Wikipedia

1955 in Canadian football

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

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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

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Final regular season standings

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points

Western Interprovincial Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Edmonton Eskimos 16 14 2 0 286 117 28
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 10 6 0 270 245 20
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 7 9 0 210 195 14
BC Lions 16 5 11 0 211 330 10
Calgary Stampeders 16 4 12 0 209 299 8
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Montreal Alouettes 12 9 3 0 388 214 18
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 12 8 4 0 271 193 16
Toronto Argonauts 12 4 8 0 239 328 8
Ottawa Rough Riders 12 3 9 0 174 337 6
Ontario Rugby Football Union[4]
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 12 10 1 1 284 124 21
Sarnia Imperials 12 6 5 1 140 182 13
Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 12 1 11 0 101 319 2
  • Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
  • Edmonton and Montreal both have first round byes.

Grey Cup playoffs

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Note: All dates in 1955

Semifinals

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WIFU semifinals – game 1
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Saskatchewan Roughriders
Date Away Home
November 5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 Saskatchewan Roughriders 7
WIFU semifinals – game 2
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Date Away Home
November 7 Saskatchewan Roughriders 9 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 8
  • Winnipeg won the total-point series by 24–16. The Blue Bombers will play the Edmonton Eskimos in the WIFU Finals.
IRFU semifinals
Toronto Argonauts @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Date Away Home
November 12 Toronto Argonauts 32 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28
  • The Argonauts will play the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern finals.

Final

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WIFU Finals – Game 1
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos
Date Away Home
November 11 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 6 Edmonton Eskimos 29
WIFU Finals – Game 2
Edmonton Eskimos @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Date Away Home
November 16 Edmonton Eskimos 26 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 6
  • Edmonton wins the best of three series 2–0. The Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup game.
IRFU Finals
Toronto Argonauts @ Montreal Alouettes
Date Away Home
November 19 Toronto Argonauts 36 Montreal Alouettes 38
  • The Alouettes will advance to the Grey Cup game.

Playoff bracket

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Grey Cup
         
IRFU Montreal Alouettes
IRFU BYE
IRFU Montreal Alouettes 38
EAST
IRFU Toronto Argonauts 36
IRFU Hamilton Tiger Cats 28
IRFU Toronto Argonauts 32
IRFU Montreal Alouettes 19
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 34
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos
WIFU BYE
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 29-26
WEST
WIFU Winnipeg Blue Bombers 6-6
WIFU Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16-8
WIFU Saskatchewan Roughriders 7-9

Grey Cup Championship

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November 26

43rd Annual Grey Cup Game: Empire Stadium – Vancouver, British Columbia

WIFU Champion IRFU Champion
Edmonton Eskimos 34 Montreal Alouettes 19
The Edmonton Eskimos are the 1955 Grey Cup Champions
  • 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

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1955 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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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

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1955 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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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

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NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.

1955 Canadian Football Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Grey Cup Memories: 1955". CFL.ca. 11 November 2005. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Canadian Football Timelines (1860-2005)" (PDF). footballcanada.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  3. ^ Cosentino, Frank (1969). Canadian Football: The Grey Cup Years. Musson Book Company. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-365-98182-1.
  4. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AUgxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=guMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7029%2C4225058 Archived 2016-04-10 at the Wayback Machine Ottawa Citizen – Oct 31, 1955
  5. ^ "CFLapedia". Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
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