65th Grey Cup
Encyclopedia
The 65th Grey Cup, played on November 27, 1977 and also known as The Ice Bowl, was the 1977
Grey Cup
Canadian Football League
championship final between the Montreal Alouettes
and the Edmonton Eskimos
. The Alouettes beat the Eskimos by a score of 41-6.
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – Single – Don Sweet missed field goal
Second Quarter
Edmonton – FG – Dave Cutler
Third Quarter
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Edmonton – FG – Dave Cutler
Montreal – TD – Peter Dalla Riva
7 yard pass from Sonny Wade
(Don Sweet convert)
Montreal – TD – John O'Leary
10 yard pass from Sonny Wade (Don Sweet convert)
Fourth Quarter
Montreal – TD – Bob Gaddis
7 yard pass from Sonny Wade (Don Sweet convert)
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – Single – Don Sweet missed field goal
Stadium crews put salt on the field to melt the snow. But as the temperature dropped on game day, the melted snow turned into a sheet of ice. The game was marred by several fumble
s on otherwise routine snaps of the ball. However, the Alouettes found a competitive advantage - they put staples in the bottom of their sneakers to get traction on the slippery surface. The Eskimos, using standard football cleats, could not find traction on the field. The Als did not give up a single tackle behind their own line of scrimmage.
Tony Proudfoot
, Alouettes defensive back and the player who had the idea for, perhaps, the cleverest ploy in Grey Cup history:
(Quote from online article by Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun, Nov. 22, 2002.)
1977 CFL season
The 1977 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 24th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 20th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1977:...
Grey Cup
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...
Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
championship final between the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
and the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
. The Alouettes beat the Eskimos by a score of 41-6.
Box Score
First QuarterMontreal – FG – Don Sweet
Don Sweet
Don Sweet, , was a star football kicker for the Montreal Alouettes and Montreal Concordes of the Canadian Football League.-College years:...
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – Single – Don Sweet missed field goal
Second Quarter
Edmonton – FG – Dave Cutler
Third Quarter
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Edmonton – FG – Dave Cutler
Montreal – TD – Peter Dalla Riva
Peter Dalla Riva
Peter Dalla Riva, , is a former professional Canadian football player with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League at the tight end and wide receiver positions. Dalla Riva played with the Alouettes for his entire 14 year career...
7 yard pass from Sonny Wade
Sonny Wade
Sonny Wade born April 1, 1947 in Martinsville, Virginia, a graduate of the "powerhouse" football program at Emory and Henry College in Virginia, and played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1969 to 1978....
(Don Sweet convert)
Montreal – TD – John O'Leary
John O'Leary
John O'Leary may refer to:* John O'Leary , Irish nationalist who was imprisoned in England during the nineteenth century*John O'Leary , former Irish Fianna Fáil party politician and TD for Kerry South...
10 yard pass from Sonny Wade (Don Sweet convert)
Fourth Quarter
Montreal – TD – Bob Gaddis
Bob Gaddis
Robert C. Gaddis is a former professional American football wide receiver. He was the 13th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1975 NFL Draft. He would play wide receiver with the Buffalo Bills in 1976 and then five seasons in the CFL for three different teams.-References:...
7 yard pass from Sonny Wade (Don Sweet convert)
Montreal – FG – Don Sweet
Montreal – Single – Don Sweet missed field goal
| Teams | 1 Q | 2 Q | 3 Q | 4 Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Alouettes | 10 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 41 |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
Montreal's Stapled Shoes
Although Olympic Stadium was designed to have a retractable roof, and a roof was added in 1987, the stadium was open to the air in November 1977. As is common in late November, Montreal received a fair amount of snow and low temperatures before game time.Stadium crews put salt on the field to melt the snow. But as the temperature dropped on game day, the melted snow turned into a sheet of ice. The game was marred by several fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
s on otherwise routine snaps of the ball. However, the Alouettes found a competitive advantage - they put staples in the bottom of their sneakers to get traction on the slippery surface. The Eskimos, using standard football cleats, could not find traction on the field. The Als did not give up a single tackle behind their own line of scrimmage.
