The 81st Grey Cup was the
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
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 played 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
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 ...
at
McMahon Stadium
McMahon Stadium is a Canadian football stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society.
The stadium is between the downtown core and the University of Calgary, north ...
in
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...
. The Eskimos defeated the Blue Bombers 33–23 to win the
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 ...
.
Game summary
Edmonton Eskimos (33) - TDs,
Lucius Floyd,
Jim Sandusky
Jim Sandusky (born September 9, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the BC Lions and Edmonton Eskimos. In a 12-year career from 1984 to 1996, he caught 58 ...
; FGs,
Sean Fleming (6); cons.,
Fleming (2); singles,
Fleming.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers (23) - TDs,
Michael Richardson,
Sammy Garza
Samuel Mayorga Garza Jr. (born July 10, 1965) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals. He also was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian ...
; FGs,
Troy Westwood
Troy Westwood (born March 21, 1967) is a former professional Canadian football place kicker and punter who played 18 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted 48th overall in the 6th round of the 1991 CF ...
(3); cons.,
Troy Westwood
Troy Westwood (born March 21, 1967) is a former professional Canadian football place kicker and punter who played 18 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted 48th overall in the 6th round of the 1991 CF ...
(2).
First Quarter
EDM – TD Floyd 4-yard run (Fleming convert)
EDM – TD Sandusky 2-yard pass from Damon Allen (Fleming convert)
EDM – FG Fleming
Second Quarter
EDM – Single Fleming
EDM – FG Fleming 26-yard field goal
WPG - TD Richardson 3-yard run (Westwood convert)
EDM – FG Fleming
WPG – FG Westwood
Third Quarter
WPG - TD Garza 1-yard run (Westwood convert)
Fourth Quarter
WPG – FG Westwood 32-yard field goal
EDM – FG Fleming
EDM – FG Fleming
WPG – FG Westwood
EDM – FG Fleming
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 ...
returned to the
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 ...
in 1993 but once again they were foiled by an
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 ...
club.
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 ...
went out in front 21-0 before hanging on to their 11th Grey Cup title. The Blue Bombers cut their deficit to 24–20 in the fourth quarter before yielding to defeat again.
Winnipeg miscues in the first quarter led to its downfall. The Eskimos took advantage of a blocked punt, a fumbled kickoff return and an interception within the first 10 minutes of the game.
Lucius Floyd scored on a four-yard carry, while
Jim Sandusky
Jim Sandusky (born September 9, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the BC Lions and Edmonton Eskimos. In a 12-year career from 1984 to 1996, he caught 58 ...
caught a two-yard pass from
Damon Allen
Damon L. Allen (born July 29, 1963) is a former professional quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he ...
. Sean Fleming added a field goal at the end of the quarter.
Another Winnipeg fumble in the second quarter, this time on a punt return, put the Eskimos in front by three converted touchdowns following Fleming's 26-yard field goal.
The Blue Bombers finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half on
Michael Richardson's three-yard run. Both teams exchanged field goals as Edmonton held a 24–10 lead at halftime.
Winnipeg made a game of it in the second half, as quarterback
Sammy Garza
Samuel Mayorga Garza Jr. (born July 10, 1965) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals. He also was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian ...
scored on a one-yard keeper. The Blue Bombers closed the gap to four on
Troy Westwood
Troy Westwood (born March 21, 1967) is a former professional Canadian football place kicker and punter who played 18 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted 48th overall in the 6th round of the 1991 CF ...
's 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
But Edmonton's offence got back on track to close out the game. Fleming booted three field goals for a record-tying six for the game. Westwood managed just one other.
Winnipeg was still within a touchdown with two minutes and 44 seconds remaining, but Allen put together a 12-play drive leading to Fleming's final field goal.
Trivia
*
Sean Fleming, who hit six field goals to win the
Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian
The Dick Suderman Trophy (french: Trophée Dick Suderman) for the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian (''Le Canadien le plus précieux de la Coupe Grey'') is awarded annually to the Canadian player deemed to have the best performance in the Grey Cup ...
award, tied a Grey Cup record held by
Don Sweet
Don Sweet (born July 13, 1948) is a former star football kicker for the Montreal Alouettes and Montreal Concordes of the Canadian Football League.
College years
Sweet graduated from Washington State University in 1971. He was a Pacific-10 Confer ...
of the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
(
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 ...
) and
Paul Osbaldiston
Paul Osbaldiston (born April 27, 1964) is a former punter and placekicker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League from 1986-2003. He was the Assistant Special Teams/Kicking Coach for the Tiger-Cats until 2014. Osbaldiston w ...
of the
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 ...
(
74th Grey Cup
The 74th Grey Cup was the 1986 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Tiger-Cats unexpectedly dominated the Eskimos 39–15.
Gam ...
).
* In honour of the CFL's first US-based team, the
Sacramento Gold Miners
The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff and much of the rost ...
(which began play this season), "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
" was sung at a Grey Cup game for the first time, before the standard playing of "
O Canada
"O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
". This routine would continue in the next two Grey Cup games.
*
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 ...
centre
Rod Connop
Rod Connop (born June 4, 1959, in North Vancouver (district municipality), North Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former professional Canadian football player for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Connop spent his entire 16-yea ...
was the only player that was a part of the team's dynasty years from 1978 to 1982.
* This was the second Grey Cup game to be played in Calgary. The temperature was a balmy 6 °C, compared to the first Calgary game (
63rd Grey Cup
The 63rd Grey Cup was played on November 23, 1975, before 32,454 fans at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. In a tight, defensive battle, the Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Montreal Alouettes 9–8. Just before the contest began, a young woman was "str ...
) when it was −15 °C with a wind of 25 km/h.
* The Blue Bombers lost the ball a total of seven times on turnovers with 23 of Edmonton's points coming off Winnipeg's miscues. It was Edmonton's eighth-straight victory to close out the year.
* Blue Bombers 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 ...
did not play because of an
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
injury, and was replaced by Garza.
* Referee
Dave Yule suffered a ruptured
calf muscle
The triceps surae consists of two muscles located at the calf – the two-headed gastrocnemius and the soleus. These muscles both insert into the calcaneus, the bone of the heel of the human foot, and form the major part of the muscle of the pos ...
in the second quarter, forcing alternate
Ken Lazaruk into action.
1993 CFL Playoffs
West Division
* Semi-final (November 14 @
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 ...
)
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 ...
51-13
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 ...
* Semi-final (November 14 @
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...
)
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
17-9
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 ...
* Final (November 19 @
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...
)
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 ...
29-15
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
East Division
* Semi-final (November 13 @
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
)
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 ...
21-10
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...
* Final (November 19 @
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 ...
)
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 ...
20-19
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 ...
External links
*
{{1993 CFL season by team
Grey Cup
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 Cups hosted in Calgary
1993 in Alberta
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Edmonton Elks
1990s in Calgary
1993 in Canadian television
November 1993 sports events in Canada