Inside the CFL: Storied Stampeder history continues as Calgary on up and up

By Graham Kelly on June 12, 2025.

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The Calgary Stampeders opened their 80th anniversary season with an impressive 38-26 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

While it was their 80th birthday, it was their 79th season, the 2020 campaign cancelled because of COVID.

The team was born Sept. 27, 1945 at a meeting called by Dean Griffing. A big barrell-chested man with a penchant for cigars and Stetsons, he arrived on the Canadian football scene in 1936 as coach of the Regina Roughriders.

Once accused of biting an opponent, he pointed to his bridgework and allowed that he “might have gummed him up a bit.” The new team was comprised mainly of former Calgary Bronks players who had just returned from war.

In 1948, led by Les Lear, they won the Grey Cup, beating Ottawa 12-7. The turning point came when quarterback Keith Spaith found Norm Hill in the endzone on a sleeper play.

Said Hill, “Just at that moment, Barbara Ann Scott (a beautiful figure skater) came into the stands and the Ottawa players turned to look at her.”

The Stamps lost their title defence the following year to Montreal 28-15 and didn’t return to the big game until 1971 when they sunk the good ship Argonaut 14-11 in the Vancouver rain. Twenty-one years later they won their third Cup, beating Winnipeg and beginning a period of almost unbroken success under coaches Wally Buono, John Hufnagel and Dave Dickenson.

The quarterback of that 1992 team was Doug Flutie, who returned Saturday to help the team celebrate its 80th year of existence. He was accompanied by place-kicker Mark McLoughlin (all-time leading Stampeder scorer), linebacker Alex Singleton (now a Denver Bronco), Nik Lewis, Jermaine Copeland and the unheralded quarterback Marcus Crandall who signed a contract and retired as a Stampeder on June 5.

The red and white have had many great quarterbacks. In addition to Flutie, Pete Liske, Jerry Keeling, Jeff Garcia, Dave Dickenson and Henry Burris, (the team’s all-time TD pass leader) come to mind. While Crandall’s accomplishments during his four year stint, 2001-2004, were modest, he did win a Grey Cup for Calgary.

Following the 2000 season, Dave Dickenson left for the NFL. Crandall was the stop-gap guy until Burris arrived in 2005. After two Grey Cup appearances in three years, in 2001, 3-6 after Labour Day, the team finished the regular season at 8-10. They got hot at the right time, beating the Lions and Eskimos to face a heavily favoured Blue Bomber team for the national championship.

Twice during the regular season the Edmonton cast-off quarterback sat out because of injuries. When they got to the playoffs, Crandall played the finest football of his life to win all the marbles.

The Bombers yapped incessantly about how good they were, making the Stamps even more determined to shove the ball down their throats.

“You know, it did,” allowed the mild-mannered Crandall. “They were talking like they already had won the game.”

But Calgary won, 27-19. Crandall was the MVP.

“Considering everything I’d been through to get there, finally becoming a starter in the CFL, overcoming three years of disappointments, it was definitely a great feeling to win the Grey Cup and the award.”

That Grey Cup would be the last hurrah in Calgary colours for both Crandall and his coach Wally Buono.

There was another great Stampeder quarterback present at McMahon last Saturday, determined to be a party pooper. That would be Bo Levi Mitchell, Calgary’s all-time leading passer in yards and completions.

His next win (they host Saskatchewan Saturday afternoon) will be No. 100, making him the fastest to reach that career total in CFL history. Unsurprisingly, last Saturday Bo was hardly a shabby Tabby, completing 31 of 50 attempts for 304 yards, one TD, no interceptions, in a losing cause. He took the Stamps to five Grey Cup appearances between 2012 and 2018, winning twice.

What about the new guy at the Crowchild Corral? In his regular season debut, Vernon Adams Jr. was good on eight of eight passes for 108 yards in the first quarter. The nine-year veteran, acquired in an off-season trade with B.C., finished at 19/28 for 284 yards and two interceptions. What a breath of fresh air!

After missing the play-offs last season, winning the home opener brought on a great sigh of relief. It should be Happy Trails ahead.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 53 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.