The 1991 Toronto Argonauts season was the 102nd season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 13–5 record and qualified for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. The Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 79th Grey Cup. Toronto defeated the Calgary Stampeders in a rematch of the 1971 Grey Cup, winning their 12th Grey Cup championship by a score of 36–21.

Offseason In February 1991, the Argonauts were purchased by Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.58, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, In April 1991, the Argonauts signed Raghib Ismail to a four-year contract worth 18 million dollars.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.59, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, The Ismail signing included four million dollars upfront.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.114, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, Technically, Ismail was only being paid $110,000 a season to play football. The rest was a personal services contract with the intention that Ismail would become an ambassador for Canadian football. Ismail would have 64 receptions, 1,300 receiving yards, and 9 touchdowns. CFL draft Round Pick Player Position School 2 10 J. P. Izquierdo TB Calgary 2 13 Chris Green T Ottawa 3 18 Bruce Dickson DB Simon Fraser 3 21 Dave Giocomazzo G Boise State 4 29 Mitch Brown TB Eastern Michigan 5 34 Tony Clarke LB Ottawa 5 37 Mike Lindley LB Western Ontario 5 40 Matthew Nealon WR Saint Mary's 6 45 Steve Roest DL Toronto 7 53 Stefan Soulieres G New Haven 8 61 Rocky Hanson FS Dickinson State

Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A Wed, June 26 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 15–29 0–1 SkyDome 31,196 B Tue, July 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 25–28 0–2 Ivor Wynne Stadium 13,612

Regular season Matt Dunigan became the Argonauts new quarterback. Dunigan would miss 10 out of 18 regular season games due to injury.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.105, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, The injuries included a pulled groin, pulled hamstring, and pulled calf muscle. In the Eastern final, Dunigan would break his collarbone in two places before halftime. The Argonauts attendance improved from 30,500 to 37,120 fans per game. Despite winning the Grey Cup and the increase in attendance, the Argonauts lost three million dollars.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.61, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009,

Standings

Player stats

Passing Player Games Played Attempts Completions Yards Pct. Interceptions Long TouchdownsMatt DuniganMATT DUNIGAN CFL.ca Official Site of the Canadian Football League 8 196 121201161.7108716

Schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 Thu, July 11 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 35–18 1–0 Lansdowne Park 23,254 2 2 Thu, July 18 Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 41–18 2–0 SkyDome 41,178 3 3 Thu, July 25 Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 30–16 3–0 SkyDome 37,486 4 4 Thu, Aug 1 at BC Lions L 41–52 3–1 BC Place Stadium 53,527 5 5 Fri, Aug 9 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 37–35 4–1 Taylor Field 27,093 6 6 Thu, Aug 15 Saskatchewan Roughriders W 62–10 5–1 SkyDome 35,786 7 7 Wed, Aug 21 at Edmonton Eskimos L 39–53 5–2 Commonwealth Stadium 43,826 8 8 Tue, Aug 27 BC Lions W 34–25 6–2 SkyDome 39,508 8 9 Mon, Sept 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 24–48 6–3 Ivor Wynne Stadium 18,461 9 10 Sat, Sept 7 Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 52–25 7–3 SkyDome 36,102 10 11 Sun, Sept 15 at Calgary Stampeders L 24–33 7–4 McMahon Stadium 26,122 11 12 Sat, Sept 21 Edmonton Eskimos W 47–28 8–4 SkyDome 34,895 12 13 Sun, Sept 29 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 25–24 9–4 Lansdowne Park 26,172 13 14 Sat, Oct 5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 22–21 10–4 SkyDome 32,194 14 15 Fri, Oct 11 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 27–28 10–5 Winnipeg Stadium 30,760 15 16 Sun, Oct 20 Calgary Stampeders W 34–27 11–5 SkyDome 33,590 16 17 Sun, Oct 27 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 39–34 12–5 Ivor Wynne Stadium 17,453 17 18 Sun, Nov 3 Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–31 13–5 SkyDome 36,001

Postseason Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record East Final Sun, Nov 17 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 42–3 1–0 SkyDome 50,380 Grey Cup Sun, Nov 24 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 36–21 2–0 Winnipeg Stadium 51,985

Grey Cup

During Grey Cup week, Raghib Ismail embarrassed the team by not showing up to the Meet the Players breakfast.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.116, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, Despite numerous injuries, Matt Dunigan would throw two touchdowns in the final quarter to lead the Argonauts to victory.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.107, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009,

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalToronto Argonauts 8 3 8 17 36Calgary Stampeders 7 3 4 7 21

Toronto Argonauts (36) – TDs, Ed Berry, Darrell K. Smith, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, Paul Masotti; FGs Lance Chomyc (2); cons., Chomyc (4); singles Chomyc (2).

Calgary Stampeders (21) – TDs, Danny Barrett, Allen Pitts; FGs, Mark McLoughlin (2); cons., McLoughlin (2); single. McLoughlin.

First quarter TOR – TD Berry 50 yard interception return (Chomyc convert) CGY – TD Barrett 1 yard run (McLoughlin convert) TOR – Single by Chomyc

Second quarter TOR – FG Chomyc CGY – FG McLoughlin

Third quarter CGY – Single McLoughlin TOR – Single Chomyc CGY – FG McLoughlin TOR – TD Smith 48 yard pass from Dunigan (Chomyc convert)

Fourth quarter TOR – FG Chomyc CGY – TD Pitts 12 yard pass from Barrett (McLoughlin convert) TOR – TD Ismail 87 yard kickoff return (Chomyc convert) TOR – TD Masotti 36 yard pass from Dunigan (Chomyc convert)

Roster 1991 Toronto Argonauts final roster Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen C G G T T T G/C

Defensive linemen DT DE DT DE DT DE

Special teams K/P P/KLinebackers

Defensive backs

Italics indicate International player

Awards and honours CFL's Coach of the Year – Adam Rita Grey Cup Most Valuable Player, Raghib Ismail

1991 CFL All-Stars WR – Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, CFL All-Star OG – Dan Ferrone, CFL All-Star DT – Harold Hallman, CFL All-Star DE – Mike Campbell, CFL All-Star LB – Darryl Ford, CFL All-Star DB – Don Wilson, CFL All-Star P – Hank Ilesic, CFL All-Star K – Lance Chomyc, CFL All-Star

References

External links Toronto Argonauts official site Friends of the Argonauts (Official fanclub of the Toronto Argonauts) Argonauts forum at cfl.ca History of the Toronto Argonauts to World War I Argonotes, the Toronto Argonauts Band site