Toronto Argonauts: Difference between revisions

	Toronto Argonauts
	File:Argonauts 06.gifFile:Toronto Argonauts logo.gif
Division	East Division
Founded	1873
Home field	Rogers Centre
Based in	Toronto, Ontario
Colours	Oxford Blue and Cambridge Blue
League	Canadian Football League
Head coach	Michael "Pinball" Clemons
General manager	Adam Rita
Owners	David Cynamon, Howard Sokolowski

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Revision as of 10:09, 10 January 2007

The Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team based in Toronto, Ontario.

Team facts

The Toronto Argonauts are notable for being the oldest pro football team in Canada and the United States, and they are also the oldest pro sports team in North America to still retain its original name; for having the most Grey Cup wins with 15; and for being tied with Winnipeg for the second most Grey Cup appearances with 21, behind Edmonton (23). See Sport teams by championships.

Helmet design: Blue background, Blue and silver round shield inscribed with the letter "A".

Uniform colours: Oxford Blue and Cambridge Blue.

Stadium: Rogers Centre (formerly known as SkyDome) (1989-present).

Former Stadiums: Rosedale Field (1874-1897, 1908-1915), Original Varsity Stadium (1898-1907, 1916-1923), Varsity Stadium (1924-1958), Exhibition Stadium (1959-1988).

Grey Cup Wins: 15 — (1914, 1921, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1983, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2004).

Eastern regular season championships: 14 -- 1936, 1937, 1945, 1960, 1971, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2005.

Main Rivals: Hamilton Tiger-Cats (see Labour Day Classic).

2006 Regular Season Record: 10 wins, 8 losses, 0 ties.

Franchise history

File:Argos celebration.jpg

The Toronto Argonauts celebrate a touchdown against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in July, 2006.

The Toronto Argonauts were founded in 1873 by the Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club. This also makes them one of the oldest professional sports teams in North America and the oldest to continue under the same name. Aside from a few college teams, they are the oldest continuously existing football club of any type in North America.

In the 19th century, the most renowned rowers in the world were the teams from Oxford University and Cambridge University in England, and the Toronto rowers adopted uniforms incorporating the two shades of blue used by the English schools. When the Argonauts expanded into football, the "double blue" uniform was used by the football team as well, starting the tradition that many Toronto sport teams wear blue (e.g. Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Blue Jays). The team is often nicknamed the "Boatmen."

The Argonauts were the dominant team in Canada in the early days of football. They put together a number of Grey Cup dynasties in the 1930's and 1940's. However after the 1952 season the drought began. The team struggled throughout much of the 50's, 60's and 70's despite having such greats as Joe Theismann, Tobin Rote, Jim Corrigall, Bill Symons, Jim Stillwagon and Granville "Granny" Liggins. The best chance that the Argos had to break their drought was in 1971 when they faced the Calgary Stampeders in the 59th Grey Cup. However, a late fumble by Leon "X-Ray" McQuay sealed a 14-11 Calgary victory.

The Argos reached an all-time low in 1981 when they finished 2-14 despite having talented players such as Condredge Holloway, Cedric Minter, David Newman and Terry Greer. However, the 1982 season saw the hiring of Bob O'Billovich as head coach and Darrel "Mouse" Davis as offensive co-ordinator. Davis implemented the run & shoot offence for that season. The Argos enjoyed an unprecedented turnaround going 9-6-1 in the 1982 season. Condredge Holloway was the CFL's most outstanding player and receivers Terry Greer and Emanuel Tolbert were among the class of the CFL. But, the 1982 season fell short as the Argos were defeated by the dynastic Edmonton Eskimos 32-16 in front of a disappointed crowd at Exhibition Stadium.

The 1983 season brought renewed success. The Argos finished 12-4 and Terry Greer set a CFL record with 2,003 receiving yards. Joe Barnes and Condredge Holloway were a potent duo at quarterback. The Argos went to the Grey Cup to face the B.C. Lions at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. Despite the hostile crowd, the Argos defeated the Lions 18-17 to win their first Grey Cup since 1952.

The Argos enjoyed success throughout much of the 80's with 1985 and 1989 being the notable exceptions. They had talented players such as Gil "The Thrill" Fenerty and Darrell K. Smith. However, they weren't able to return to their glory of 1983.

In 1990, the Argos traded for star quarterback Matt Dunigan and hired Don Matthews as head coach. Loaded with superstars such as Dunigan, Smith, Jeff Boyd, Paul Masotti plus a new 5'6" running back named Michael "Pinball" Clemons, the Argos massacred the CFL scoring records scoring 50+ points on a few occasions. But, the defence wasn't up to par with the offence and the Argos fell short to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 20-17 in the Eastern Final.

