The 1979 Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 season is considered to be the 26th season in modern-day Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

, although it is officially the 22nd Canadian Football League season.

CFL News in 1979

The Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

 establishes a single season attendance record with 340,239 fans — the most by any Western Conference team.

Final regular season standings

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

Western Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Edmonton Eskimos Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...   16 12 2 2 495 219 26 Calgary Stampeders Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...   16 12 4 0 382 278 24 BC Lions BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...   16 9 6 1 328 333 19 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...   16 4 12 0 283 340 8 Saskatchewan Roughriders Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...   16 2 14 0 194 437 4

Eastern Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Montreal Alouettes Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...   16 11 4 1 351 284 23 Ottawa Rough Riders Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...   16 8 6 2 349 315 18 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...   16 6 10 0 280 338 12 Toronto Argonauts Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...   16 5 11 0 234 352 10

• Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
• Edmonton and Montreal have first round byes.

Grey Cup playoffs

The Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

 are the 1979 Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 champions, defeating the Montreal Alouettes

Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

, 17–9, in front of their home crowd at Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

's Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium (Montreal)

The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...

. This was Edmonton's second-straight championship. The Alouettes' David Green

David Green (football player)

David Green is an American former professional gridiron football running back who played for both the Montreal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League.- Early years :Born September 7, 1953 in Jacksonville, North...

 (RB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Offence and Tom Cousineau

Tom Cousineau

Tom Cousineau is a former American Football linebacker who played three seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes from 1979 to 1981, and six seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers from 1982 to 1987...

 (LB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Defence, while Don Sweet

Don Sweet

Don Sweet, , was a star football kicker for the Montreal Alouettes and Montreal Concordes of the Canadian Football League.-College years:...

 (K) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.

Playoff bracket

1979 CFL Awards

• CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
  CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
  The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The Most Outstanding Player award can be compared to the National Football League's Most Valuable Player, otherwise known as the "MVP" award...
  
   – David Green
  David Green (football player)
  David Green is an American former professional gridiron football running back who played for both the Montreal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League.- Early years :Born September 7, 1953 in Jacksonville, North...
  
   (RB), Montreal Alouettes
• CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
  CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
  The Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually rewarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. This is the second-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted. The two nominees...
  
   – Dave "Dr. Death" Fennell
  Dave Fennell
  Dave Fennell is a former defensive lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1973, he played for Edmonton from 1974–83, and helped lead the team to five straight Grey Cup championships from 1978-82 as a key member of...
  
   (DT), Edmonton Eskimos
• CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
  CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
  The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually rewarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian Football League. This is the third-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
  
   – Ben Zambiasi
  Ben Zambiasi
  Benjamin Ray Zambiasi was a linebacker for the University of Georgia and in the Canadian Football League.Zambiasi was born in Valdosta, Georgia, and played for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1974 to 1977. While at Georgia Zambiasi led the Bulldogs with 467 career tackles tackling 173 in 1977...
  
   (LB), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award
  CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award
  The Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually rewarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. This is the fourth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
  
   – Mike Wilson (OT), Edmonton Eskimos
• CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award
  CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award
  The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually rewarded to the player deemed to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. This is the fifth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it...
  
   – Brian Kelly (WR), Edmonton Eskimos
• CFLPA's Most Outstanding Community Service Award
  Tom Pate Memorial Award
  Every year the Canadian Football League Players' Association presents the Tom Pate Award. It is not a "Jock Award," but rather an award given to players who display qualities that distinguish them from their peers....
  
   – John Helton
  John Helton
  John Helton is a former defensive tackle for the Calgary Stampeders from 1969–1978 and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1979-1982 of the Canadian Football League.-High school and college:...
  
   (DT), Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• CFL's Coach of the Year
  Annis Stukus Trophy
  The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada...
  
   – Hugh Campbell
  Hugh Campbell
  Hugh Campbell is a former American football and Canadian football player, coach, and executive. He served as a head coach in three different professional gridiron football leagues: the Canadian Football League, the United States Football League and the National Football League. Campbell retired...
  
  , Edmonton Eskimos