The 1968 CFL season is considered to be the 15th season in modern-day
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...
, although it is officially the 11th
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 c ...
season.
CFL News in 1968
J.G. (Jake) Gaudaur was appointed
CFL Commissioner and the league adopted a new constitution. Gaudaur would serve in that position until 1984; he is the league's longest-tenured commissioner.
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 Fie ...
wide receiver
Ted Watkins
Ted Watkins (1941 – June 2, 1968) was a Canadian football player who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa Rough Riders. He won the Grey Cup with Hamilton in 1967. He previously played college football at the University of the Pacific i ...
was shot and killed while allegedly robbing a liquor store in California, shortly before the start of the CFL season.
Regular season standings
Final regular season standings
''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points''
*Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
*''Saskatchewan and Ottawa have first round byes.''
Grey Cup playoffs
''Note: All dates in 1968''
Conference Semi-Finals
Conference Finals
Playoff bracket
Grey Cup Championship
CFL Leaders
*
CFL Passing Leaders
*
CFL Rushing Leaders
*
CFL Receiving Leaders
1968 CFL All-Stars
Offence
*QB –
Russ Jackson
Russell Stanley Jackson (born July 28, 1936) is a former professional Canadian football player. Jackson spent his entire 12-year professional football career with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a member of ...
, Ottawa Rough Riders
*RB –
George Reed, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*RB –
Bill Symons
Bill Symons (born June 14, 1943 in Nucla, Colorado) is a former professional Canadian football running back with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
College football career
Symons played for the University of Colorado Bu ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*RB –
Vic Washington, Ottawa Rough Riders
*TE –
Tommy Joe Coffey
Tommy Joe Coffey (November 18, 1936 – August 25, 2020) was an American-born Canadian Football League (CFL) player who was an end, wide receiver and place kicker for the Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.
CFL
In his f ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*TE –
Herman Harrison, Calgary Stampeders
*F –
Ken Nielsen, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*C –
Ted Urness
Harold Edwards Urness (June 23, 1937 – December 29, 2018) was an offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1961 to 1970.
CFL career
Urness played in three Grey Cups for the Roughriders, winning one in 1966, the 54th Grey Cup again ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*OG –
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*OG –
Bill Danychuk, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*OT –
Bill Frank
William B. Frank, Jr. (April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2014) was a Canadian football offensive tackle in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions, Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He also was a member of the Dallas Cowboys in the ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*OT –
Clyde Brock
Clyde Vern Brock (born August 30, 1940) is a former professional Canadian football offensive tackle in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also was a member of the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers in the Nation ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Defence
*DT –
Ed McQuarters, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*DT –
John LaGrone
John Wesley LaGrone III (November 4, 1944 – March 27, 2022) was an American professional gridiron football player who played for the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos.
CFL
After playing college football at Southern Methodist Univer ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*DE –
Billy Ray Locklin
Billy Ray Locklin (September 13, 1936 – November 8, 2019) was an American football defensive lineman who played ten seasons in the Canadian Football League for two different teams. He was a CFL All Star three times.
Locklin started his pro car ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DE –
Ed Harrington
Ed Harrington (February 8, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was a star defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League.
Harrington played college football at Langston University and later with the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League. ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*LB –
Wayne Harris
Carroll Wayne Harris (May 4, 1938 – June 4, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1961 through 1972. His son, Wayne Harris, Jr., coaches f ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*LB –
Wally Dempsey
Walter Dempsey (born January 9, 1944) was a Canadian football player who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions. He won the Grey Cup with Saskatchewan in 1966. He played college football at Washington State University. After his CFL ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*LB –
Ken Lehmann, Ottawa Rough Riders
*DB –
Frank Andruski, Calgary Stampeders
*DB –
Bob Kosid, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*DB –
Garney Henley
Garney Henley (born December 21, 1935) is an American former professional football player, who played in the Canadian Football League.
College career
Garney Henley attended Huron College in South Dakota, playing as a running back from 1956 to ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DB –
Ed Learn, Toronto Argonauts
*DB –
Marv Luster
Marvin Luster (November 27, 1937 – May 25, 2020) was an American football defensive back and end. He played college football at UCLA and professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for from 1961 to 1974. He was inducted into ...
