1955 in Canadian football explained
The Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes in the first Grey Cup held in the west. This was also the first year that the Grey Cup was open to professional teams only, as the amateur Ontario Rugby Football Union was not invited to compete in an inter-union playdown, leaving only the (Eastern Canadian) Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the (Western Canadian) Western Interprovincial Football Union to compete for the Canadian championship.
Canadian Football News in 1955
For 45 years the Grey Cup classic was an event held exclusively in the province of Ontario, with the one exception in 1931 when the game was staged in Montreal. This all changed in 1955 when the game was awarded to Vancouver, B.C. The then largest crowd in the history of organized team sports in Canada packed Empire Stadium to witness the Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes. The 39,417 in attendance remained a Grey Cup record until 1976.[1]
The Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) allowed the third place team to qualify for a playoff berth. The Grey Cup had a gross revenue of $198,000.[2]
In January 1955, the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) announced that a playoff game with the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was no longer desired. The WIFU and IRFU both scheduled their games so as not to leave an open date for the traditional game with the ORFU. At the March meeting of the CRU, the ORFU withdrew from Grey Cup competition for 1955.[3] 1955 became the first year that only the IRFU and the WIFU competed for the Grey Cup.
Montreal's Tex Coulter became the first player to win the Most Outstanding Lineman Award.
Regular season
Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
- Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
- Edmonton and Montreal both have first round byes.
Grey Cup playoffs
Note: All dates in 1955
Semifinals
- Winnipeg won the total-point series by 24–16. The Blue Bombers will play the Edmonton Eskimos in the WIFU Finals.
- The Argonauts will play the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern finals.
Final
- Edmonton wins the best of three series 2–0. The Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup game.
- The Alouettes will advance to the Grey Cup game.
Grey Cup Championship
- Note: IRFU and Eastern Final dates are not confirmed, however since [1] the regular season ended October 29 in the West, and November 5 in the East, and [2] WIFU playoff dates, as well as the Grey Cup date are accurate, it is reasonable to assume the above dates are accurate.
Canadian Football Leaders
1955 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars
Offence
- QB – Sam Etcheverry, Montreal Alouettes
- RB – Lou Kusserow*, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- RB – Pat Abbruzzi, Montreal Alouettes
- RB – Tom Tracy, Ottawa Rough Riders
- E – Red O'Quinn, Montreal Alouettes
- E – Al Pfeifer, Toronto Argonauts
- FW – Joey Pal, Montreal Alouettes
- C – Tommy Hugo, Montreal Alouettes
- OG – Bill Albright, Toronto Argonauts
- OG – Herb Trawick, Montreal Alouettes
- OT – Tex Coulter, Montreal Alouettes
- OT – Billy Shipp, Toronto Argonauts
Defence
- DT – Tex Coulter, Montreal Alouettes
- DT – Billy Shipp*, Toronto Argonauts
- DE – Pete Neumann, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- DE – Doug McNichol, Montreal Alouettes
- DG – Vince Scott, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- DG – Eddie Bevan, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- LB – Frank Dempsey, Ottawa Rough Riders
- LB – Tommy Hugo*, Montreal Alouettes
- DB – Hal Patterson, Montreal Alouettes
- DB – Avatus Stone, Ottawa Rough Riders
- DB – John Fedosoff, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- DB – Lou Kusserow*, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
NOTE: The following players were selected to the All-Star team as replacements for players who would have had to play both ways in the Shrine Game (denoted with an *):
2nd Team Offence
- QB – Bob Celeri, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
- RB – Hal Patterson, Montreal Alouettes
- RB – Corky Tharp, Toronto Argonauts
- RB – Avatus Stone, Ottawa Rough Riders
- E – Doug McNichol, Montreal Alouettes
- E – Pete Neumann, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- FW – Ron Stewart, Queen's University
- C – Frank Dempsey, Ottawa Rough Riders
- OG – Eddie Bevan, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- OG – Vince Scott, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- OT – Jim Hughes, Queen's University
- OT – Ray Collins, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1955 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars
Offence
- QB – Jackie Parker, Edmonton Eskimos
- RB – Ken Carpenter, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- RB – Gerry James, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- RB – Normie Kwong, Edmonton Eskimos
- E – Stan Williams, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- E – Willie Roberts, Calgary Stampeders
- FW – Leo Lewis*, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- C – Kurt Burris*, Edmonton Eskimos
- OG – Harry Langford*, Calgary Stampeders
- OG – Art Walker, Edmonton Eskimos
- OT – Dale Meinert, Edmonton Eskimos
- OT – Buddy Tinsley, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Defence
- DT – Dick Huffman, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- DT – Dale Meinert*, Edmonton Eskimos
- DE – Frank Anderson*, Edmonton Eskimos
- DE – Gordon Sturtridge, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- DG – Floyd Harraway*, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- DG – Bob Levenhagen, British Columbia Lions
- LB – Kurt Burris, Edmonton Eskimos
- LB – Ted Tully*, Edmonton Eskimos
- DB – Rollie Miles, Edmonton Eskimos
- DB – Bobby Marlow, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- DB – Tom Casey, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- DB – Rupe Andrews*, Edmonton Eskimos
NOTE: The following players were selected to the All-Star team as replacements for players who would have had to play both ways, or were injured, in the Shrine Game (denoted with an *):
1955 Ontario Rugby Football Union All-Stars
NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.
- QB – Bob Celeri, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
- RB – Cookie Gilchrist, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
- RB – John Jacobs, Sarnia Imperials
- RB – Sam Laverty, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
- E – Eric Graham, Sarnia Imperials
- E – Gerry McTaggart, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
- FW – Carl Totzke, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
- C – Bruce Mattingly, Sarnia Imperials
- OG – Ed Stowe, Sarnia Imperials
- OG – Larry Cardonick, Sarnia Imperials
- OT – Jay Fry, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
- OT – Oatten Fisher, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
- OT – Jim Burr, Sarnia Imperials
1955 Canadian Football Awards
Notes and References
- Web site: Grey Cup Memories: 1955. 2005-11-11. CFL.ca. en. 2019-10-06. 2019-10-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20191006002608/https://www.cfl.ca/2005/11/11/grey_cup_memories__1955/. live.
- Web site: Canadian Football Timelines (1860-2005). footballcanada.com. 3 October 2019. 9 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170109113533/http://footballcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FootballTimelines.pdf. dead.
- Book: Cosentino, Frank . Canadian Football: The Grey Cup Years . Musson Book Company . 1969 . 152.
- https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AUgxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=guMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7029%2C4225058 Ottawa Citizen – Oct 31, 1955
- Web site: CFLapedia. 2013-01-16. 2019-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20190207035622/https://www.cflapedia.com/. live.
