53rd Grey Cup
Encyclopedia
The 53rd Grey Cup
, also known as the Wind Bowl, was hosted at CNE Stadium
in Toronto, Ontario on November 27, 1965. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats
defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
22-16.
for Winnipeg and Ralph Sazio
for Hamilton, changed a punting rule prior to the game, perhaps unprecedented in CFL if not in football history. Instead of punts being returned with no Fair catch
rule, punts into the wind would be ruled dead as soon as the returner touched the ball, a sort of forced Fair catch
rule, the rule being voluntary in the National Football League
. Without the rule change, it was thought that the team going against the wind would lose the viable option of punting and be forced instead to try to convert on third downs all the time.
in 1984.
Hamilton – Single –
Hamilton – TD – Dick Cohee 7 yard run (Don Sutherin
convert)
Hamilton – Safety –
Second Quarter
Winnipeg – TD – Art Perkins 8 yard run (Norm Winston convert)
Winnipeg – TD – Leo Lewis
5 yard run (Norm Winston convert)
Third Quarter
Hamilton – TD – Willie Bethea 69 yard pass from Joe Zuger
(Don Sutherin
convert)
Hamilton – Safety –
Hamilton – Safety –
Hamilton – Single – punt by Joe Zuger
Fourth Quarter
Winnipeg – Field goal – Norm Winston
. Teams scored against on a safety touch would no longer be entitled to keep the ball. Instead, they would be forced to kick the ball away to the other team.
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
, also known as the Wind Bowl, was hosted at CNE Stadium
Exhibition Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
in Toronto, Ontario on November 27, 1965. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
22-16.
Weather conditions and change in punting rule
Because of strong winds of up 30 to 40 miles per hour, CFL officials, in agreement with both head coaches, Bud GrantBud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
for Winnipeg and Ralph Sazio
Ralph Sazio
Ralph Joseph Sazio is a former football player, assistant coach, head coach general manager and team president for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also served as president of the Toronto Argonauts...
for Hamilton, changed a punting rule prior to the game, perhaps unprecedented in CFL if not in football history. Instead of punts being returned with no Fair catch
Fair catch
A fair catch is a feature of American football and several other codes of football, in which a player attempting to catch a ball kicked by the opposing team – either on a kickoff or punt – is entitled to catch the ball without interference from any member of the kicking team...
rule, punts into the wind would be ruled dead as soon as the returner touched the ball, a sort of forced Fair catch
Fair catch
A fair catch is a feature of American football and several other codes of football, in which a player attempting to catch a ball kicked by the opposing team – either on a kickoff or punt – is entitled to catch the ball without interference from any member of the kicking team...
rule, the rule being voluntary in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Without the rule change, it was thought that the team going against the wind would lose the viable option of punting and be forced instead to try to convert on third downs all the time.
Key elements in the game
A strong wind prevailed throughout the game, and all scoring occurred while the team who received the points was going with the wind. To retain possession of the ball, the Blue Bombers conceded one safety touch in the first quarter and two in the third quarter while struggling against the wind. In the fourth quarter with the wind at their backs, the Bombers began a last-minute drive, snuffed out when fullback Art Perkins was stopped cold by the Hamilton defence on a third-and-one gamble. The Bombers lost by 6 points, the margin of three yielded safeties. They would return to the Grey Cup game only 19 years later, the 72nd Grey Cup72nd Grey Cup
The 72nd Grey Cup was the 1984 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats...
in 1984.
Box score
First QuarterHamilton – Single –
Hamilton – TD – Dick Cohee 7 yard run (Don Sutherin
Don Sutherin
Donald Paul "Suds" Sutherin is a former Canadian Football League and National Football League defensive back and placekicker...
convert)
Hamilton – Safety –
Second Quarter
Winnipeg – TD – Art Perkins 8 yard run (Norm Winston convert)
Winnipeg – TD – Leo Lewis
Leo Lewis
Leo Lewis was a famed American College football player for Lincoln University of Missouri in the 1950s , who continued his success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League ....
5 yard run (Norm Winston convert)
Third Quarter
Hamilton – TD – Willie Bethea 69 yard pass from Joe Zuger
Joe Zuger
Joe Zuger was a star football player in college and the Canadian Football League.-College career:He attended Arizona State University, between 1959 and 1961, where he excelled on offense, defence and as a punter. As quarterback, he compiled a 24-7 record in three years as a starter. He also played...
(Don Sutherin
Don Sutherin
Donald Paul "Suds" Sutherin is a former Canadian Football League and National Football League defensive back and placekicker...
convert)
Hamilton – Safety –
Hamilton – Safety –
Hamilton – Single – punt by Joe Zuger
Joe Zuger
Joe Zuger was a star football player in college and the Canadian Football League.-College career:He attended Arizona State University, between 1959 and 1961, where he excelled on offense, defence and as a punter. As quarterback, he compiled a 24-7 record in three years as a starter. He also played...
Fourth Quarter
Winnipeg – Field goal – Norm Winston
Rule change implemented because of this game
As a result of the strategy employed by the Blue Bombers, in which they voluntarily conceded safeties to keep the ball, the rules were changed for the following 1966 CFL season1966 CFL season
The 1966 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 13th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 9th Canadian Football League season .-CFL news in 1966:...
. Teams scored against on a safety touch would no longer be entitled to keep the ball. Instead, they would be forced to kick the ball away to the other team.