The Canadian Football League: A Look at Its Early History

As the Super Bowl is ending this February 2, Canada’s 2020 CFL Season is yet to begin. To open on June 11, 2020, the 67th season of the Canadian professional football will have nine teams hailing from different cities of Canada to face off in hopes of winning the Grey Cup this November 22, 2020. The stage will be set on Regina, Saskatchewan, a boreal province in western Canada.

As the hype continues to rise, most fans still don’t know how and when the CFL began. With its long and colorful history, take a look at how the CFL was like during its beginnings.

The Beginning of the CFL

Despite football being already played in Canada since the 1860s, the CFL had only been established on January 19, 1958, in Montreal, Canada. Before that, rugby football had been playing under the support of the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU), founded in 1884. However, in 1891, the CRFU restructured as the Canadian Rugby Union or simply the CRU.

In 1909, the winning team for the Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada received the Grey Cup from Governor General Earl Grey. This was when the rugby football deviated from its rugby roots and had become remarkably similar to American Football at that time. A touchdown’s value had changed from five to six points, and 12 Americans were given the privilege to dress during the Grey Cup Game. The Council approved a change in position names to be the same as the US.

The two divisions, the East Division and the West Division were formerly known as the International Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU), respectively. From 1954 onwards, the champion of the WIFU faced the IRFU’s champion to win the Grey Cup. By 1955, after the Ontario Rugby Football Union were no longer playing for the Grey Cup, modern Canadian football had begun to exist. Only professional teams exclusively fight for the Grey Cup.

The East Football Conference and West Football Conference

In 1960, the IRFU changed its name to the Eastern Football Conference. It was in 1961 when the WIFU followed suit and changed its name to Western Football Conference. It was also in 1961 when the limited intersectional play began. Because of how the East only played 14 games despite the West playing16, the arrangement endorsed that the EFC and WFC can play one game for an inter conference opponents and three games for the intraconference opponent.

The East Division and the West Division

When 1981 rolled in, both teams were playing fully interlocked schedules of 16 games, leading the league to reach its peak of success. It was also in 1981 when the two conferences of the CFL agreed to a full merger. This made the EFC and WFC the East Division and West Division of the CFL, respectively.

Nine teams would play each other two times, one while on the road and the other at home. During 1986, the games increased from 16 to 18. Nonprofit community ownership of local

teams began to happen as the league continued to be successful. Sponsorship began appearing and rising in numbers, and the Grey Cup shifted to indoor play at the BC Place Stadium.

However, the Montreal team was in a severe financial crisis ever since 1982, and folded by 1987, obliging the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to shift to the Eastern Division. The late 80s proved to be a challenge to the CFL when the Grey Cup began losing attendance and sponsorships. The loss of Montreal had only increased the league’s financial crisis.

For this reason, franchises in Ottawa, Calgary, and BC needed private capital to carry on. Only Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, and Edmonton were left as community-owned teams.

The United States Expansion

In 1993, the league began the admission of its first United States-based franchise. The Las Vegas Posse, Shreveport Pirates, and Baltimore Stallions joined the Sacramento Gold Miners after the success of the expansion, in 1994. There were concerns about Americanization when the league committed to the expansion, intensifying when Baltimore reached the Grey Cup game in 1994.

The league continued to pursue other American locations when franchises were awarded to Birmingham and Memphis in 1995. However, it was only Baltimore that became successful. The US Expansion had failed, and during 1996, the CFL had to pay expansion fees and a cable TV contract renewal from the US.

The Present

Currently, the East Division is formed by four teams while the West Division holds five. As of 2019, the league consists of a 21-week regular season where every team has to play 18 games, all with three bye weeks. The regular season runs from the middle of June and ends in early November. After the regular season, six teams will face off against each other during the playoffs, where champions of each division face off in the Grey Cup.

Betting for the Super Bowl 2020

As the Super Bowl ends, bets and wagers have been increasing day by day. With the help of online sports betting sites, wagering for a team and keeping up to date has never been easier.

Sites like these also offer their insights and odds, helping bettors decide on which team to wager on.

If you’re considering betting on the team you support, consider trying it out with FanDuel. To learn more, visit https://www.fanduel.com/super-bowl-betting/.

Takeaway

The early history of the CFL played a significant role in how it had shaped itself today. Despite constant changes, the CFL managed to set its footing, eventually hosting a championship that is currently one of Canada’s largest annual sports events. It might still be months away from the start of the regular season. However, the drafting is put into motion, and the game will be set soon.