PUTTING STAMP ON CUP

CRAZY TRAIN

The Grey Cup owes much of its festival spirit to Calgary’s participation in the 1948 championship, including the riotous journey to Toronto. Roughly 300 Stampeders fans boarded the Hogtownbound train with local breweries donating enough beer to fuel the three-day trip. Or so they thought. The fans ran out of beer at Swift Current and spent the rest of the trip stopping at every little town trying to get more.

HORSE TALE

When the fans arrived in Toronto in 1948, they took to the streets to party, square dance, cook pancake breakfasts and parade on horseback. Much of this is verified by photos. Legend also has it — though many dispute it — that oilman Bill Herron also rode his horse into the posh Royal York Hotel. True or not, the story is a favoured part of Grey Cup lore.

THE STREAK

Calgary proved itself to be an enthusiastic host when the Grey Cup was first played at McMahon Stadium in 1975. Despite -20 C temperatures, tens of thousands of fans bundled up to fill the stadium. Except one. As the captains of the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos participated in the pre-game coin toss, one female streaker sauntered to the middle the field. Rather than immediately bundle her away, security appeared to let her get the full experience of a prairie winter before she made her exit.

PHANTOM SACK

Shortly before the Stampeders squared off against the hometown Argonauts in 2012, Toronto’s No. 1 football fan and mayor, Rob Ford, thought he’d show off some of his gridiron prowess for the assembled media. Ford tossed around the ol’ pigskin on an artificial surface before doing his best quarterback impersonation. After shouting out the cadence and taking his own snap, Ford stepped back and fell over, presumably under the pressure of an imaginary nose tackle. “I’ve got a lot of padding,” he quipped after.

ROCKET THROW

No, we’re not talking about a Bo Levi Mitchell touchdown pass. Unfortunately. In 1991’s tilt between the Argonauts and Stampeders in Winnipeg, Argos’ speedster Raghib (Rocket) Ismail took a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping the team win the championship. The touchdown lives on in the memories of CFL fans, not only for the quality of the run but rather infamously for a beer can heaved from somewhere deep in the stands that nearly clips Ismail at the eight-yard line.