1954 in Canadian football

The Edmonton Eskimos upset the Montreal Alouettes to send the Grey Cup trophy back west for the first time since 1948.^[1]

Canadian Football News in 1954

1954 is generally recognized as the start of the modern era of Canadian football.^[2]

The BC Lions joined the WIFU and adopted the colours of burnt orange and brown. The NBC national network were televising IRFU games.^[3]

Winnipeg's Gerry James (RB), became the first player to win the Most Outstanding Canadian Award.^[4]

This was the last season that the Ontario Rugby Football Union would be allowed to challenge for the Grey Cup.^[5]

Regular season

Final regular season standings

Source:^[5]

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

Western Interprovincial Football Union Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Edmonton Eskimos 16 11 5 0 255 163 22 Saskatchewan Roughriders 16 10 4 2 239 204 22 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 16 8 6 2 202 190 18 Calgary Stampeders 16 8 8 0 271 165 16 BC Lions 16 1 15 0 100 345 2

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Montreal Alouettes 14 11 3 0 341 148 22 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 14 9 5 0 275 207 18 Toronto Argonauts 14 6 8 0 212 265 12 Ottawa Rough Riders 14 2 12 0 129 337 4

Ontario Rugby Football Union Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 12 9 2 1 269 183 19 Sarnia Imperials 12 7 4 1 218 193 15 Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 12 1 11 0 169 280 2

• Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
• Edmonton has a bye and will play in the WIFU Finals.

Grey Cup playoffs

Source:^[5]

Note: All dates in 1954

Semifinals

WIFU semifinals – game 1 Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers Date Away Home October 30 Saskatchewan Roughriders 14 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 14

WIFU semifinals – game 2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Saskatchewan Roughriders Date Away Home November 1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 13 Saskatchewan Roughriders 11

• Winnipeg won the total-point series by 27–25. The Blue Bombers will play the Edmonton Eskimos in the WIFU Finals.

Finals

ORFU Finals – Game 1 Sarnia Imperials @ Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen Date Away Home November 3 Sarnia Imperials 12 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 13

ORFU Finals – Game 2 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen @ Sarnia Imperials Date Away Home November 11 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 16 Sarnia Imperials 8

• Kitchener-Waterloo wins the best of three series 2–0. The Dutchmen will advance to the Grey Cup semifinal.

WIFU Finals – Game 1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos Date Away Home November 6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 3 Edmonton Eskimos 9

WIFU Finals – Game 2 Edmonton Eskimos @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers Date Away Home November 11 Edmonton Eskimos 6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12

WIFU Finals – Game 3 Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Edmonton Eskimos Date Away Home November 13 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 5 Edmonton Eskimos 10

• Edmonton wins the best of three series 2–1. The Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup semifinal.

IRFU Finals – Game 1 Montreal Alouettes @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats Date Away Home November 17 Montreal Alouettes 14 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 9

IRFU Finals – Game 2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Montreal Alouettes Date Away Home November 20 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19 Montreal Alouettes 24

• Montreal wins the best of three series 2–0. The Alouettes will advance to the Grey Cup game.

Grey Cup semifinal

Edmonton Eskimos @ Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen Date Away Home November 20 Edmonton Eskimos 38 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen 6

• The Edmonton Eskimos will advance to the Grey Cup game.

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Grey Cup

IRFU

Montreal Alouettes

IRFU

BYE

IRFU

Montreal Alouettes

14-24

EAST

IRFU

Hamilton Tiger Cats

9-19

IRFU

Hamilton Tiger Cats

IRFU

BYE

IRFU

Montreal Alouettes

25

WIFU

Edmonton Eskimos

26

WIFU

Edmonton Eskimos

9-12-10

WIFU

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

3-6-5

WIFU

Edmonton Eskimos

38

WEST

ORFU

Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

6

ORFU

Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

13-16

ORFU

Sarnia Imperials

12-8

• Final appearance in the Grey Cup playoffs by the ORFU

Grey Cup Championship

November 27 42nd Annual Grey Cup Game: Varsity Stadium – Toronto, Ontario WIFU Champion IRFU Champion Edmonton Eskimos 26 Montreal Alouettes 25 The Edmonton Eskimos are the 1954 Grey Cup Champions

