The Sacramento Gold Miners were a
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, 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 sco ...
team based in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
. 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 roster of the
Sacramento Surge
The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stad ...
from the defunct
World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
. The team played its home games at
Hornet Stadium.
History
On the field
1993 season
When the WLAF suspended operations in 1992, Surge owner Fred Anderson received a franchise in the CFL after that league expanded to the United States in 1993. The two teams could be seen as one and the same. The two entities had the same colors (aqua and yellow) and head coach (
Kay Stephenson
George Kay Stephenson (born December 17, 1944) is an American former college and professional football player and retired coach, whose latter career has seen him work in four different professional leagues. Stephenson played quarterback for the ...
). Additionally, several players and administrators made the switch from the WLAF to the CFL. These players included starting quarterback
David Archer,
Carl Parker
Carl Wayne Parker (born February 5, 1965) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, World League of American Football and Arena Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamilton Tig ...
(WR),
Rod Harris
Roderick World Harris (born November 14, 1966 in Dallas, Texas) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He also played seven seasons in t ...
(WR),
George Bethune (DT),
Mike Oliphant
Michael Nathaniel Oliphant (born May 19, 1963) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. He also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Sacrame ...
(RB) and
Mike Pringle (RB). One notable team administrator was
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson Youngblood III (born January 26, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
, who was the Gold Miners' Director of Marketing in 1993 and 1994, which was a similar post he held with the Surge in 1991 and 1992.
Rick Mueller
Rick Mueller (born December 4, 1967) is an American football executive who serves as the Director of Player Personnel for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He past served as the general manager of the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football L ...
, the team's wide receivers coach (after serving as a defensive assistant with the Surge) and later director of player personnel, later would become general manager of the
Omaha Nighthawks
The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. During their first season, the Nighthawks played their home gam ...
in the
United Football League.
When the
1993 CFL season started, the Gold Miners, with an all-US staff, took some time to learn the intricacies of Canadian football. But the team was fortunate enough to have leadership from Archer and got great plays from Harris. In their first season, the Sacramento Gold Miners entered the CFL history books by:
* Becoming the first American team to play in the CFL.
* Becoming the first American team to host a CFL game, against the
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 ...
(losing 38–36) on July 17.
* Becoming the first American team to record a win in the CFL, against 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 1 ...
(winning 37–26) on July 24. (However, they were not the first American team to win against a CFL team—see below.)
It is sometimes stated that the Gold Miners were the first American team to play against a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
team and to play on Canadian soil when they were the guests of the
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 ...
(losing 32–23) on July 7. However, in the 1950s and 1960s the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
and the CFL (and the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, forerunner of the
CFL's East Division) played a series of exhibition games, all in Canada, with the NFL team winning all of those matches. The
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
also played one game in Canada against a CFL team in 1961, with CFL's Hamilton defeating AFL's Buffalo, 38–21. Prior to that, the
Columbus Bullies
The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined ...
of the
American Football League (1940)
The American Football League, also known retrospectively as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name, was a professional American football league that operated from 1940–1941. It was created when three teams, the o ...
played 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 ...
in 1941 in a three-game series, which Columbus won, 2 games to 1.
The Gold Miners also entered the CFL record books by recording the most wins by an expansion team with 6 wins (the record was broken the following year by the
Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...
). The Gold Miners finished the season with a 6–12 record, which placed them in last place of the
West Division. The positives for the franchise were the facts that they had a 5–4 home record and were ranked 5th in team defense. Harris was also selected as a member of the 1993 CFL All-Star Team, which showed signs that the team had a good mix of players and staff to improve on for the following season.
1994 season
In their second season, the Gold Miners were no longer the lone American team as the CFL introduced three new teams: the
Las Vegas Posse
The Las Vegas Posse were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team, that played at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, in the league's 1994 season as part of the CFL's short-lived American expansion. Lasting only one seaso ...
, the
Shreveport Pirates
The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...
and the
Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...
(who were known as the CFLers when the
NFL did not allow the
Colts name to be used). The Gold Miners were once again a part of CFL history when they played against the Las Vegas Posse in Sacramento on July 8, 1994. The game was the first-ever game that involved two American-based teams in the CFL. Las Vegas won the game, 32–26.
The Gold Miners made a decided improvement from their 1993 inaugural season with a 9–8–1 record. They had a 5–3–1 home record and a 4–5 road mark. Sacramento was ranked fourth in team defense, behind Calgary, Edmonton and Baltimore — the teams with the three best records in the league. But the record was only good enough for fifth place in the tough West Division. The Miners would have finished fourth with a 10–7–1 record, if not for a poor call by the officials in the team's last game of the season in Edmonton. Archer appeared to throw a game-winning touchdown pass to
Freeman Baysinger
Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to:
* a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm
* Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies
* Free ...
