1991 Toronto Argonauts season
OwnerBruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky, and John Candy
PresidentMike McCarthy
General managerMike McCarthy
Head coachAdam Rita[1]
Home fieldSkyDome[2]
Results
Record13–5
Division place1st, East
Playoff finishWon Grey Cup
Uniform

The 1991 Toronto Argonauts season was the 102nd season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 13–5 record and qualified for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. The Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 79th Grey Cup. Toronto defeated the Calgary Stampeders in a rematch of the 1971 Grey Cup, winning their 12th Grey Cup championship by a score of 36-21.

Offseason

In February 1991, the Argonauts were purchased by Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy.[3] In April 1991, the Argonauts signed Raghib Ismail to a four-year contract worth 18 million dollars.[4] The Ismail signing included four million dollars upfront.[5] Technically, Ismail was only being paid $110,000 a season to play football. The rest was a personal services contract with the intention that Ismail would become an ambassador for Canadian football.[5] Ismail would have 64 receptions, 1,300 receiving yards, and 9 touchdowns.[5]

CFL draft

Round Pick Player Position School
2 10 J. P. Izquierdo TB Calgary
2 13 Chris Green T Ottawa
3 18 Bruce Dickson DB Simon Fraser
3 21 Dave Giocomazzo G Boise State
4 29 Mitch Brown TB Eastern Michigan
5 34 Tony Clarke LB Ottawa
5 37 Mike Lindley LB Western Ontario
5 40 Matthew Nealon WR Saint Mary's
6 45 Steve Roest DL Toronto
7 53 Stefan Soulieres G New Haven
8 61 Rocky Hanson FS Dickinson State

Preseason

Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
A Wed, June 26 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 15–29 0–1 SkyDome 31,196
B Tue, July 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 25–28 0–2 Ivor Wynne Stadium 13,612

[6]

Regular season

Matt Dunigan became the Argonauts new quarterback. Dunigan would miss 10 out of 18 regular season games due to injury.[7] The injuries included a pulled groin, pulled hamstring, and pulled calf muscle. In the Eastern final, Dunigan would break his collarbone in two places before halftime.[7] The Argonauts attendance improved from 30,500 to 37,120 fans per game.[5] Despite winning the Grey Cup and the increase in attendance, the Argonauts lost three million dollars.[8]

Standings

East Division
Team GP W L T Pts PF PA Div Stk
Toronto Argonauts 18 13 5 0 26 647 526 8–2 W3 Details
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 9 9 0 18 516 499 6–4 L2 Details
Ottawa Rough Riders 18 7 11 0 14 522 577 5–5 L1 Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 3 15 0 6 400 599 1–9 W1 Details

[9]

Player stats

Passing

Player Games Played Attempts Completions Yards Pct. Interceptions Long Touchdowns
Matt Dunigan[10] 8 196 121 2011 61.7 10 87 16

Schedule

Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
1 1 Thu, July 11 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 35–18 1–0 Lansdowne Park 23,254
2 2 Thu, July 18 Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 41–18 2–0 SkyDome 41,178
3 3 Thu, July 25 Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 30–16 3–0 SkyDome 37,486
4 4 Thu, Aug 1 at BC Lions L 41–52 (OT) 3–1 BC Place Stadium 53,527
5 5 Fri, Aug 9 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 37–35 4–1 Taylor Field 27,093
6 6 Thu, Aug 15 Saskatchewan Roughriders W 62–10 5–1 SkyDome 35,786
7 7 Wed, Aug 21 at Edmonton Eskimos L 39–53 5–2 Commonwealth Stadium 43,826
8 8 Tue, Aug 27 BC Lions W 34–25 6–2 SkyDome 39,508
8 9 Mon, Sept 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 24–48 6–3 Ivor Wynne Stadium 18,461
9 10 Sat, Sept 7 Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 52–25 7–3 SkyDome 36,102
10 11 Sun, Sept 15 at Calgary Stampeders L 24–33 7–4 McMahon Stadium 26,122
11 12 Sat, Sept 21 Edmonton Eskimos W 47–28 8–4 SkyDome 34,895
12 13 Sun, Sept 29 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 25–24 9–4 Lansdowne Park 26,172
13 14 Sat, Oct 5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 22–21 10–4 SkyDome 32,194
14 15 Fri, Oct 11 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 27–28 10–5 Winnipeg Stadium 30,760
15 16 Sun, Oct 20 Calgary Stampeders W 34–27 11–5 SkyDome 33,590
16 17 Sun, Oct 27 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 39–34 12–5 Ivor Wynne Stadium 17,453
17 18 Sun, Nov 3 Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–31 13–5 SkyDome 36,001

[6][11]

Postseason

Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
East Final Sun, Nov 17 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 42–3 1–0 SkyDome 50,380
Grey Cup Sun, Nov 24 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 36–21 2–0 Winnipeg Stadium 51,985

[6]

Grey Cup

Main article: 79th Grey Cup
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Toronto Argonauts 8 3 8 17 36
Calgary Stampeders 7 3 4 7 21

Toronto Argonauts (36) – TDs, Ed Berry, Darrell K. Smith, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, Paul Masotti; FGs Lance Chomyc (2); cons., Chomyc (4); singles Chomyc (2).

Calgary Stampeders (21) – TDs, Danny Barrett, Allen Pitts; FGs, Mark McLoughlin (2); cons., McLoughlin (2); single. McLoughlin.

First Quarter
TOR – TD Berry 50 yard interception return (Chomyc convert)
CGY – TD Barrett 1 yard run (McLoughlin convert)
TOR – Single by Chomyc

Second Quarter
TOR – FG Chomyc
CGY – FG McLoughlin

Third Quarter
CGY – Single McLoughlin
TOR – Single Chomyc
CGY – FG McLoughlin
TOR – TD Smith 48 yard pass from Dunigan (Chomyc convert)

Fourth Quarter
TOR – FG Chomyc
CGY – TD Pitts 12 yard pass from Barrett (McLoughlin convert)
TOR – TD Ismail 87 yard kickoff return (Chomyc convert)
TOR – TD Masotti 36 yard pass from Dunigan (Chomyc convert)

[14]

Awards and honours

[15]

1991 CFL All-Stars

[15]

References

  1. ^ "All-Time Coaching". Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  2. ^ "Toronto Argonauts Stadium History". Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  3. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.58, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  4. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.59, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  5. ^ a b c d Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.114, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  6. ^ a b c "1991 Toronto Argonauts". Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  7. ^ a b Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.105, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  8. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.61, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  9. ^ "1991 Regular Season Standings". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  10. ^ MATT DUNIGAN | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League Archived 2012-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "CFL ROUNDUP: Foggie, Argos defeat Tiger-Cats after overcoming 20-point deficit". Ottawa Citizen. 1991-10-28.
  12. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.116, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  13. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.107, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  14. ^ "1991 – Toronto Argonauts 36, Calgary Stampeders 21". Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  15. ^ a b 2010 Toronto Argonauts Media Guide (PDF). 2010. p. 168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.

External links

Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts seasons
1991 CFL season by team
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