In 1991, the Argonauts were purchased by Bruce McNall, the owner of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, actor John Candy and Wayne Gretzky, the "Great One" himself. The Argos made even more headlines when they signed Raghib "Rocket" Ismail to play for them. With Dunigan, Smith, Masotti, Clemons, Ismail and David Williams on offence plus Don Moen, Rodney Harding, Carl Brazley, Reggie Pleasant and Don Wilson on defence, the team was well rounded, finishing 13-5. They defeated the Calgary Stampeders 36-21 in the Grey Cup that saw Ismail return a kickoff for a touchdown and Dunigan start despite a damaged collarbone. Raghib "Rocket" Ismail after the game credited special teams coach Russ Steele for helping him with adjustments that were necessary from changing his style of play from the type of football he played in the United States and the style that he played in Canada. Coach Russ Steele had previously worked as a running back coach for the Los Angeles Cobras from the Arena Football League in the United States.

1992-1995 were a struggle for the Argonauts. Dunigan left after the 1991 season and the Argos struggled to find a new quarterback, experimenting with players such as Rickey Foggie, Tracy Ham, Mike Kerrigan and Kent Austin.

In 1996, the Argos re-hired Don Matthews as head coach and signed CFL legend Doug Flutie. Stacked with players such as Flutie, Robert Drummond, Paul Masotti, Clemons and Jimmy "The Jet" Cunningham the Argos finished 15-3 and narrowly defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 43-37 in the 1996 Grey Cup.

The 1997 team was even better. With Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell lining up at receiver and Flutie throwing 47 touchdowns, the Argos rolled to a 15-3 record. The Argos won the Grey Cup easily 47-23 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Flutie left for the NFL in 1998 and the Argos struggled to find a new identity. The Argos finished 9-9 two seasons in a row and found no playoff success.

In 2000, the Argos were purchased by Sherwood Schwarz and he hired John Huard to be the Head Coach. It was a disaster, as the Argos started extremely slowly. Huard was fired and Mike "Pinball" Clemons retired to become the team's head coach. A late season charge by the Argos fell short.

2001 was a similar situation as the Argonauts started slowly, found their niche towards the end, but fell short of the playoffs yet again. However, in 2002 the Argos' late season charge was enough to propel them into the playoffs as they made it to the Eastern Final where they were defeated 35-18 by the Montreal Alouettes.

Recent success

The Argos acquired the services of CFL legend Damon Allen prior to the 2003 season, boosting the fortunes of the Argonauts. The Argonauts made the playoffs again losing to Montreal on a late, controversial touchdown by Anthony Calvillo.

The 2004 season promised to be a great one. The Argos signed former star running back John Avery. Loaded with a receiving corps of Tony Miles, Robert Baker, Andre Talbot and later Arland Bruce III and Andre Rison the Argos enjoyed success. The defence was led by stalwarts such as Adrion Smith, Mike O'Shea and Kevin Eiben. The Argos finished with a 10-7-1 record and defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 24-6 in the Eastern semi and then went into Montreal and faced the Montreal yet again. This time the Argos came up on top 26-18 and went to the Grey Cup to face the B.C. Lions. On November 21, 2004, the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Lions 27-19 in the 92nd Grey Cup to end a seven year championship drought. Head coach Pinball Clemons became the first African-American or Black Canadian coach to win the Grey Cup. Damon Allen made his former team regret trading him as he threw for 299 yards.

The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup 15 times, more than any other team. This is the fourth highest number of league championships in North American professional sports, behind the New York Yankees (baseball, 26 championships), the Montreal Canadiens (hockey, 24 championships) and the Boston Celtics (basketball, 16 championships). However, the Argonauts also hold the record for longest Grey Cup drought; an astounding 31 years between Grey Cup wins from 1952 to 1983.

In November, 2004 it was announced that a new stadium for the Argos was to be built on the campus of York University by 2007. This followed the failure of an earlier plan to build a new facility at the site of Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto. If the move were completed it would mark a move by the Argonauts from downtown Toronto where they have played since their inception to the suburbs. One plan to make the suburban location attractive to fans was to import the American tradition of tailgate parties in the parking lot before the game. The Argos' move to York was also expected to increase pressure on the provincial and city governments to finance an extension of the subway to the university.

However, in April 2005, the Argonauts announced their plans to move to York University had been changed as the up-front costs payable by the team to build the stadium had risen, and the owners of the Rogers Centre announced that the Argos would be able to remain at the stadium rent-free (prior to this, the Argos were paying the highest rental fees in the league). The team officially announced they would remain at Rogers Centre on May 2, 2005; soon afterward, the University officially cancelled the stadium plans.

In the 2005 season, the Argonauts had an average home attendance of 30,196, the first time in 13 seasons that they averaged more than 30,000 per game, and the first time since 1992 over 250,000 fans have seen the Argonauts play their 9 home games at the Rogers Centre. The team drew 44,211 for the Eastern Final — a 33-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes — which was the largest Argo playoff crowd since 1991.