Canadian Football Leaders

• CFL Passing Leaders
• CFL Rushing Leaders
• CFL Receiving Leaders^[6]

1954 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars

Offence

• QB – Sam Etcheverry, Montreal Alouettes
• RB – Alex Webster, Montreal Alouettes
• RB – Gene Wilson, Toronto Argonauts
• RB – Bernie Custis, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• E – Red O'Quinn, Montreal Alouettes
• E – Ray Ramsey, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• FW – Joey Pal, Montreal Alouettes
• C – Tommy Hugo, Montreal Alouettes
• OG – Ray Cicia, Montreal Alouettes
• OG – Herb Trawick, Montreal Alouettes
• OT – Tex Coulter, Montreal Alouettes
• OT – Vince Mazza, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Defence

• DT – Tex Coulter, Montreal Alouettes
• DT – Jim Staton, Montreal Alouettes
• DE – Pete Neumann, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• DE – Doug McNichol, Montreal Alouettes
• DG – Vince Scott, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• DG – Eddie Bevan, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• LB – Red Ettinger, Toronto Argonauts
• LB – Tommy Hugo, Montreal Alouettes
• DB – Lou Kusserow, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• DB – Hal Patterson, Montreal Alouettes
• S – Bill MacFarlane, Toronto Argonauts
• S - Billy Cross, Toronto Argonauts

1954 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars

Offence

• QB – Frank Tripucka, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• RB – Rollie Miles, Edmonton Eskimos
• RB – Jackie Parker, Edmonton Eskimos
• RB – Howard Waugh, Calgary Stampeders
• RB – Ed Macon, Calgary Stampeders
• E – Mac Speedie, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• E – Bud Grant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• C – Eagle Keys, Edmonton Eskimos
• OG – Mario DeMarco, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• OG – Roy Jenson, Calgary Stampeders
• OT – Dick Huffman, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• OT – Martin Ruby, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Defence

• DT – Dick Huffman, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• DT – Martin Ruby, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• DE – Frank Anderson, Edmonton Eskimos
• DE – Gene Brito, Calgary Stampeders
• DG – Mike Cassidy, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• DG – Bob Levenhagen, BC Lions
• LB – John Wozniak, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• LB – Ed Henke, Calgary Stampeders
• DB – Stan Williams, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• DB – Bobby Marlow, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• DB – Rollie Miles, Edmonton Eskimos
• S – Tom Casey, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

1954 Ontario Rugby Football Union All-Stars

NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.

• QB – Bob Celeri, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
• RB – Cookie Gilchrist, Sarnia Imperials
• RB – Paul Amodio, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
• RB – Nayland Moll, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
• RB – Blake Taylor, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
• E – Harvey Singleton, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
• E – Gerry McTaggart, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
• FW – Carl Totzke, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
• C – Bruce Mattingly, Sarnia Imperials
• G – Jay Fry, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
• G – Lloyd "Dutch" Davey, Sarnia Imperials
• T – Keith Carpenter, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
• T – Danny Nykoluk, Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers

1954 Canadian Football Awards

• Most Outstanding Player Award – Sam Etcheverry (QB), Montreal Alouettes
• Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Gerry James (RB), Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy (IRFU MVP) – Sam Etcheverry (QB), Montreal Alouettes
• Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy (WIFU MVP) - Jackie Parker (RB), Edmonton Eskimos
• Gruen Trophy (IRFU Rookie of the Year) - Ron Howell (WR), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy (WIFU Rookie of the Year) - Lynn Bottoms (HB), Calgary Stampeders
• Imperial Oil Trophy (ORFU MVP) - Bob Celeri - Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

References

1. "Grey Cup Memories: 1954". CFL.ca. 2005-11-10. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
2. "Mullin: Changing the game - The Ratio". CFL.ca. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
3. "Canadian Football Timelines (1860-2005)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
4. https://www.cfl.ca/gibsons Archived 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Gibsons Finest Player Awards
5. "1954". www.cflapedia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
6. "CFLapedia".