#1990sincanadianfootball — Public Fediverse posts

The CFL Game on a Frozen Shrunken Field

Today I want to talk about fields. Canadian football fields, that is. There is still a lot of chatter about the CFL’s decision to adjust its field size in 2027, adopting a 100-yard-long field with 15-yard end zones. Previously, I have written about early Canadian football being played on 100-yard fields in the past. And there have been exhibition games played on similar length fields such as the 1992 game in Portland, Oregon. But what if I told you there was a CFL game played on a […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/09/18/the-cfl-game-on-a-frozen-shrunken-field/

Robokicker Dave Ridgway Retires

On April 24, 1996, one of the most prolific kickers to play the Canadian game announced his retirement. Dave Ridgway played every game throughout his 14-year career in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Born in England, his family came to Canada in the 1970s. Ridgway played college football at the University of Toledo. In 1981, he was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes but didn’t make the team. The following year he signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent. An […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/04/24/robokicker-dave-ridgway-retires/

The CFL’s Early Websites

At high school in the mid 1990s we were asked to use a new technology called the "World Wide Web” for a research project. Yours truly balked and wanted to stick with the tried-and-true volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica. I told my friend that I would give it a go but that the Internet was nothing more than a mere fad, something that would surely pass. Over thirty years later, here I am writing an article online publicly admitting that ridiculous prediction of mine. I slowly came around to […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/03/26/the-cfls-early-websites/

CFL Ends U.S. Expansion, Retreats Back to Canada

On Friday February 2, 1996, the Canadian Football League officially ended its American expansion efforts. During the CFL’s annual winter meetings, the league announced that the Birmingham Barracudas, Memphis Mad Dogs, San Antonio Texans, and Shreveport Pirates were ceasing operations. And the Baltimore Stallions, having just won the Grey Cup a few months earlier, were relocating to Montreal. Canadian Press article on the end of CFL U.S. expansion. It was game over for the CFL’s grand […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/03/05/cfl-ends-u-s-expansion-retreats-back-to-canada/

A Fan Remembers the Baltimore Stallions

Baltimore Stallions logo (SportsLogos.Net) Doug Phillips was just five years old when his father took him to his first football game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. He got to see the Johnny Unitas, the legendary quarterback of the old Baltimore Colts NFL team. Sadly, the Colts left for Indianapolis in 1984, leaving the city of Baltimore without professional football for a decade. After being spurned by the NFL for an expansion franchise twice, Baltimore turned its attention to […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/02/11/a-fan-remembers-the-baltimore-stallions/

CFL Adds More American Teams

After the Sacramento Gold Miners joined the Canadian Football League in 1993 and despite some scepticism and opposition, the league sought to grow its footprint in the United States with additional teams in 1994 and 1995. Here is a look back at some of the CFL’s other American-based teams. Las Vegas Posse Article in the Sacramento Bee about the unveiling of the Gold Miners' new rival - the Las Vegas Posse. The CFL’s second U.S. team was the Las Vegas Posse. Owner Nick Mileti, who had a […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/02/04/cfl-adds-more-american-teams/

The CFL Expands to the USA

When I first started following CFL football in the early 1990s, two issues dominated the league: struggling Canadian franchises and U.S. expansion. They kind of went hand in hand, the idea being that an injection of American money and new markets would help stabilize the existing Canadian teams. The ultimate goal was for the CFL to grow in popularity and take its rightful place as a major North American sports league. Of course, things don’t always go according to plan. As we kick off a […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2026/01/07/the-cfl-expands-to-the-usa/

Portland Hosts Fast Break CFL Football, Precursor to CFL USA Expansion

In 1992, the Canadian Football League was looking to grow. Larry Smith was appointed the CFL’s new commissioner with a mandate to expand the CFL. Of course, Montreal and Halifax were high on Smith’s list of potential sites. But so, too, were several cities south of the border. One of these cities was Portland, Oregon. Located in the northwestern United States, Portland was a mid-sized city with a suitable stadium and a credible ownership group with the needed capital to both pay for and […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2025/10/01/portland-hosts-fast-break-cfl-football-precursor-to-cfl-usa-expansion/

Ottawa Downs Las Vegas 54-50 in 1994 Labour Day Weekend Shootout

Labour Day weekend is arguably the biggest deal in the Canadian Football League outside the Grey Cup. The end-of-summer holiday features games between the CFL’s fiercest rivalries. Saskatchewan versus Winnipeg. Calgary versus Edmonton. Hamilton versus Toronto. Now back in 1994 one of the CFL’s Labour Day weekend matchups included the Ottawa Rough Riders playing host to the Las Vegas Posse. How’s that for an anomaly? On Saturday, September 3, 1994, the Rough Riders were looking to snap […]

https://canadianfootballhistory.ca/2025/09/17/ottawa-downs-las-vegas-54-50-in-1994-labour-day-weekend-shootout/