Canadian Football League (1994-1996)
Tombstone
Born: February 17, 1994 – CFL expansion franchise1Gainesville Sun, February 18, 1994, 2C
Moved: February 2, 1996 (Montreal Alouettes)2CFL Pulls Teams Out Of U.S., The Victoria Advocate, February 3, 1996, 2B
First Game: July 7, 1994 (W 28-20 @ Toronto Argonauts)
Last Game: November 19, 1995 (W 37-20 vs. Calgary Stampeders, 83rd Grey Cup, Regina, SK)
Grey Cup Championships: 1995
Stadium
Memorial Stadium (60,586)3National Football League 1983 Media Information Book
Opened: 1922
Marketing
Team Colors: Royal Blue, Silver, Black, White 4TruColor.net
Ownership
Owner: Jim Speros
Attendance
Background
The Baltimore Stallions played two seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) starting in 1994. The league already had one American team, the Sacramento Gold Miners, who first took the field in 1993 and wanted to add more. The league was struggling financially, and several teams were on the verge of bankruptcy. The influx of money generated by franchise frees seemed to be the tonic the CFL needed to survive. And they were right.
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Two and half months before the CFL came to Baltimore, the National Football League (NFL) announced it was adding two teams for its 1996 season. The winning cities were Charlotte, NC, and, to the surprise of many, Jacksonville, FL. The losing bidders were St. Louis, Memphis, and Baltimore. The latter two cities wound up in the CFL.
Jim Speros, a Maryland businessman, was awarded the CFL’s Baltimore franchise. Originally, they were going to be called the Baltimore CFL Colts. The name was designed to inspire the city’s fans by honoring their dearly departed NFL team while avoiding litigation. The latter part failed.
“I did this for the fans of Baltimore,” Speros told the press after announcing the name on March 1, 1994, less than a month after being awarded the franchise. “There has been an issue with NFL properties over the use of the name, and in our minds, this seems to clear up any confusion. Our official name is the Baltimore CFL Colts, so there will be no misconception of who we are and what league we are playing in.” He added, “I can’t control what the media calls us. I’m sure we’ll be known as the Baltimore Colts.” He may have said too much for the NFL’s liking.
Speros was partially correct, though. Fans did refer to the team as the Baltimore Colts, as did some media outlets. The NFL decided to kick Baltimore while it was trying to stand up and sued the CFL team. After a judge upheld an injunction preventing the team from using Colts in any form, they were forced to adopt the name Baltimore Football Club.
When they made their home debut during Week 2 of the 1994 season, the fans were undeterred. The PA announcer introduced the team as “your Baltimore…” The crowd shouted, “Colts!” The team officially went by the name Baltimore Football Club until a settlement was reached, though some in the press, particularly in Canada, called them the Baltimore CFLers.
The team proved that an official nickname wasn’t all that important when it came to winning football games. From the start, Speros astutely observed that Canadian football was, in fact, quite different from American football. To that end, he hired players and coaches with plenty of CFL experience. That included longtime Edmonton Eskimos Tracy Ham (QB) and Mike Pringle (RB). Don Matthews, who had coached several CFL teams since the 1970s, was brought in as head coach, while former Saskatchewan Roughriders director of player personnel Jim Popp was named GM.
The formula worked and propelled the new team to a 12-6 record in 1994. That was good for a second-place finish in the CFL’s East Division and a playoff berth. In the Division Semifinals, Baltimore knocked out the Toronto Argonauts 34-15 before a crowd of 35,223 at Memorial Stadium. The following week, Baltimore took out the Blue Bombers in the Division Final in Winnipeg, which made them the first U.S.-based team to advance to the Grey Cup. The B.C. Lions defended their homeland well in the title game, though, and edged Baltimore 26 to 23 on a last-minute field goal by veteran kicker Lui Passaglia.
The team’s second season arrived with much fanfare as it finally got a permanent nickname. On the night of July 7, 1995, owner Jim Speros rode into Memorial Stadium on a thoroughbred horse and announced the team would henceforth be known as the Baltimore Stallions. The NFL had trademarked the name Stallions on behalf of St. Louis’ failed expansion team but decided to let the CFL club use it to settle the lawsuit amicably.
The following night, in the home opener, the Stallions defeated the San Antonio Texans, who were the relocated Sacramento Gold Miners, 50 to 24. The Stallions finished first in the CFL’s North Division with a 15-3 record. Oddly, attendance dropped from an average of 37,000 to just over 30,000 fans per game. The fans that stuck with the team, however, were rewarded.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Stallions downed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 36 to 21 before knocking off the Texans in the second round, 21 to 11. That victory sent the Stallions to their second-straight Grey Cup game, where they faced the Calgary Stampeders and the legendary Doug Flutie. The Stallions made history, winning the 83rd Grey Cup 37 to 20. To this day, they are the only non-Canadian team to hoist Lord Grey’s cup. After the victory, things then took a drastic turn.
Two days after the first-round playoff victory over Winnipeg, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced he was moving his team to Baltimore. The news didn’t immediately affect the Stallions, clearly, as they marched toward and captured the Grey Cup.
Indeed, Speros told the press he doubted the NFL would allow the move, but as it looked more and more likely that they would, the Stallions’ owner considered his options. Then, two weeks after Modell’s proclamation, Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams announced his team was headed to Nashville.
Speros looked into moving the Stallions to Houston and visited the Astrodome. He also considered Richmond, VA, and Allentown, PA. However, on February 3, 1996, the CFL pretty much made the decision for him. A week before the NFL gave its final approval to Modell, the CFL announced its decision to abandon the U.S. market entirely. The Stallions would be the only American team to survive, but not in Baltimore.
As part of the league’s plan, the Stallions moved to Montreal and became the new incarnation of the Alouettes, who last played in 1986 before abruptly folding the day before the start of the 1987 season.
The Alouettes have been going strong ever since. After one season in Montreal, Speros sold the team to local interests. The CFL considers the Alouettes to be one franchise founded in 1946 with a pause from 1987 to 1996. That includes the years it was known as the Montreal Concordes (1982-1985). The Stallions are regarded as a separate franchise.
FUN FACTS
Baltimore is the only city to host championship teams in the NFL, USFL, and CFL.
The Stallions were the fourth team in pro football history to move following a championship season. The other three were the 1945 Cleveland Rams (who moved to Los Angeles) the 1962 Dallas Texans (who became the Kansas City Chiefs), and the Stallions’ predecessors, the USFL Philadelphia Stars, who moved to Baltimore in 1985 after winning that league’s 1984 championship.
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