41st Grey Cup
Encyclopedia
The 41st Grey Cup
game was the Canadian Football
Championship in 1953. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
defeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers
12-6 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium in a game which ended on a controversial pass incompletion.
prepared for the championship game amid rumours that he would return to coaching in the National Football League
. Trafton was coaching for the Los Angeles Rams until he left for Winnipeg in 1951.
The Grey Cup Parade on the morning of the game day featured 12 Miss Grey Cup contestants, 15 bands, 40 floats and 150,000 spectators.
who was national minister of External Affairs at that time, assisted by Miss Grey Cup, Joanne Baird of Regina, Saskatchewan
.
Hamilton had the only score of the first half, a short touchdown run by Ed Songin
at 10:28, converted by Tip Logan, to cap a 53 yard drive in the first quarter. In the second quarter the Bombers' quarterback "Indian" Jack Jacobs
engineered a 6 play, 92 yard drive which was snuffed out deep in Hamilton's end when Vito Ragazzo intercepted.
One fan death was reported before half time, that of Timmins
resident Roderick Osborne who collapsed in the stadium seating area.
In the third quarter another Bomber drive faltered at the Hamilton 28 when Dick Brown intercepted a Jack Jacobs pass. Again the Bombers drove within scoring range but a field goal attempt by Bud Korchak produced no points. Finally the Bombers were able to capitalize on a 50 yard drive with a Gerry James run from the one yard line who touched down at 10:56, converted by Korchak. But the Ticats roared back. On the first play after the kickoff Lou Kusserow passed to Ralph Toohy for 21 yards. The Ticats lost a yard on the first down play, but on second down Songin made a short pass to Ragazzo. Bomber defender Geoff Crain went for the interception but missed, and Ragazzo had an open field for a 45 yard pass and run touchdown at 12:16, with Logan again providing the conversion point.
With the score 12-6 and time running out in the fourth quarter, Jacobs put together yet another long drive of 98 yards to the Hamilton two-yard line. On the very last play of the game he passed to an apparently wide-open Tom Casey, standing on the goal line. But as the ball reached his hands Hamiton's Kusserow hit Casey and he dropped the ball. Winnipeg fans claimed pass interference and Hamilton fans called it a very well timed tackle. Even examination of the game films has not succeeded in resolving the dispute. However, the officials called no penalty and Hamilton won the game.
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...
game was the 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...
Championship in 1953. 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...
defeated 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...
12-6 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium in a game which ended on a controversial pass incompletion.
Pre-game background
Winnipeg coach George TraftonGeorge Trafton
George Edward Trafton , was an American football player. He played as a center for the Decatur Staleys of the National Football League from 1920 to 1921 and 1923–1932. He is credited as being the first center to snap the ball with one hand...
prepared for the championship game amid rumours that he would return to coaching in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Trafton was coaching for the Los Angeles Rams until he left for Winnipeg in 1951.
The Grey Cup Parade on the morning of the game day featured 12 Miss Grey Cup contestants, 15 bands, 40 floats and 150,000 spectators.
Game summary
The ceremonial game kickoff was made by Lester B. PearsonLester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
who was national minister of External Affairs at that time, assisted by Miss Grey Cup, Joanne Baird of Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
.
Hamilton had the only score of the first half, a short touchdown run by Ed Songin
Butch Songin
Edward F. "Butch" Songin is a former quarterback for the Boston College Eagles, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Rugby Union, and for the American Football League's Boston Patriots and New York Titans...
at 10:28, converted by Tip Logan, to cap a 53 yard drive in the first quarter. In the second quarter the Bombers' quarterback "Indian" Jack Jacobs
Jack Jacobs
"Indian" Jack Jacobs was an American and Canadian football player in the National Football League and Western Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963....
engineered a 6 play, 92 yard drive which was snuffed out deep in Hamilton's end when Vito Ragazzo intercepted.
One fan death was reported before half time, that of Timmins
Timmins
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...
resident Roderick Osborne who collapsed in the stadium seating area.
In the third quarter another Bomber drive faltered at the Hamilton 28 when Dick Brown intercepted a Jack Jacobs pass. Again the Bombers drove within scoring range but a field goal attempt by Bud Korchak produced no points. Finally the Bombers were able to capitalize on a 50 yard drive with a Gerry James run from the one yard line who touched down at 10:56, converted by Korchak. But the Ticats roared back. On the first play after the kickoff Lou Kusserow passed to Ralph Toohy for 21 yards. The Ticats lost a yard on the first down play, but on second down Songin made a short pass to Ragazzo. Bomber defender Geoff Crain went for the interception but missed, and Ragazzo had an open field for a 45 yard pass and run touchdown at 12:16, with Logan again providing the conversion point.
With the score 12-6 and time running out in the fourth quarter, Jacobs put together yet another long drive of 98 yards to the Hamilton two-yard line. On the very last play of the game he passed to an apparently wide-open Tom Casey, standing on the goal line. But as the ball reached his hands Hamiton's Kusserow hit Casey and he dropped the ball. Winnipeg fans claimed pass interference and Hamilton fans called it a very well timed tackle. Even examination of the game films has not succeeded in resolving the dispute. However, the officials called no penalty and Hamilton won the game.
External links
- Grey Cup 1953 at CFL.ca
- "History - Grey Cup 1953" at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (note that erroneous attendance figure is given here)