1961 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season

The 1961 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the fourth season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 12th overall. The team finished in first place in the Eastern Football Conference with a 10–4 record and faced the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Tiger-Cats lost the 49th Grey Cup game by a score of 21–14 and was the first Grey Cup game to be decided in overtime.[1]

1961 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season
Head coachRalph Sazio
General managerJake Gaudaur
Home fieldCivic Stadium
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st, East
Playoff finishLost in Grey Cup Final

Notably, this was the first season to introduce a regular season interlocking schedule with the Western Interprovincial Football Union teams. The Tiger-Cats had a 5–0 record in these games and therefore won the first regular season meeting against each of the CFL's Western teams. The club also played an exhibition game against the American Football League's Buffalo Bills where the Tiger-Cats won 38–21.[2][3] It was the first meeting between a CFL team and an AFL team and it was the only time a CFL team had defeated a team from the present day's National Football League.[4] This was also the last time that a CFL team played an NFL or an AFL team.[4]

Exhibition
Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance Record
A Bye
B Fri, July 21 at Edmonton Eskimos 17–9 Loss 10,000 0–1
B Mon, July 24 at BC Lions 38–27 Loss 18,769 0–2
C Mon, July 31 at Montreal Alouettes 25–16 Win 17,635 1–2
D Tues, Aug 8 vs. Buffalo Bills (AFL) 38–21 Win 12,000 2–2

[5][6]

Regular season

Season Standings
Eastern Football Conference
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Hamilton Tiger-Cats14104034029320
Ottawa Rough Riders1486035928516
Toronto Argonauts1476125525815
Montreal Alouettes144912132259

[7]

Season schedule
Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance Record
1 Bye
2 Tues, Aug 15 vs. BC Lions 30–21 Win 17,103 1–0
3 Sun, Aug 20 at Toronto Argonauts 28–24 Win 27,809 2–0
4 Bye
5 Thurs, Aug 31 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30–9 Win 18,951 3–0
5 Mon, Sept 4 vs. Toronto Argonauts 21–19 Win 26,533 4–0
6 Mon, Sept 11 vs. Edmonton Eskimos 32–15 Win 27,646 5–0
7 Sat, Sept 16 at Calgary Stampeders 37–36 Win 16,707 6–0
7 Mon, Sept 18 at Saskatchewan Roughriders 22–15 Win 10,152 7–0
8 Sat, Sept 23 vs. Montreal Alouettes 28–7 Loss 25,291 7–1
9 Sat, Sept 30 at Ottawa Rough Riders 47–21 Loss 22,400 7–2
10 Mon, Oct 9 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders 14–10 Loss 25,273 7–3
11 Sun, Oct 15 at Toronto Argonauts 37–10 Win 29,553 8–3
12 Sat, Oct 21 vs. Montreal Alouettes 15–5 Win 22,723 9–3
13 Sat, Oct 28 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders 44–29 Win 20,271 10–3
14 Sat, Nov 4 at Montreal Alouettes 21–6 Loss 16,199 10–4

[5][6]

Post-season

Schedule
Game Date Opponent Score Result Attendance
Eastern Semi-Final Bye
Eastern Final #1 Sat, Nov 18 at Toronto Argonauts 25–7 Loss 33,161
Eastern Final #2 Sat, Nov 25 vs. Toronto Argonauts 48–2 Win 22,671
49th Grey Cup Sat, Dec 2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21–14 (OT) Win 32,651

[5][6]

References
  1. "1961 Grey Cup Classic". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. November 8, 2002. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  2. "Hamilton Tiger-Cats Defeat Buffalo 38-21 Before 12,000". The Montreal Gazette. August 9, 1961. p. 22 of 34. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  3. "This Day in Buffalo Sports History: CFL vs. AFL". The Buffalo News. August 8, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  4. Filoso, Santino (March 20, 2016). "A History of CFL vs NFL Exhibition Games". 3DownNation. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  5. "1961 CFL Season Schedule & Scores". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  6. "1961 Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  7. "1961 CFL Season Standings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
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