For the 2006 season, the team added Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, suspended from the NFL for one-year for violating the league's substance abuse policy, to their negotiation list. On May 28, Williams signed a 1-year contract for a reported C$240,000, making him the highest paid running back in the CFL. One report claims he could make up to C$500,000 with incentives. Williams had a successful 2005 season for the Dolphins, rushing for over 700 yards after missing the first 4 games of the season. Williams made his official CFL debut on June 17, 2006 in a preseason home game against the Tiger-Cats at Rogers Centre. In that game, he rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries, with his longest carry for 35 yards in the fourth quarter. Williams also caught two passes for 24 yards as the Argonauts defeated the Tiger-Cats 27-17. However, he broke his arm in the July 22 game in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It should be mentioned, that at the time of his injury, Ricky Williams only had 231 yards on 57 carries (46 yards per game), for an average of 4.1 yards per carry. A 4.1 yard per carry average ranks Williams at 14th in the CFL, according to the CFL.ca stats page.

File:CentreFieldEastFinalsm.jpg

The 2005 East Division Final against the Montreal Alouettes

Players and builders of note

Retired numbers

Not to be forgotten

Canadian Football Hall of Famers

All-Time Argos

As Honoured by the team. Name banners hang on rafters at Rogers Centre.

55 Joe Krol - Inducted July 1996
22 Dick Shatto - Inducted July 1996
60 Danny Nykoluk - Inducted July 1996
33 Bill Symons - Inducted October 1996
10 Terry Greer - Inducted October 1996
77 Royal Copeland - Inducted September 1997
79 Jim Corrigall - Inducted September 1997
67 Teddy Morris - Inducted July 1998
27 Marv Luster - Inducted July 1998
7 Condredge Holloway - Inducted July 1998
36 Don Moen - Inducted July 1999
66 William Zock - Inducted July 1999
88 Paul Masotti - Inducted July 2000
31 Michael "Pinball" Clemons - Inducted September 2000
52 Les Ascott - Inducted October 2004
20 Jim Rountree - Inducted October 2004
81 Ulysses "Crazy Legs" Curtis - Inducted October 2005
16 Dave Mann - Inducted October 2005
69 Dan Ferrone - Inducted October 2006

Current squad

As of December 19, 2006 [1]

Active roster

* 1 - Noel Prefontaine, P/PK
2 - Michael Fletcher, LB
3 - Khalil Carter, DB
4 - Andre Talbot, WR
5 - Arland Bruce III, WR
7 - Eric Crouch, QB
8 - Chris Hardy, S
9 - Damon Allen, QB
11 - John Williams, Jr., RB
15 - Tony Miles, WR
17 - Michael Bishop, QB
19 - Spergon Wynn, QB
20 - John Avery, RB
21 - Orlondo Steinauer, S
23 - Bashir Levingston, KR/CB
24 - Jermaine Mays, CB
25 - Leron Mitchell, CB
26 - Jordan Younger, CB
27 - Ricky Williams, RB
28 - Byron Parker, CB
30 - Kenny Wheaton, DB
32 - Chuck Winters, LB
33 - Jeff Johnson, RB
35 - Kevin Eiben, LB
36 - Jason Gavadza, FB/TE
37 - Dave Donaldson, DB
39 - David Hewson, LB
40 - Bryan Crawford, RB
41 - Sean Bennett, RB
45 - Randy Srochenski, LS/LB
50 - Mike O'Shea, LB
52 - Raymond Fontaine, LB
56 - Chad Folk, C
57/78 - Jeff Keeping, DT
58/73 - Jeff Yorga, OL/TE
61 - John Feugill, OT
62/72 - Jonathan Landon, OT/TE
66 - Jude St. John, OG
67 - Cliff Washburn, OL
68 - Dave Costa, OG
69 - Bernard Williams, OT
77 - Michael Palmer, WR
85 - Chad Rempel, WR
86 - David Azzi, WR
89 - Christian Heffernan, WR
92 - Noah Cantor, DT
93 - Matt Kudu, DT
97 - Jonathon Brown, DE
98 - Riall Johnson, DE
99 - Ronald Flemons, DE
-- - Richard Karikari, DB

* Although born in the United States, Prefontaine lived in Canada during his childhood and is classified as a non-import.

External links

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 ==Team facts==
-The Toronto Argonauts are notable for being the oldest pro football team in Canada and the United States, and they are also the oldest pro sports team in North America to still retain its original name; for having the most [[Grey Cup]] wins with 15; and for being tied with [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers|Winnipeg]] for the second most Grey Cup appearances with 21, behind [[Edmonton Eskimos|Edmonton]] (23).
+The Toronto Argonauts are notable for being the oldest pro football team in Canada and the United States, and they are also the oldest pro sports team in North America to still retain its original name; for having the most [[Grey Cup]] wins with 15; and for being tied with [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers|Winnipeg]] for the second most Grey Cup appearances with 21, behind [[Edmonton Eskimos|Edmonton]] (23). See [[Sport teams by championships]].
 :'''Helmet design:''' Blue background, Blue and silver round shield inscribed with the letter "A".