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1954 in Canadian football

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Edmonton Eskimos upset the Montreal Alouettes to send the Grey Cup trophy back west for the first time since 1948.[1]

Canadian Football News in 1954

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1954 is generally recognized as the start of the modern era of Canadian football.[2]

The BC Lions joined the WIFU and adopted the colours of burnt orange and brown. The NBC national network were televising IRFU games.[3]

Winnipeg's Gerry James (RB), became the first player to win the Most Outstanding Canadian Award.[4]

This was the last season that the Ontario Rugby Football Union would be allowed to challenge for the Grey Cup.[5]

Regular season

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Final regular season standings

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Source:[5]

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 11 5 0 255 163 22
Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 10 4 2 239 204 22
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 8 6 2 202 190 18
Calgary Stampeders 16 8 8 0 271 165 16
BC Lions 16 1 15 0 100 345 2
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Montreal Alouettes 14 11 3 0 341 148 22
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 14 9 5 0 275 207 18
Toronto Argonauts 14 6 8 0 212 265 12
Ottawa Rough Riders 14 2 12 0 129 337 4
Ontario Rugby Football Union
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 12 9 2 1 269 183 19
Sarnia Imperials 12 7 4 1 218 193 15
Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 12 1 11 0 169 280 2
  • Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
  • Edmonton has a bye and will play in the WIFU Finals.

Grey Cup playoffs

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Source:[5]

Note: All dates in 1954

Semifinals

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WIFU semifinals – game 1
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Date Away Home
October 30 Saskatchewan Roughriders 14 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 14
WIFU semifinals – game 2
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Saskatchewan Roughriders
Date Away Home
November 1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 13 Saskatchewan Roughriders 11
  • Winnipeg won the total-point series by 27–25. The Blue Bombers will play the Edmonton Eskimos in the WIFU Finals.

Finals

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ORFU Finals – Game 1
Sarnia Imperials @ Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
Date Away Home
November 3 Sarnia Imperials 12 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 13
ORFU Finals – Game 2
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen @ Sarnia Imperials
Date Away Home
November 11 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 16 Sarnia Imperials 8
  • Kitchener-Waterloo wins the best of three series 2–0. The Dutchmen will advance to the Grey Cup semifinal.
WIFU Finals – Game 1
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos
Date Away Home
November 6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 3 Edmonton Eskimos 9
WIFU Finals – Game 2
Edmonton Eskimos @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Date Away Home
November 11 Edmonton Eskimos 6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12
WIFU Finals – Game 3
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos
Date Away Home
November 13 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 5 Edmonton Eskimos 10
  • Edmonton wins the best of three series 2–1. The Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup semifinal.
IRFU Finals – Game 1
Montreal Alouettes @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Date Away Home
November 17 Montreal Alouettes 14 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 9
IRFU Finals – Game 2
Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Montreal Alouettes
Date Away Home
November 20 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19 Montreal Alouettes 24
  • Montreal wins the best of three series 2–0. The Alouettes will advance to the Grey Cup game.

Grey Cup semifinal

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Edmonton Eskimos @ Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
Date Away Home
November 20 Edmonton Eskimos 38 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 6
  • The Edmonton Eskimos 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 14-24
EAST
IRFU Hamilton Tiger Cats 9-19
IRFU Hamilton Tiger Cats
IRFU BYE
IRFU Montreal Alouettes 25
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 26
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 9-12-10
WIFU Winnipeg Blue Bombers 3-6-5
WIFU Edmonton Eskimos 38
WEST
ORFU Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 6
ORFU Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 13-16
ORFU Sarnia Imperials 12-8
  • Final appearance in the Grey Cup playoffs by the ORFU

Grey Cup Championship

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November 27

42nd Annual Grey Cup Game: Varsity StadiumToronto, Ontario

WIFU Champion IRFU Champion
Edmonton Eskimos 26 Montreal Alouettes 25
The Edmonton Eskimos are the 1954 Grey Cup Champions

Canadian Football Leaders

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1954 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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1954 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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1954 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.

1954 Canadian Football Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Grey Cup Memories: 1954". CFL.ca. 2005-11-10. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  2. ^ "Mullin: Changing the game - The Ratio". CFL.ca. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  3. ^ "Canadian Football Timelines (1860-2005)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/gibsons Archived 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Gibsons Finest Player Awards
  5. ^ a b c "1954". www.cflapedia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  6. ^ "CFLapedia".