coaches All-Star) ...

(4); cons., Kennerd; singles,

, Bob Cameron (2). BC Lions (21) - TDs,

Anthony Cherry Anthony Earl Cherry (born February 8, 1963) is a former running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the B.C. Lions. He was selected in the 1986 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers in the ninth round (240th pick) out of the Universi ...

, David Williams; FGs,

Lui Passaglia Lui Passaglia (born June 7, 1954) is a former professional Canadian football player. Passaglia was the placekicker/ punter for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League for a record-breaking 25 years (1976–2000) and scored more points in that ...

; cons.,

Passaglia Passaglia is a surname and may refer to the following people: *Carlo Passaglia (1812–1887), Italian Jesuit * Augusto Passaglia (born 1838), Italian sculptor * Marty Passaglia (born 1919), American basketball player *Lui Passaglia Lui Passaglia ...

(2); singles,

(2); safety touch. The Lions jumped to a 7-1 lead in the opening quarter as running back

scored on a 14-yard run. Kennerd kicked a 22-yard field goal to pull the Bombers within three. With the wind at his back in the second quarter, Kennerd tied the score with a 43-yard field goal. But Lions quarterback

Matt Dunigan Matt Dunigan (born December 6, 1960) is an American broadcaster and former professional football player and executive. He is a Canadian Football League (CFL) sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN. Dunigan is a former quarterb ...

connected with David Williams on a 26-yard scoring play, giving BC a 14-7 advantage. The Bombers got that one back on their next possession. Quarterback

Sean Salisbury Richard Sean Salisbury (born March 9, 1963) is an American football analyst, former National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback, and actor. He is currently the host of '' The Sean Salisbury Show'' on KBME, Sport ...

threw a 35-yard touchdown strike to James Murphy to pull Winnipeg even. BC's

failed on a 41-yard field goal attempt near the end of the half, but it did give the Lions a 15-14 lead at intermission. Passaglia and Kennerd exchanged field goals in the third quarter. The game was deadlocked at 19 heading into the final 15 minutes. With 2:55 remaining,

kicked a 30-yard field goal to put the Bombers in front for the first time in the game. With the score 22-19 in favour of the Bombers, the Lions marched 75 yards downfield to the Winnipeg seven-yard line. Dunigan's pass was batted down and intercepted in the end zone by Winnipeg's Mike Gray to snuff out the drive. The BC defence held and Winnipeg head coach Mike Riley elected to give up a safety in favour of better field position, cutting the margin to just one. The ensuing kickoff was returned by BC's

Anthony Drawhorn Anthony Drawhorn (born July 27, 1965) was a football player in the Canadian Football League for ten years. Drawhorn played as a cornerback, halfback, and free safety for five different teams. He was a CFL All-Star five times. He played college ...

38 yards to the BC 45-yard line, but the ball was brought back to the 30 when Cherry was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty. The Lions then went three and out and turned the ball over on downs and the Bombers ran out the clock for the win.

Trivia

The 50,604 in attendance was the largest crowd to witness a football game in

until the 2004 Grey Cup.

1988 CFL Playoffs

West Division

* Semi-final (November 13 @

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

)

42-18

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

* Final (November 20 @

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

)

37-19

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

East Division

* Semi-final (November 13 @

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

)

35-28

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

* Final (November 20 @

Toronto, Ontario 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 ancho ...

)

27-11

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

External links

* {{Canadian Football Network

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

Grey Cup Grey Cups hosted in Ottawa 1988 in Ontario BC Lions Winnipeg Blue Bombers 20th century in Ottawa 1988 in Canadian television November 1988 sports events in Canada