The 64th
Grey Cup was played on November 28, 1976, at
Exhibition 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 E ...
in Toronto. The
Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the
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 ...
23–20 in what is considered one of the most thrilling
Grey Cup games, featuring some of the most exciting plays in
Grey Cup history.
The attendance was 53,467—at the time, a Grey Cup record—due to the recently completed stadium reconfiguration to accommodate the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
, 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), ...
expansion team that commenced play
the following year. Toronto's Grey Cup attendance record would last but one season before being broken by the
65th Grey Cup
The 65th Grey Cup, also known as The Ice Bowl, was played on November 27, 1977, at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. The hometown Montreal Alouettes defeated the Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 41–6.
Game Summary
The 1977 Grey Cup was Canada's versio ...
at
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
.
Scoring
Ottawa Rough Riders - 23
Touchdowns -
Tony Gabriel
Anthony Michael Peter Gabriel (born December 11, 1948) is a former professional Canadian football pass receiver who played in the Canadian Football League from 1971 to 1981. He played for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough Riders. ...
and
Bill Hatanaka
Field goals -
Gerry Organ (3)
Converts -
Gerry Organ (2)
Saskatchewan Roughriders - 20
Touchdowns -
Steve Mazurak and
Bob Richardson
Field goals -
Bob Macoritti (2)
Converts -
Bob Macoritti (2)
Game summary
After an early field goal, Ottawa increased their lead in record-setting fashion, with
Bill Hatanaka (a
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
graduate who would later attend
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
) returning a punt for a 79-yard touchdown (then a
CFL record). Ottawa led 10–0 at the end of the first quarter.
Saskatchewan owned the second quarter. CFL legend
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 ...
hit
Steve Mazurak and
Bob Richardson with touchdown passes and
Bob Macoritti added a field goal. On defence, all-star
Ted Provost intercepted a
Tom Clements
Thomas Albert Clements (born June 18, 1953) is an American football coach and a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He also served as a ...
pass to set up a touchdown and middle linebacker
Cleveland Vann covered the field with his excellent play. Unfortunately, the
Green Riders
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 ...
were without their longtime star running back,
George Reed, who had retired after the previous season, and his talented replacement, Molly McGee, left the game with an injury. The halftime score was 17–10 in favour of Saskatchewan.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, but the quarter also included its share of dramatic moments such as
Gerry Organ's 52-yard run on a fake punt and the subsequent interception by Saskatchewan's
Cleveland Vann.
Ottawa kicked another field goal in the fourth quarter, making the score 20–16. A later drive stalled on a goal-line stand by
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
. With time running out, the Rough Riders found themselves on the Saskatchewan 24-yard-line with 20 seconds left. Ottawa quarterback (and
Notre Dame University
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
grad)
Tom Clements
Thomas Albert Clements (born June 18, 1953) is an American football coach and a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He also served as a ...
waved off the play from the bench.
Canadian Football Hall of Fame tight end
Tony Gabriel
Anthony Michael Peter Gabriel (born December 11, 1948) is a former professional Canadian football pass receiver who played in the Canadian Football League from 1971 to 1981. He played for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough Riders. ...
headed towards the end zone, faked a
post pattern and turned to the corner. Saskatchewan DB
Ted Provost fell for the fake and Gabriel hauled in Clements' pass, with Provost and
Ray Odums
Ray Odums (born October 30, 1951) is a football player who played in the CFL and USFL. He played defensive back (DB). From 1975 to 1984 Odums was DB for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Calgary Stampeders. He ...
in vain pursuit. The play was spectacular in its execution, its game-winning importance and in the dramatic manner in which it unfolded, and is often simply referred to as "The Catch."
Trivia
* All the points in this game were scored by Canadians.
* This was the last Grey Cup championship for the Ottawa Rough Riders (the team folded in 1996) and the last playoff game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders until
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 Bicenten ...
. The 1976 victory was the last major sports championship of any kind for Ottawa until the
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Starting ...
(the third CFL franchise to play in the city) won the
104th Grey Cup
The 104th Grey Cup (branded as the 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw for sponsorship reasons) was a Canadian football game that was played on November 27, 2016, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks, that decided the champion for ...
in 2016. In total, Ottawa's championship drought would last for 27 seasons of CFL play and 40 years altogether.
* This was the last "Rough Riders vs. Roughriders" Grey Cup match-up.
* The game-winning ball caught by Tony Gabriel ended up in the possession of Bruce Crete, who was 12 at the time. He and the other neighbourhood children played football with it until it wore out six years later.
* The 1976 game was only Grey Cup game between 1973 and 1982 that the Edmonton Eskimos did not appear in, having been defeated by Saskatchewan in the Western Conference Final game.
* Beginning this year, and up until 1982, the Grey Cup game would be held in alternating years in either Toronto (CNE Stadium) or Montreal (Olympic Stadium). This practice would finally end following the completion of
BC Place
BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province.
The venue is currently ...
in Vancouver in 1983.
References
External links
*
{{1976 CFL season by team
Grey Cup
Grey Cup
Grey Cups hosted in Toronto
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Ottawa Rough Riders
1976 in Toronto
1976 in Canadian television
November 1976 sports events in Canada