, but the officials ruled that it had short-hopped into Baysinger's hands. Replays showed that Baysinger had caught the ball cleanly. As it was, the Gold Miners finished one point behind the 10-8
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 ...
for the last playoff spot in the West. As it turned out, this would be the last game the team would play in Sacramento.
Off the field
Despite a mediocre on-field record, the Gold Miners represented a serious attempt to form a viable professional football organization. Anderson and
Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...
owner
Jim Speros
Jim Speros (born February 17, 1959) is an American businessman and former American football player and coach from Great Falls, Virginia, (Fairfax County), best known for his ownership of teams in the southern American expansion phase of the Cana ...
were considered the only truly dedicated US CFL owners. Anderson's longtime sidekick Tom Bass handled the day-to-day operations, while coach
Kay Stephenson
George Kay Stephenson (born December 17, 1944) is an American former college and professional football player and retired coach, whose latter career has seen him work in four different professional leagues. Stephenson played quarterback for the ...
and GM
Tom Huiskens handled the football side. As with the team, it took Stephenson some time to adapt to the Canadian game, but he was eventually successful.
However, the Gold Miners were hobbled by substantial off-the-field problems that ultimately proved too much to overcome. Since the San Antonio club that was also supposed to be a part of the 1993 expansion had folded, the Gold Miners were the only American team in the CFL during the 1993 season. Their nearest opponent was the
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 ...
, over away. They had to market themselves, receiving no assistance from the CFL. This distance was partially lessened when the CFL added the Las Vegas Posse for the 1994 season, but that team's collapse after only one season left the Gold Miners once again far isolated from even their American competitors (the only other American teams, Shreveport and Baltimore, were away, respectively).
Another drag on attendance was
Hornet Stadium, which was well below the standards expected for a professional football team. At the time, it was made up mostly of temporary-style bleacher seats. It only had threadbare amenities, and fans were forced to use port-a-potties. The stadium was also uncovered, and offered no protection from Sacramento's often oppressive summer heat. One area in which Hornet Stadium would prove to be ideal was field size; because it was built with a running track, it was relatively easy to accommodate the full length and width of the larger Canadian field (110 yards x 65 yards
ith 20 yard endzones
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
vs 100 yards x yards
ith 10 yard endzonesfor the American field) within the track and only cut small portions of the corners, a situation accommodated at a few other Canadian stadiums as well. Attendance did hover around 15,000 per game, but it was widely known that as many as 2,000 of those 15,000 were given free tickets. In 1993 the average home attendance was 16,979, but in 1994 the average home attendance fell to 14,226.
Unable to persuade Sacramento State to upgrade Hornet Stadium to something approaching professional standards, Anderson tried to get the city to build a new stadium for the Gold Miners and his minor-league baseball club, the
Modesto A's
Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...
. He planned to
complete a project that had been started several years earlier to lure the then-
Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...
to Sacramento, but had ended up being mothballed. Anderson, however, could not come to terms with the local governments. Years later, Sacramento State would upgrade Hornet Stadium to professional standards to accommodate the
Sacramento Mountain Lions
The Sacramento Mountain Lions was a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in San Francisco and ...
and the stadium would later be named after Anderson.
Move to San Antonio
Deciding that Hornet Stadium was inadequate even for temporary use, Anderson decided to look for a new home for the Gold Miners. However, the only other football stadiums in the area,
Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...
's
Charles C. Hughes Stadium
Charles C. Hughes Stadium (commonly referred to as Hughes Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in the Western United States, located at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California. The stadium opened in 1928 and was initially known as Sacrament ...
(where the Surge had played in 1991) and
UC Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
'
Toomey Field
Toomey Field is a track and field stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of California, Davis in unincorporated Yolo County, California. The Woody Wilson Track is located in the stadium and it is home to the U ...
, were similarly unacceptable. Hughes Stadium was ruled out because it was used by several high schools; the CFL plays many games on Friday nights, the same night as most American high school football games. Toomey Field seated just over 10,000 people—only half the minimum capacity for a CFL stadium. Even if it could have been expanded, it was only connected to Sacramento by way of the narrow
Yolo Causeway
The Yolo Causeway is a long elevated highway viaduct on Interstate 80 that crosses the Yolo Bypass floodplain, connecting the cities of West Sacramento, California and Davis, California. It is officially named the Blecher-Freeman Memorial Caus ...
. In any event, the CFL frequently plays on Saturdays.
