| Team: | Calgary Stampeders |
| Year: | 1981 |
| Record: | 6–10 |
| Division Place: | 5th, West |
| General Manager: | Jack Gotta |
| Coach: | Ardell Wiegandt (fired October 5th) Jerry Williams |
| Stadium: | McMahon Stadium |
| Playoffs: | did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Stampeders seasons |
The 1981 Calgary Stampeders finished in fifth place in the West Division with a 6–10 record and failed to make the playoffs.
| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| A | Fri, June 5 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | L 11–12 | 0–1 | McMahon Stadium | 29,292 | |
| B | Sat, June 13 | vs. BC Lions | L 4–8 | 0–2 | Empire Stadium | 18,354 | |
| C | Sun, June 21 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 20–33 | 0–3 | Taylor Field | 18,599 | |
| D | Fri, June 26 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 14–16 | 0–4 | McMahon Stadium | 28,579 |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 576 | 277 | 29 | |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 517 | 299 | 22 | |
| BC Lions | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 438 | 377 | 20 | |
| 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 431 | 371 | 18 | ||
| 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 306 | 367 | 12 |
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | Sat, July 11 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 10–30 | 0–1 | Commonwealth Stadium | 43,346 | |
| 2 | 2 | Fri, July 17 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 26–6 | 1–1 | McMahon Stadium | 30,812 | |
| 3 | 3 | Fri, July 24 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 25–16 | 2–1 | Taylor Field | 26,992 | |
| 4 | 4 | Fri, July 31 | vs. BC Lions | L 29–52 | 2–2 | McMahon Stadium | 32,135 | |
| 5 | 5 | Sat, Aug 8 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 16–28 | 2–3 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 20,270 | |
| 6 | 6 | Fri, Aug 14 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 18–17 | 3–3 | McMahon Stadium | 32,349 | |
| 7 | 7 | Fri, Aug 21 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 30–18 | 4–3 | McMahon Stadium | 30,276 | |
| 8 | 8 | Sat, Aug 29 | at BC Lions | L 21–31 | 4–4 | Empire Stadium | 28,932 | |
| 9 | 9 | Mon, Sept 7 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 23–5 | 5–4 | McMahon Stadium | 30,381 | |
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
| 11 | 10 | Sat, Sept 19 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | L 10–23 | 5–5 | McMahon Stadium | 34,657 | |
| 12 | 11 | Sun, Sept 27 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 26–29 | 5–6 | Exhibition Stadium | 28,664 | |
| 13 | 12 | Sun, Oct 4 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 16–22 | 5–7 | Olympic Stadium | 22,222 | |
| 14 | 13 | Sat, Oct 10 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 29–3 | 6–7 | McMahon Stadium | 29,986 | |
| 15 | 14 | Sun, Oct 18 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | L 10–21 | 6–8 | Lansdowne Park | 15,002 | |
| 16 | 15 | Sun, Oct 25 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 11–24 | 6–9 | McMahon Stadium | 33,279 | |
| 17 | 16 | Sun, Nov 1 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 6–44 | 6–10 | Winnipeg Stadium | 27,489 | |