Tony Proudfoot
Tony Proudfoot
John A. "Tony" Proudfoot was an All-Star defensive back in the Canadian Football League, teacher, coach, broadcaster and journalist....
, Alouettes defensive back and the player who had the idea for, perhaps, the cleverest ploy in Grey Cup history:
"We just had our 25th anniversary reunion of the team which beat Edmonton in the 1977 so-called Staples Game."
"I was asked about it again, of course. It was icy cold and there had been a big snowstorm with a transit strike, and fans walking all the way from downtown to Olympic Stadium."
"The field was a skating rink. Guys were trying different kinds of footwear - broomball shoes and things like that. All week long we'd been thinking of what footwear to use. We knew it was going to be slippery and nothing, really, was any good. On a frozen field a lot of players like to wear broomball shoes. But they didn't work very well."
"Another alternative, because the field was so hard, was screw-on cleats. Nobody really used those anymore, but they were available. We tried grass cleats, Astroturf cleats, nothing worked. I experimented during the week. I even thought about putting nails through my shoes."
"By game day, a bunch of guys settled on using steel cleats. Before the warm-up, I noticed a guy from Bell CanadaBell CanadaBell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
walking by with a staple gun. A light bulb went on. 'I've tried everything, but not that.' So I tried putting staples in my shoes. I stapled an 'X' on about six bumps. Gordon JudgesGordon JudgesGordon Judges is a former professional Canadian football defensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League....
and Chuck ZapiecChuck ZapiecChuck Zapiec is a former All-American Linebacker at Penn State and Defensive Captain of the Cotton Bowl Champion Nittany Lions. He graduated with the best record of any Penn State Player ever, 34 and 1, winning two Orange Bowls and one Cotton Bowl,He started as an Offensive Guard his Sophomore and...
put some in, too. We looked at each other and said, 'That's it.'"
"At the start of the game, about 12 guys had them in and by halftime it was half or three-quarters of the team. The numbers aren't precise because this wasn't organized."
"The coaches weren't in on it and the equipment guys had nothing to do with it. It was just the players. Wally BuonoWally BuonoPasquale "Wally" Buono is the head coach, general manager and alternate governor of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, and one of the most successful coaches in league history. He is in his 19th year of coaching, previously as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders and currently with the...
was involved. In my opinion it made a big difference. With that little bit of a grip, it gave you extra confidence. We really knew we had something when Gerry DattilioGerry DattilioGerry Dattilio is a former professional Canadian football quarterback in the Canadian Football League.- Early years :Dattilio played his high school football with the Chomedey Chiefs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he won a City Championship by beating St. Thomas High School of...
caught a short pass from Sonny Wade and ran right past Larry HighbaughLarry HighbaughLarry Highbaugh is a former defensive back for the British Columbia Lions from 1971-1972 and the Edmonton Eskimos from 1972-1983 of the Canadian Football League...
for a big gain. Gerry will tell you that he was not ... well, he was not very fast. And Highbaugh was known as one of the fastest guys in the league."
"That's when we knew we had something. It was a big factor in that 41-6 win. To me, it was a big deal. I still have that staple gun. To me it's a prized possession."
(Quote from online article by Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun, Nov. 22, 2002.)
Trivia
- The game set a Grey Cup attendance record of 68,318, even though it was a bitterly cold day and Montreal was in the midst of one of its frequent transit strikes. Local fans led the many football tourists to the game in a march across town, trekking from downtown to the east end Olympic Stadium on the morning of the game.
- Alouettes defensive back Vernon PerryVernon PerryVernon Perry is a former professional American football player who played cornerback for five seasons for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Previously he played with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL...
's 4th quarter 74 yard interception return is the longest in Grey CupGrey CupThe 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...
history. - Don Sweet's 23 points scored is still a single game Grey CupGrey CupThe 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...
record for most points in a single championship game by a place kicker. - Edmonton and Montreal have met in 11 Grey Cup clashes. The Eskimos have won in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2003 and 2005's overtime thriller. The Alouettes have prevailed in 1974, the Ice Bowl of 1977, and 2002.
- It was the first Grey Cup game played at the new Montreal Olympic StadiumOlympic Stadium (Montreal)The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
.