Canadian Football League (1993-1994)
Tombstone
Born: February 26, 1993 – CFL expansion franchise11994 Canadian Football League Facts Figures & Records
Moved: February 1995 (San Antonio Texans)
First Game: July 7, 1993 (L 32-23 @ Ottawa Rough Riders)
Last Game: November 5, 1994 (W 18-0 vs. Baltimore Football Club)
Grey Cup Championships: None
Stadium
Hornet Stadium (24,000)21994 Canadian Football League Facts Figures & Records
Branding
Team Colors: Aqua & Old Gold31994 Canadian Football League Facts Figures & Records
Ownership
Owner: Fred Anderson
FWIL FAVORITE
Sacramento Gold Miners
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Background
The Sacramento Gold Miners were the first U.S.-based franchise admitted into the Canadian Football League during the CFL’s short-lived American expansion adventure from 1993 to 1995.
The Gold Miners weren’t a brand new operation though. Owner Fred Anderson’s team previously played in the NFL-sponsored World League of American Football (WLAF) as the Sacramento Surge in 1991 and 1992. The Surge won the 1992 World Bowl as champions of that league. After NFL owners pulled the plug on the WLAF in September 1992, Anderson applied for entry to the CFL. The team retained its color scheme, Head Coach Kay Stephenson and a number of players from the WLAF era, but changed its name upon joining the CFL.
Tepid Support
The Gold Miners finished last in their division with a 6-12 record in 1993. Quarterback David Archer, and NFL veteran, finished second in the league in passing yards (6,023) to Doug Flutie. Running back Mike Oliphant led the CFL in yards from scrimmage (1,572). In an ominous sign for the league’s American incursion, Sacramento’s 1993 average attendance of 16,979 fans per game was the lowest in the 9-team CFL.
After playing as the lone American team in 1993, Baltimore, Las Vegas and Shreveport, Louisiana joined the league for the 1994 season. While the Baltimore team was a hit on and off the field, Las Vegas was a disaster while Sacramento and Shreveport were among the weaker entries. Sacramento’s 1994 attendance of 14,226 was 11th in the league, stronger only than the epic misfire taking place in Las Vegas.
Move To Texas
After two money-losing years at Sacramento’s Hornet Stadium, Fred Anderson moved the team to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas for the 1995 CFL season. The Texans lasted for one season in San Antonio, but shut down in early 1996 after the rest of the CFL’s American teams disbanded. The CFL returned to being a Canada-only circuit in 1996 and has been ever since.
Sacramento Gold Miners Shop
Editor's Pick
borders wars
The Era of American Expansion in the CFL
End Zones and Border Wars is the story of the Canadian Football League’s ill-fated period
of expansion into the United States during the early to mid-
1990s. It was a time filled with intriguing characters, from John
Candy to Nick Mileti to Pepper Rodgers, the coach who loved everything
about the Canadian game except the rules and the teams. With
a cast of investors who are hopeful but unfamiliar with the game,
bizarre stories emerge, from the Las Vegas Posse practising in the
parking lot of the Riviera to the Shreveport Pirates camping out
above a barn full of circus animals.
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Sacramento Gold Miners Video
TSN coverage of the Gold Miners CFL debut at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. July 7th, 1993
In Memoriam
Gold Miners owner Fred Anderson passed away on March 24, 1997 at age 72.
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