77th Grey Cup
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Date | November 26, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | SkyDome | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Toronto | ||||||||||||||||||
Most Valuable Player | Offence: Kent Austin
Defence: SRC | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | CBC: Don Wittman, Ron Lancaster, Brian Williams, Steve Armitage, Scott Oake. CFN: Dave Hodge, Neil Lumsden, Nick Bastaja, Bob Irving, Tom Larscheid. SRC: N/A. | ||||||||||||||||||
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The 77th Grey Cup was the
Game summary
Saskatchewan Roughriders (43) – TDs,
; safety touch.Hamilton Tiger-Cats (40) – TDs, Tony Champion (2), Derrick McAdoo (2); FGs, Paul Osbaldiston (4); cons., Osbaldiston (4).
First Quarter
HAM—FG Osbaldiston 42 (10:38) HAM 3 SSK 0
HAM—FG Osbaldiston 38 (5:51) HAM 6 SSK 0
SSK—Single Baker 50 yard punt (4:09) HAM 6 SSK 1
HAM—TD Champion 13 pass from Kerrigan (Osbaldiston kick) (0:15) HAM 13 SSK 1
Second Quarter
SSK—TD Elgaard 5 pass from Austin (Ridgway kick) (9:22) HAM 13 SSK 8
HAM—TD McAdoo 30 pass from Kerrigan (Osbaldiston kick) (6:59) HAM 20 SSK 8
SSK—TD Fairholm 75 pass from Austin (Ridgway kick) (6:31) HAM 20 SSK 15
HAM—TD McAdoo 1 run (Osbaldiston kick) (2:30) HAM 27 SSK 15
SSK—TD Narcisse 5 pass from Austin (Ridgway kick) (0:44) HAM 27 SSK 22
Third Quarter
SSK—FG Ridgway 35 (10:42) HAM 27 SSK 25
HAM—FG Osbaldiston 40 (8:11) HAM 30 SSK 25
SSK—Safety Osbaldiston concedes in end zone (4:54) HAM 30 SSK 27
SSK—TD McCray 1-yard run (Ridgway kick) (2:51) SSK 34 HAM 30
Fourth Quarter
SSK—FG Ridgway 25 (14:10) SSK 37 HAM 30
HAM—FG Osbaldiston 47 (6:21) SSK 37 HAM 33
SSK—FG Ridgway 20 (1:58) SSK 40 HAM 33
HAM—TD Champion 9 pass from Kerrigan (Osbaldiston kick) (0:44) SSK 40 HAM 40
SSK—FG Ridgway 35 (0:03) SSK 43 HAM 40
After an up-and-down regular season, finishing 9–9 on the year, the
In the Grey Cup game, the Riders were set to face the number one team in the
At the beginning of the game, it seemed that the football experts were right when the jubilant Saskatchewan fans were silenced when Tiger-Cats kicker,
However, by the end of the third quarter, the Riders scored 12 points through a Dave Ridgway field goal, a safety touch and a Tim McCray touchdown, to move into a 34–30 lead. With just under two minutes left to go in the fourth quarter the Riders went ahead 40-33 after Ridgway kicked his third field goal of the day. But the Hamilton Tiger-Cats refused to surrender to defeat when trailing by seven points. With a well thought, methodical drive, Hamilton's QB Mike Kerrigan marched his team down the field and tied the game at 40-40 when wide receiver Tony Champion made an incredible acrobatic catch in the end zone with under a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Overtime loomed, but Saskatchewan still had the ball with a chance to win in regulation. With just 44 seconds left on the game clock, Riders QB Kent Austin completed three passes for 48 yards to position his team for the winning field goal at Hamilton's 26-yard line with nine seconds remaining in the game. Tiger-Cats coach Al Bruno decided to call a time-out in an attempt to make Ridgway nervous, but when Glen Suitor put down the snap from Bob Poley, Ridgway drilled 'The Kick' through the uprights to give Saskatchewan its first Grey Cup championship in 23 years.
The Kick
- Dave Ridgway's field goal winner was known as 'The Kick' in Saskatchewan and that same play was rated #7 in CBC's 10 best—and bizarre—Grey Cup plays in 2004.[1]
Aftermath
For the Grey Cup celebrations, 18,000 fans showed up at Taylor Field, in minus 10 degree Celsius weather to welcome back the club.[2] A few weeks later, it was revealed that the championship run nearly bankrupted the team. Instead of a projected CAN$85,000 profit, the Riders lost CAN$195,000 due to the cost of the three road games.[2] General Manager Al Ford declared that the team's debt increased to CAN$1.6 million.[2]
Neither head coach remained with his team for two full seasons after 1989. Bruno was fired following a 4–8 start the following season, while Gregory was ousted after a 1–6 start in 1991. Less than two weeks after his dismissal by the Roughriders, Gregory was hired by the 0-8 Tiger-Cats, replacing Bruno's successor David Beckman.
1989 CFL Playoffs
West Division
- Semi-final (November 12 @ Calgary, Alberta) Saskatchewan Roughriders 33-26 Calgary Stampeders
- Final (November 19 @ Edmonton Eskimos
East Division
- Semi-final (November 12 @ Toronto, Ontario) Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30-7 Toronto Argonauts
- Final (November 19 @ Hamilton, Ontario) Hamilton Tiger-Cats 14-10 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
References
- ^ "CBC.ca - CFL Grey Cup - Ten plays to raise a Cup to". Archived from the original on 2004-11-08.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
External links
- "Grey Cup: 1989". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30.