The 75th Grey Cup was the
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
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
BC Place Stadium
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
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, between the
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 ...
and the
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 ...
. The Eskimos defeated the Argonauts 38–36, on
Jerry Kauric
Jerry Kauric (born June 28, 1963 in Windsor, Ontario) is a former placekicker who played in the National Football League and Canadian Football League in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Kauric played his early days in the Canadian Junior Football ...
's last second field-goal.
Game summary
Edmonton Eskimos - (38) TDs,
Henry Williams,
Marco Cyncar
Marco Cyncar (born April 13, 1958) is a former Canadian Football League receiver who played eleven seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos. He was a member of four Grey Cup Championship teams in Edmonton.
Cyncar played for the Edmonton Wildcats of the ...
,
Brian Kelly,
Damon Allen; FGs,
Jerry Kauric
Jerry Kauric (born June 28, 1963 in Windsor, Ontario) is a former placekicker who played in the National Football League and Canadian Football League in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Kauric played his early days in the Canadian Junior Football ...
(3); cons.,
Kauric (4), singles,
Kauric.
Toronto Argonauts - (36) TDs,
Gil Fenerty
Lawrence Gill Fenerty, aka "Gill the Thrill", (born August 24, 1963) is a former running back in the Canadian Football League, National Football League, and the Italian Football League.
Fenerty graduated from Jesuit High School (New Orleans) an ...
(2),
Doug Landry
Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...
,
Danny Barrett; FGs,
Lance Chomyc
Lance Chomyc (born March 2, 1963) is a former placekicker from 1985 to 1993 for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In 1986 and 1991, he was a CFL All-Star. He was most recently an English teacher at Bear Creek Secondary Schoo ...
(3); cons.,
Lance Chomyc
Lance Chomyc (born March 2, 1963) is a former placekicker from 1985 to 1993 for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In 1986 and 1991, he was a CFL All-Star. He was most recently an English teacher at Bear Creek Secondary Schoo ...
(3).
The
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 ...
and
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 ...
engaged in a back-and-forth battle for
Earl Grey's
Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
in 1987, which was determined with a late field goal.
The lead changed hands five times before
Jerry Kauric
Jerry Kauric (born June 28, 1963 in Windsor, Ontario) is a former placekicker who played in the National Football League and Canadian Football League in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Kauric played his early days in the Canadian Junior Football ...
booted a 49-yard field goal to secure a two-point victory for the Eskimos.
The fireworks went off early when
Henry 'Gizmo' Williams fielded a missed field goal and out ran Toronto defenders for 112-yard return for a touchdown, setting a new Grey Cup record and giving the Eskimos the early lead. Toronto's
Lance Chomyc
Lance Chomyc (born March 2, 1963) is a former placekicker from 1985 to 1993 for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In 1986 and 1991, he was a CFL All-Star. He was most recently an English teacher at Bear Creek Secondary Schoo ...
missed on two field goals in the opening 15 minutes.
Trailing 10-3 in the second quarter, Argos fullback
Gil Fenerty
Lawrence Gill Fenerty, aka "Gill the Thrill", (born August 24, 1963) is a former running back in the Canadian Football League, National Football League, and the Italian Football League.
Fenerty graduated from Jesuit High School (New Orleans) an ...
took a pass from
Gilbert Renfroe
Gilbert Renfroe (born February 18, 1963) is an American former gridiron football quarterback.
Early career
Renfroe played college football at Tennessee State University from 1982 to 1985. With the Tennessee State Tigers, he finished fourth all- ...
and ran 61 yards down the sidelines for Toronto's first major. A costly interception set up Toronto's second touchdown drive when Fenerty followed his blockers for a five-yard score.
Another costly turnover by the Eskimos put the Argos in front 24-10. Toronto's
Doug Landry
Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...
picked up a fumble and ran 54 yards to the end zone.
Things appeared to go from bad to worse when Eskimos starting quarterback
Matt Dunigan went down to a head injury. But Edmonton had a quality backup pivot in
Damon Allen, who flipped a six-yard touchdown pass to
Marco Cyncar
Marco Cyncar (born April 13, 1958) is a former Canadian Football League receiver who played eleven seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos. He was a member of four Grey Cup Championship teams in Edmonton.
Cyncar played for the Edmonton Wildcats of the ...
prior to halftime, cutting the deficit to 24-17. The drive began following a blocked punt by
Stanley Blair
Stanley Blair (born July 4, 1964) is a former all-star and Grey Cup champion Canadian Football League cornerback.
Coming out of the Southeastern Oklahoma State University football program, Blair joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1987 and took the ...
.
After outscoring the Argos 4-3 in the third quarter Edmonton restored its lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when Allen hit
Brian Kelly for a 15-yard touchdown pass, putting the Eskimos in front 28-27.
A Chomyc field goal put Toronto back in front. But Allen's mobility caused fits for the Argos defence, and may have been the difference in the game. He gave the Eskimos a five-point edge with 6:39 remaining in the game with a 17-yard run on a bootleg.
Toronto was also forced to go to its backup quarterback when Renfroe was forced out with a knee injury. But his replacement,
Danny Barrett, was equal to the task. Barrett called his own number with 2:43 remaining, busting up the middle 25 yards for a major, giving the Argos a 36-35 lead.
But the Argos suffered a setback when they missed on an attempted two-point conversion. This allowed the Eskimos to win the game on Kauric's field goal.
Trivia
Gizmo Williams
Henry Lee "Gizmo" Williams (born May 31, 1962) is a former American and Canadian football kick returner and wide receiver. After his retirement at the end of the 2000 CFL season, Williams worked as a motivational speaker.
Born into an impover ...
' 115 yard missed field goal return is the longest return in
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 ...
history.
After the
CTV network ceased its relationship with the CFL the previous season, a new broadcast service was established this season in its place, called the
Canadian Football Network, which was run by the league itself. For this and the next three Grey Cup games after this one, they broadcast the Grey Cup game, but unlike the previous practice in place from 1971 to 1986 when both CTV and CBC pooled their commentary teams to call the game, the CFN called the Grey Cup game in its entirety separate from the CBC.
1987 CFL Playoffs
West Division
* Semi-final (November 15 @
Edmonton
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 ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
)
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 ...
30-16
Calgary Stampeders
* Final (November 22 @
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
)
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 ...
31-7
BC Lions
East Division
* Semi-final (November 15 @
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 ...
)
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 ...
29-13
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 22 @
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 ...
)
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 ...
19-3
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
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 Vancouver
1987 in British Columbia
Toronto Argonauts
Edmonton Elks
1980s in Vancouver
1987 in Canadian television
November 1987 sports events in Canada