Stampeders: A History
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by user Erooster
Calgary, as a city, first had a football/rugby team in the year 1891. In that year Calgary and Edmonton played a home-and-home. In 1908, the Calgary Tigers were formed and participated in the ARFU. At the time, the team played out of Hillhurst Park Stadium and was known as Hillhurst.
From 1915 – 1919, the city had a team called the Calgary Canucks. There was no official league due to World War I. After the war, in 1924, the team was named the 50th Battalion, after the battalion that provided organizational support. Later that year, the 50th won the Alberta title, but was defeated by Winnipeg in the Western Finals.
In 1928, the Calgary Tigers re-formed and made history. The Tigers were the first team in Canadian Football to throw a forward pass. The team changed names again in 1931 to the Calgary Altomahs. They kept this name through 1934. The team played it’s games in the 2,000-seat Mewata Stadium.
In 1935, the name of the team changed yet again. They were now known as the Calgary Bronks. It was a name that the team kept through 1944. The team played in the new WIFU. The Calgary Bronks, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the Regina Roughriders were the original teams in the new league. In 1938 and 1939, the Bronks took first place in the regular season, but lost in the championship each year to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. There were no games played from 1942 – 1944 due to World War II.
At the conclusion of the war, the team was re-named for the last time to the Calgary Stampeders. The league resumed play in 1945 on a limited basis with the same three teams.
The team has won 15 regular season championships, the N. J. Taylor Trophy: 1937, 1938, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. They also won one Northern regular season championship in 1995.
The Stamps have made 11 Grey Cup appearances: 1948 (won), 1949 (lost), 1968 (lost), 1970 (lost), 1971 (won), 1991 (lost), 1992 (won), 1995 (lost), 1998 (won), 1999 (lost), 2001 (won).
Calgary has retired 8 numbers for the players below:
- 5 – Harry Hood
- 10 – Willie Burden
- 13 – Mark McLoughlin
- 18 – Allen Pitts
- 22 – Tom Forzani
- 55 – Wayne S Harris
- 67 – Jamie Crysdale
- 75 – Stu Laird
Notable ex-players for the Stamps:
- Danny Barrett
- Fred Childress
- Marvin Coleman
- Vince Danielsen
- Dave Dickensen
- Joe Fleming
- Doug Flutie
- Jeff Garcia
- Darryl Hall
- Alondra Johnson
- Will Johnson
- Normie Kwong
- Peter Liske
- Rocco Romano
- Dave Sapunjis
- Pee Wee Smith
- Junior Thurman
- Wayne Yearwood
Date
Thu 07/13/06, 10:08 pm EST
