The Canadian Football League has been around since 1958, when it was founded. What’s interesting here is that some of the CFL teams are actually older than the league itself, as you’ll learn as you read on.
The CFL has seen many different teams within the league at one time over the years. For example, did you know that the CFL at one time had American teams in its ranks?
One US team even became champions—Grey Cup Champions—but perhaps more on that subject at a later date. Currently there are nine teams—all Canadian—as the US expansion was done away with after 1995, the 1996 season being the first back to a lineup of only Canadian teams.
The current lineup of teams in the CFL is split up into the West Division and the East Division. Today we’ve decided to take a look at these teams in detail and learn a little more about them, and with the Grey Cup on the horizon, we figured it’s the perfect time, dear readers.
The West Division
Did you know? The CFL West Division was once known as The Western Canada Rugby Football Union? It’s true. According to Wikipedia, this was the case from 1911 to 1935. It would actually go through many names over the years on its way to being what it is known as today.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Playing out of IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba, they are the current Grey Cup Champions and are slated to take the cup home once again this year if all goes according to their plan. They have a total of 12 championships. They were founded in 1930.
The BC Lions
The BC Lions of course play out of BC Place. They of course represent Vancouver, British Columbia. They have held 6 championships—precisely half the number of championships held by the aforementioned Blue Bombers, but it can be argued that they had a later start (as I’m sure many Lions fans would agree); they were founded in 1954.
The Calgary Stampeders
Pro wrestling superstar, actor, philanthropist and business mogul, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actually was signed to this CFL team at one point, interestingly enough. A great piece of trivia to impress your friends with next cocktail party you get an invite to. This team was founded way back in 1945, and have a total of 8 championships. They’re based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and they play out of McMahon Stadium.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders
Based out of Regina, Saskatchewan, the Riders, as they’re known to their fans that enjoy the moniker, ‘Rider Nation,’ have previously won 4 championships. They had a very unfortunate end to the 2022 season, but the team is hopeful for a revamp during the off-season. They play out of Mosaic Stadium, and were founded way back in 1910.
The Edmonton Elks
The Edmonton Elks are based out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Interestingly enough, right now, Alberta is one of two Canadian Provinces that have two or more teams in the league representing them; the other is Ontario, which has 3 teams in the CFL. The Edmonton Eskimos were founded in 1949, play out of Commonwealth Stadium, and have previously won 14 championships. In 2021 they changed their name to the Elks.
The East Division
Did you know? The East Division was also known under a different name way back when; it was from 1907 and until 1959 that they were known as The Interprovincial Rugby Football Union.
The Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts hold the record as having the most championship wins of any current team in the CFL. They hold a whopping 17 championships. They are also coincidentally the oldest team in the CFL, they having been founded in 1873. They obviously play out of Toronto, Ontario and their home field is BMO Field.
The Montreal Alouettes
The Als, as they are known, were founded in 1946. They play out of Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal, Quebec. They have won 7 championships overall. Interestingly enough and according to the Alouettes official website, the team name was inspired by the Royal Canadian Air Force 425th squadron.
This specific squadron was coincidentally the first French-Canadian squad of its kind. This was in 1942. The aforementioned squadron was named after a Gallic bird “renowned for its tenacity as well as for flying at very high altitude…” according to the official team site (link above).
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats
This team plays out of Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton, Ontario. They were founded in 1950, and have a total of 8 championships overall. Their team name is interesting, and comes from a merging of two previous teams playing out of the same city, the Tigers and the Wildcats.
The Ottawa Redblacks
The youngest team in the CFL, the Redblacks were formed, or rather founded in 2014. They have previously won only 1 single championship. They play out of TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the nation’s capital city.
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Blair Hall
March 12, 2024 at 8:20 pm
The Edmonton Elks were not founded in 1949. The Edmonton Eskimos were, and in 2021 changed their name to the Elks, because of controversy and the need to be politically correct. A name change is fine, but the trend these days seems to be to sweep our past “unacceptable” history under the rug like it never happened. That’s a scary trend. I didn’t bother reading the rest of the article after seeing that glaring omission, assuming other things may have been purposely omitted as well.