1983 Toronto Argonauts season
CFL team season
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The 1983 Toronto Argonauts season was the 94th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 12–4 record and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Argonauts defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Final and qualified for the Grey Cup for the second year in a row. Toronto defeated the BC Lions in the first ever Grey Cup match between the two teams, winning their 11th Grey Cup championship by a score of 18–17. The win ended a 31-year championship drought, which is the longest drought in Canadian Football League history.
| 1983 Toronto Argonauts season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Bob O'Billovich[1] |
| Home stadium | Exhibition Stadium[2] |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–4 |
| Division place | 1st, East |
| Playoffs | Won Grey Cup |
| Uniform | |
| |
During the regular season, receiver Terry Greer set a professional football record (NFL and CFL) for most receiving yards with 2003 yards. He also set a record for most 200-yard ball games in a year with three.
Offseason
The Toronto Argonauts drafted the following players in the 1983 CFL draft.[3]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | Kelvin Pruenster | T | Cal Poly |
| 3 | 29 | Kevin Adams | DB | Waterloo |
| 4 | 35 | Boyd Young | DL | Ottawa |
| 5 | 44 | Bryan Black | G | Guelph |
| 6 | 53 | Joel Tynes | TB | St. Francis Xavier |
| 7 | 62 | Dave Waud | LB | Wilfrid Laurier |
| 8 | 71 | Rick Van Maanen | DL | Western Ontario |
Preseason
| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| A | Fri, June 10 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 24–6 | 1–0 | Exhibition Stadium | 28,520 |
| B | Wed, June 15 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 24–35 | 1–1 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 11,505 |
| C | Fri, June 24 | vs. Rough Riders | W 31–15 | 2–1 | Exhibition Stadium | 28,107 |
| D | Tue, June 28 | at Montreal Concordes | W 25–24 | 3–1 | Olympic Stadium | 9,700 |
Regular season
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Div | Stk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Argonauts (C, Q) | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 452 | 328 | 124 | 24 | 4–2 | W2 |
| 2 | Ottawa Rough Riders (Q) | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 384 | 424 | −40 | 16 | 2–4 | L2 |
| 3 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Q) | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 389 | 498 | −109 | 11 | 3–2–1 | T1 |
| 4 | Montreal Concordes | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 367 | 447 | −80 | 11 | 2–3–1 | T1 |
(C) First round bye; (Q) Qualified for playoffs
Schedule
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Thu, July 7 | at Calgary Stampeders | W 45–30 | 1–0 | McMahon Stadium | 25,124 |
| 2 | 2 | Thu, July 14 | vs. Lions | W 17–14 | 2–0 | Exhibition Stadium | 39,437 |
| 3 | 3 | Sat, July 23 | vs. Montreal Concordes | W 28–13 | 3–0 | Exhibition Stadium | 35,490 |
| 4 | 4 | Fri, July 29 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 40–21 | 4–0 | Taylor Field | 25,734 |
| 5 | 5 | Sat, Aug 6 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 18–31 | 4–1 | Exhibition Stadium | 43,568 |
| 6 | 6 | Sat, Aug 13 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 16–32 | 4–2 | Winnipeg Stadium | 27,796 |
| 7 | 7 | Fri, Aug 19 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | W 27–17 | 5–2 | Lansdowne Park | 30,006 |
| 8 | 8 | Fri, Aug 26 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 36–15 | 6–2 | Exhibition Stadium | 35,414 |
| 9 | Bye | ||||||
| 10 | 9 | Sat, Sept 10 | at BC Lions | W 32–14 | 7–2 | BC Place Stadium | 52,656 |
| 11 | 10 | Sun, Sept 18 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 50–16 | 8–2 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 25,128 |
| 12 | 11 | Sat, Sept 24 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | L 20–49 | 8–3 | Exhibition Stadium | 35,679 |
| 13 | 12 | Sun, Oct 2 | at Montreal Concordes | W 30–17 | 9–3 | Olympic Stadium | 20,046 |
| 14 | 13 | Sun, Oct 9 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 19–15 | 10–3 | Exhibition Stadium | 37,746 |
| 15 | Bye | ||||||
| 16 | 14 | Sun, Oct 23 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | L 19–20 | 10–4 | Exhibition Stadium | 36,526 |
| 17 | 15 | Sat, Oct 29 | at Edmonton Eskimos | W 22–15 | 11–4 | Commonwealth Stadium | 53,577 |
| 18 | 16 | Sat, Nov 5 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 33–9 | 12–4 | Exhibition Stadium | 32,921 |
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| East Final | Sun, Nov 20 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 41–36 | 1–0 | Exhibition Stadium | 54,530 |
| Grey Cup | Sun, Nov 27 | at BC Lions | W 18–17 | 2–0 | BC Place Stadium | 59,345 |
Grey Cup
November 27 @ BC Place Stadium (Attendance: 59,345)[5]
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Lions | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 0 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 18 |
Roster
| 1983 Toronto Argonauts final roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
|
Special teams
Injured list
| |||
Awards and honours
1983 CFL All-Stars
- Terry Greer, Wide receiver
- Rick Mohr, Defensive end
- Carl Brazley, Defensive back
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
- Condredge Holloway, quarterback (1998)
- Dan Ferrone, guard (2013)
- Hank Ilesic, kicker/punter (2018)
- Terry Greer, wide receiver (2019)