, Toronto Argonauts
1968 Eastern All-Stars
Offence
*QB –
Russ Jackson
Russell Stanley Jackson (born July 28, 1936) is a former professional Canadian football player. Jackson spent his entire 12-year professional football career with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a member of ...
, Ottawa Rough Riders
*RB –
Bo Scott
Robert Marilla Scott (March 30, 1943 – August 4, 2021) was an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League. Palmer, Pete; Pullis, Ken; Lahman, Sean; Silverman, Matthew; Gillette, Gary. ''The ESPN Pro ...
, Ottawa Rough Riders
*RB –
Bill Symons
Bill Symons (born June 14, 1943 in Nucla, Colorado) is a former professional Canadian football running back with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
College football career
Symons played for the University of Colorado Bu ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*RB –
Vic Washington, Ottawa Rough Riders
*TE –
Tommy Joe Coffey
Tommy Joe Coffey (November 18, 1936 – August 25, 2020) was an American-born Canadian Football League (CFL) player who was an end, wide receiver and place kicker for the Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.
CFL
In his f ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*TE –
Mel Profit
Mel Profit (born July 30, 1941 in New York, New York) was a football player in the CFL for six years. He was selected originally by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1963 NFL Draft. He starred as a tight end for the Toronto Argonauts.
Mel authored a b ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*F –
Whit Tucker, Ottawa Rough Riders
*C –
Basil Bark, Montreal Alouettes
*OG –
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*OG –
Bill Danychuk, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*OT –
Bill Frank
William B. Frank, Jr. (April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2014) was a Canadian football offensive tackle in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions, Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He also was a member of the Dallas Cowboys in the ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*OT –
Ellison Kelly, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Defence
*DT –
Mike Wadsworth
Michael A. Wadsworth (June 4, 1943 - April 28, 2004) was an all-star Canadian Football League defensive lineman, and later lawyer, QC, Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, business executive, and television sports analyst.
Wadsworth ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*DT –
Marshall Shirk, Ottawa Rough Riders
*DE –
Billy Ray Locklin
Billy Ray Locklin (September 13, 1936 – November 8, 2019) was an American football defensive lineman who played ten seasons in the Canadian Football League for two different teams. He was a CFL All Star three times.
Locklin started his pro car ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DE –
Ed Harrington
Ed Harrington (February 8, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was a star defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League.
Harrington played college football at Langston University and later with the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League. ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*LB –
Jerry Campbell
Gerald "Soupy" Campbell (July 14, 1944 – August 9, 2017) was a professional football player, a linebacker in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders (1966–1968) and the Ottawa Rough Riders (1968–1975).
Early years
Born i ...
, Ottawa Rough Riders
*LB –
Allen Ray Aldridge Sr., Toronto Argonauts
*LB –
Ken Lehmann, Ottawa Rough Riders
*DB –
Larry Fairholm, Montreal Alouettes
*DB –
Don Sutherin
Don Paul "Suds" Sutherin (February 29, 1936 – January 11, 2022) was a Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) defensive back and placekicker. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1992).
Playing care ...
, Ottawa Rough Riders
*DB –
Garney Henley
Garney Henley (born December 21, 1935) is an American former professional football player, who played in the Canadian Football League.
College career
Garney Henley attended Huron College in South Dakota, playing as a running back from 1956 to ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DB –
Ed Learn, Toronto Argonauts
*DB –
Marv Luster
Marvin Luster (November 27, 1937 – May 25, 2020) was an American football defensive back and end. He played college football at UCLA and professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for from 1961 to 1974. He was inducted into ...
, Toronto Argonauts
1968 Western All-Stars
Offence
*QB –
Ron Lancaster
Ronald Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008) was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, he ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*RB –
George Reed, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*RB –
Dave Raimey
David E. Raimey (born November 18, 1940) is a former American football player.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Raimey twice won state championships in the low hurdles and long jump. He played college football as a halfback and defensive back for ...
, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*RB –
Jim Evenson, BC Lions
*SE –
Terry Evanshen
Terrence Anthony "Terry" Evanshen (born June 13, 1944) is a motivational speaker and former star receiver in the Canadian Football League.