Faced with an unsustainable travel situation and the lack of a suitable facility, Anderson moved the team to
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
as the
Texans for the
1995 CFL season. San Antonio had the benefits of having a brand-new stadium, the
Alamodome
The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...
, and was geographically close to the American CFL clubs in Shreveport,
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, greatly reducing travel burdens. The Texans only played one season in San Antonio before the CFL exited the American market.
Seasons
Radio and television
Gold Miners games were broadcast on
KFBK radio and
KRBK-TV with
Tim Roye
Timothy James Roye is an American radio play-by-play announcer for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Prior to joining the Warriors, he had worked in radio in Utica, Birmingham, Phoenix, and Sacramento, with occupations from play-by-play announci ...
and
Lee Grosscup
{{Infobox NFL biography
, name = Lee Grosscup
, image = Lee Grosscup 1958.jpeg
, alt =
, caption = Grosscup, circa 1958
, birth_date = {{Birth date, 1936, 12, 27, mf=y
, birth_place = Santa Monica, California
, death_date = {{Death date an ...
on radio and
Grant Napear and
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson Youngblood III (born January 26, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
on television. Roye replaced Youngblood as TV analyst in 1994 and former
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
announcer
David Glass David Glass may refer to:
*David Glass (businessman) (1935–2020), American executive
*David Glass (Canadian politician) (1829–1906), Canadian lawyer and political figure
* David Glass (Israeli politician) (1936–2014), Israeli politician
*Davi ...
became the Miners' radio play-by-play announcer.
Players and builders of note
*
David Archer
*
Tom Bass
*
Kerwin Bell
Kerwin Douglas Bell (born June 15, 1965) is an American football coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts football team since 2021. Bell was born in the rural North Central Florida town of Live Oak, ...
*
George Bethune
*
Tony Burse
Tony Lee Burse (born April 4, 1965) is a former American football running back who played one season with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 12th round of the 1987 NFL Draft. ...
*
David Diaz-Infante
Gustavo David Miguel Diaz-Infante (born March 31, 1964) is a former professional American football guard and center and current assistant offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL. In the National Football League, he played f ...
*
Malcolm Frank
Malcolm Frank (born November 5, 1968) is a former Canadian Football League defensive back for the Edmonton Eskimos. He won two Grey Cup championships with Edmonton in 2003 and 2005.
College career
While attending Baylor University, Malcolm F ...
*
Bill Goldberg
William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is best known for his tenures in WCW and WWE.
One of the most ...
*
Rod Harris
Roderick World Harris (born November 14, 1966 in Dallas, Texas) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He also played seven seasons in t ...
*
Bobby Humphery
Robert Charles Humphery (born August 23, 1961 in Lubbock, Texas) is a former professional American football player who played cornerback for seven seasons in the NFL. He also played in the WLAF and CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL ...
*
Carl Parker
Carl Wayne Parker (born February 5, 1965) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, World League of American Football and Arena Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamilton Tig ...
*
Mike Kiselak
Michael John Kiselak (born March 9, 1967 in Sleepy Hollow, New York, North Tarrytown, New York) is a former American football Guard (American football), guard in the Canadian Football League for the Sacramento Gold Miners, San Antonio Texans and ...
*
Paul Liggett
*
Troy Mills
*
Mike Oliphant
Michael Nathaniel Oliphant (born May 19, 1963) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. He also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Sacrame ...
*
Mike Pringle
*
James Pruitt
James Bouvias Pruitt (born January 29, 1964) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for six seasons in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins (1986–1988, 1990–1991) and Indianapolis Colts (1988–1989); He was s ...
*
Kay Stephenson
George Kay Stephenson (born December 17, 1944) is an American former college and professional football player and retired coach, whose latter career has seen him work in four different professional leagues. Stephenson played quarterback for the ...
See also
*
CFL USA all-time records and statistics
This list combines the statistics and records of the seven CFL American teams from 1993 to 1995: Baltimore Stallions, Birmingham Barracudas, Las Vegas Posse, Memphis Mad Dogs, Sacramento Gold Miners, San Antonio Texans, and the Shreveport Pirates. ...
*
Comparison of Canadian and American football
American and Canadian football are gridiron codes of football that are very similar; both have their origins in rugby football, but some key differences exist between the two codes.
History
Rugby football was introduced to North America in C ...
*
1993 CFL season
*
1994 CFL season
*
San Antonio Texans
The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Miner ...
{{CFL USA
1993 establishments in California
1995 disestablishments in California
Defunct Canadian Football League teams
Defunct American football teams in California
Defunct Canadian football teams in the United States
Defunct sports teams in California