The 61st Grey Cup game was played at Toronto's

CNE Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian National Exhi ...

on November 25, 1973. The Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 22–18, before a crowd of 36,653.

Game summary

Edmonton scored quickly in the first quarter when running back Roy Bell found a big hole in the left side for a 38-yard touchdown run. Rick Cassata, the Riders' backup quarterback who was replacing injured Jerry Keeling responded with a 38-yard touchdown pass-and-run to Rhome Nixon. Late in the quarter, however,

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

was knocked out of bounds by Ottawa's Wayne Smith and suffered a rib injury. He was replaced by backup

Bruce Lemmerman Bruce Lemmerman (born October 4, 1945 in Los Angeles, California) is a former professional American football player. Football career After a star career at San Fernando Valley State College, where he led the Matadors to their first winning seas ...

. Lemmerman took the Eskimos close enough for

Dave Cutler David Neil Cutler Sr. (born March 13, 1942) is an American software engineer. He developed several computer operating systems, namely Microsoft's Windows NT, and Digital Equipment Corporation's RSX-11M, VAXELN, and VMS. Personal history Cu ...

to kick a field goal, giving them a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. A low snap to Edmonton punter

Garry Lefebvre Garry Lefebvre (November 12, 1944 – March 16, 2016) was a Canadian Football League player with the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes at the wide receiver and punter positions. Professional career After being injured in high school, Lef ...

caused him to bobble the ball in the end zone, and he was tackled for a safety by Ottawa's Wayne Tosh at 21 seconds of the second quarter. Gerry Organ kicked a 46-yard field goal in the last minute of the half. The half-time score was 12-10 for Ottawa. Ottawa increased its lead with an 18-yard touchdown run by

Jim Evenson Jim Evenson (born January 9, 1947) was a running back who played seven seasons in the Canadian Football League for the British Columbia Lions and the Ottawa Rough Riders. Evenson won the Eddie James Memorial Trophy in 1971. He was a part of the ...

at 9:45 of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Lemmerman suffered an arm injury, and Wilkinson, his rib injury frozen, came off the bench to bring some life to the Eskimo offence. Edmonton receiver Tyrone Walls fumbled after receiving a Wilkinson pass on Edmonton's 47. Wayne Tosh recovered and Organ kicked another Ottawa field goal from the 39. Edmonton then scored a single and Lefebvre, who played both ways as well as being the punter, caught a Wilkinson touchdown pass with seven seconds left, but it was not enough to erase Ottawa's 12 point lead.

Most Valuable Players

Ottawa Defensive End Charlie Brandon was named Most Valuable Player and

was named Most Valuable Canadian.

Trivia

This would be the first a string of nine Grey Cup appearances for the Edmonton Eskimos from 1973 to 1982. The only year they missed the Grey Cup during that span was 1976, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated them in the West Final. Edmonton was victorious in six of their nine appearances (1975, and five straight from 1978–82). This was the last Grey Cup game played at CNE Stadium prior to its renovations in the mid-1970s in anticipation of receiving a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

team in Toronto; it would come in the form of the Blue Jays in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

. By the next Grey Cup game played at the stadium in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, the renovation and expansion had been completed.

External links

* {{1973 CFL season by team Grey Cup Grey Cup Grey Cups hosted in Toronto Grey Cup Ottawa Rough Riders Edmonton Elks Grey Cup Grey Cup