CFL
Drafted by the Montreal Alouettes, Terry went on to have an outstanding career in the CFL playing for ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*TE –
Herman Harrison, Calgary Stampeders
*F –
Ken Nielsen, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*C –
Ted Urness
Harold Edwards Urness (June 23, 1937 – December 29, 2018) was an offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1961 to 1970.
CFL career
Urness played in three Grey Cups for the Roughriders, winning one in 1966, the 54th Grey Cup again ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*OG –
Bob Lueck, Calgary Stampeders
*OG –
John Atamian, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*OT –
Ken Sugarman, BC Lions
*OT –
Clyde Brock
Clyde Vern Brock (born August 30, 1940) is a former professional Canadian football offensive tackle in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also was a member of the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers in the Nation ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Defence
*DT –
Ed McQuarters, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*DT –
John LaGrone
John Wesley LaGrone III (November 4, 1944 – March 27, 2022) was an American professional gridiron football player who played for the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos.
CFL
After playing college football at Southern Methodist Univer ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*DE –
Bill Whisler, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*DE –
Dick Suderman, Calgary Stampeders
*LB –
Wayne Harris
Carroll Wayne Harris (May 4, 1938 – June 4, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1961 through 1972. His son, Wayne Harris, Jr., coaches f ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*LB –
Wally Dempsey
Walter Dempsey (born January 9, 1944) was a Canadian football player who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions. He won the Grey Cup with Saskatchewan in 1966. He played college football at Washington State University. After his CFL ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*LB –
Phil Minnick
Phil Minnick (born December 28, 1942) was a Canadian football linebacker who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played college football at the University of Northern Iowa. As a rookie linebacker, he played in 14 games and intercepted one pas ...
, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*LB –
Greg Findlay, BC Lions
*DB –
Frank Andruski, Calgary Stampeders
*DB –
Bob Kosid, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*DB –
Jerry Keeling
Jerry Keeling (August 2, 1939 – January 20, 2018) was a quarterback and defensive back in the Canadian Football League, playing fifteen seasons from 1961 to 1975 for the Calgary Stampeders, the Ottawa Rough Riders, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*DB –
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both intercol ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*DB –
Ernie Pitts
Ernie Pitts (March 8, 1935 – September 24, 1970) was a Canadian Football League wide receiver and defensive back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions in a 14-year career in the CFL from 1957 to 1970. He won four Grey Cups with Winn ...
, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1968 CFL Awards
*
CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...
–
Bill Symons
Bill Symons (born June 14, 1943 in Nucla, Colorado) is a former professional Canadian football running back with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
College football career
Symons played for the University of Colorado Bu ...
(RB), Toronto Argonauts
*
CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually awarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Lew Hayman Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy winner ...
–
Ken Nielsen (F), Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*
CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award –
Ken Lehmann (LB), Ottawa Rough Riders
*
CFL's Coach of the Year –
Eagle Keys
Eagle Keys (December 4, 1923 – December 20, 2012) was a Canadian football player and coach. He is currently fifth all-time in regular season wins with 131 as a head coach in the Canadian Football League. He was inducted into the Canadian Fo ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*
Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ)
The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanshi ...
(Eastern MVP) –
Larry Fairholm (DB), Montreal Alouettes
*
Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy
The Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Canadian Football League West Division's most outstanding player, chosen from the nominees from each team in the division. Either this trophy winner or the winner of the Terry Evanshen T ...
(Western MVP) -
Ron Lancaster
Ronald Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008) was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, he ...
(QB), Saskatchewan Roughriders
*
Gruen Trophy (Eastern Rookie of the Year) -
Dave Knechtel (DL), Toronto Argonauts
*
Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy The Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy is a Canadian Football League award, given to the most outstanding Canadian player in the West Division. Each team nominates a player for this award, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of this trophy ...
(Western Rookie of the Year) -
Dave Cranmer (RB), Calgary Stampeders
*
DeMarco–Becket Memorial Trophy The DeMarco–Becket Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy. It is awarded originally to the player selected as the outstanding lineman in the West Division.
The trophy was donated by the families of Mel Becket and Mario DeMarco, ...
(Western Outstanding Lineman) -
Ed McQuarters (DT), Saskatchewan Roughriders
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1968 Cfl Season
CFL
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 ...
Canadian Football League seasons