If you grew up in Toronto, as I did in the nineteen-sixties, then you remember a time when the Canadian Football League, and the Toronto Argonauts, were just as important, and at times maybe even more popular, than the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. In the early nineteen-seventies, the Argos, under the ownership of John Bassett ( 1957-1973 ),as well as coach Leo Cahill ( 1967-1972 ), were signing players who would ordinarily be expected to be with the National Football League, but for that relatively short period of time, the CFL, and the Argonauts in particular, were making big news, by recruiting players like quarterback Joe Theismann ( with the Argos from 1971-1973, prior to joining the Washington Redskins, finished second to Jim Plunkett for the Heisman trophy in 1970, and was an All-American as well as an Academic All-American that year ) out of Notre Dame, cornerback Tim Anderson and defensive lineman Jim Stillwagon from Ohio State ( winner of the Outland, the first winner of the Lombardi Award, and UPI - Lineman Of the Year, all in 1970.) , as well as running back Leon (“X-Ray”) McQuay from the University of Tampa. ( was a two time small college All-American with the Spartans, and with Toronto from 1971-1973 and returned to the Argos in 1977 after playing in the NFL.)
The Argonauts were hated by all the other teams and their fans, because they represented Toronto, ( the largest city in Canada, the financial and media centre as well.) and also the fact that the “Double Blue” could buy any player they wanted. At that time, there was no salary cap. The hatred for Toronto was at it’s peak in Hamilton, Ontario, back then, and those feelings for Hamiltonians are probably similar even now, although the on-field struggles of their Tiger-Cats, have taken away some of the passion that used to be there. In those days,a ticket to a Toronto Argonauts game at Exhibition Stadium was as tough or even tougher to get, than those of the Maple Leafs, with the relatively small number of home games for a football season. In the late 1960’s and through the 1970’s, crowds of 50,000 were not unusual for the “Boatmen”. If you wanted Argos tickets, you either owned them already, or you had to know someone who had them. The Canadian game was never more popular in Toronto, than it was at that time. Sadly, it has never come back to those levels, and it probably never will. In southern Ontario, the National Football League dominates the hearts, and minds of those under the age of 40. The CFL still gets solid TV viewership across the country and in Ontario, but it does not translate into better than ordinary ticket sales in Toronto. The attendance at the the Rogers Centre for the Argos, is quite often in the 20,000 range, which is not bad, but still not very good for a greater metro area population of nearly 4.5 million.
With that in mind, it was a flashback to watch the Labour Day Classic on Monday afternoon, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats crushing the Toronto Argonauts 28-13,at the sold out and soon to be abandoned Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. In southern Ontario, it is one of the few remnants of a time gone by, when the Canadian Football League dominated right across the country. The revitalization of this once very intense rivalry, is a trip into a virtual time tunnel of sports, and allowed me to go back in time for a few hours, and regenerate the old feelings that used to be there. On Monday afternoon, 1971 didn’t seem to be all that long ago. Too bad that reality set in right after the game ended. That of course, is the beauty of sports. It’s a complete escape from the day to day grind of life. Sometimes, you just wish that the journey would go on for a lot longer than it does.