The 73rd Grey Cup was the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

championship game that was played at

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, between the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. The Lions easily handled the Tiger-Cats with a 37–24 victory.

Game summary

BC Lions (37) - TDs, Ned Armour (2), Jim Sandusky; FGs,

Lui Passaglia Lui Passaglia (born June 7, 1954) is a Canadian former professional Canadian football, football player. He was the placekicker/Punter (football position), punter for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for a record-breaking 25 year ...

(5); cons.,

Passaglia Passaglia is a surname and may refer to the following people: * Carlo Passaglia (1812–1887), Italian Jesuit * Augusto Passaglia (born 1838), Italian sculptor * Marty Passaglia (born 1919), American basketball player *Lui Passaglia Lui Passagli ...

(3); single,

. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (24) - TDs,

Ron Ingram Ronald Walter Ingram (July 5, 1933 – June 30, 1988) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played 114 games in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, and Detroit Red Wings between 1956 and 1965. ...

, Johnny Shepherd, Steve Stapler; FGs,

Bernie Ruoff Bernd A. Ruoff (born October 12, 1951) is a former punter and placekicker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1975 to 1979 and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1980 to 1987 of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He finished his CFL career in 1988, pl ...

; cons., Ruoff (3). First Quarter BC - TD Armour 84 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert)
BC - FG Passaglia Second Quarter BC - FG Passaglia
HAM - TD Ingram 35 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert)
HAM - TD Shepherd 00 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert)
BC - TD Armour 59 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert)
BC - FG Passaglia Third Quarter
BC - FG Passaglia
BC - FG Passaglia Fourth Quarter HAM - FG Ruoff
BC - TD Sandusky 66 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert)
HAM - TD Stapler 35 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert)
BC - Single Passaglia The 1980s proved to be a decade of halting

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

droughts A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

. The

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

ended 30 seasons of futility by recapturing the title in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. The

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

ended a 22-year drought without a national title the previous year. It was the

turn in 1985. The Lions hadn't won a Grey Cup since their inaugural championship in 1964. Fittingly, their opponent in 1985 was the

, the same team they defeated for their first title. It was the second straight trip to the final for the Ticats. The Lions jumped out to a quick start when five minutes in, quarterback

Roy Dewalt Roy Dewalt (born September 4, 1956) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback who, in a career lasting nine years, played for the BC Lions between 1980 and 1987, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders in 1988. He led t ...

and receiver Ned Armour combined on an 84-yard passing play for a major. BC added two field goals to take a 13-0 advantage early in the second quarter. But much like they did the previous season, the Ticats made it interesting. Hamilton recovered a fumble by Lions running back Freddie Sims at the BC 50. It led to rookie quarterback Ken Hobart's 35-yard touchdown strike to

, cutting the margin to six. Late in the opening half, Hobart broke free from the Hamilton 33 and utilized great blocking to get to the BC 15. Two plays later, Johnny Shepherd leaped high to snag a touchdown reception, giving the Ticats a 14-13 advantage with 1:35 remaining in the first half. After failing to get a first down on their next possession, the Lions were forced to punt. Hamilton's Mitchell Price and Grover Covington bore down on B.C.'s

in an attempt to block the kick and Passaglia, seeing the danger, wisely kept the ball and scrambled to his right, resulting in a first down. BC then went for the dagger. Dewalt hit Armour again on a 59-yard touchdown play, giving the Lions the lead for good. Shortly after,

James "Quick" Parker James "Quick" Parker (January 1, 1958 – March 27, 2018) was an American former professional football player who was a leading defensive player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After attending W ...

forced Hobart into a fumble, setting up a Passaglia 24-yard field goal. Instead of a one-point lead at halftime, Hamilton was in a hole 23-14. The Lions never looked back. Passaglia booted another two field goals for five in the game, and Dewalt threw another big touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, a 66-yarder to Jim Sandusky. Hobart would hit Steve Stapler for a 12-yard touchdown late in the game, but it was too little, too late, and the BC Lions won their second Grey Cup championship.

Trivia

* The

won despite being without

Mervyn Fernandez Mervyn L. Fernandez (born December 29, 1959), nicknamed "Swervin' Mervyn", is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver with the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Los Angeles Raiders in the Na ...

, the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award winner, and all star running back Keyvan Jenkins, both lost to injuries. * The entire 1985 BC Lions team were inducted into the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...

in 2000. * This was the final CFL game overall to be played with the 25-yard long endzone. Incidentally, the Lions' home stadium,

BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

, which introduced the shorter 20-yard long endzones in 1983, would have their shorter endzones be the new CFL standard the following season.

1985 CFL Playoffs

West Division

* Semi-final (November 10 @

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

)

22-15

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

* Final (November 17 @

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

)

42-22

East Division

* Semi-final (November 10 @

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

)

Montreal Concordes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

30-20

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

* Final (November 17 @

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

)

50-26

External links

*
Prime Minister's kickoff
{{1985 CFL season by team Grey Cup

Grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

Canadian football competitions in Montreal BC Lions postseason Hamilton Tiger-Cats postseason Grey Cup, 1985