Grey Cup

The Grey Cup (French: Coupe Grey) is the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL). It is the trophy given to the winning team. The game is played between the winners of the CFL's East and West divisional playoffs. It is one of Canadian television’s biggest yearly sports events. Since 2022, the game is held on the third Sunday of November, right after Remembrance Day.

The Toronto Argonauts have won the Grey Cup the most times, with 19 wins. The Edmonton Elks have the most wins since the merger in 1958. The latest game, the 112th Grey Cup, was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on November 16, 2025. The Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Montreal Alouettes by a score of 25–17.

The Grey Cup is Canada’s biggest yearly sports event. About 4 million people watch it. Two special awards are given: the Most Valuable Player and the Dick Suderman Trophy for the best Canadian player.

The trophy was made in 1909 by The Earl Grey, who was then Canada's governor general. It was first meant for ice hockey but later became the prize for the Canadian Dominion Football Championship. The trophy is a silver chalice with the names of all the winning teams, players, and leaders engraved on it.

The first Grey Cup was won by the Toronto Varsity Blues from the University of Toronto. The game was not played from 1916 to 1918 because of the First World War. The game is usually played on a Sunday in late November and can sometimes have bad weather, like heavy snow and fog.

History

National championships before 1909

People tried to start a national championship for a game like rugby in the early 1880s. This led to the creation of the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891. The first national championship was held the next year. Games were held every year except for 1899, 1903, and 1904.

Creation and early years (1909–1921)

The first Grey Cup game happened on December 4, 1909. Two teams from Toronto played: the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Parkdale Canoe Club. The Varsity Blues won 26–6. The trophy wasn’t ready for the game and was given to them later in 1910. They won again for the next two years. The game was stopped from 1916 to 1918 because of World War I and in 1919 because of rule problems and the Spanish flu. The game started again in 1920, and the Varsity Blues won once more.

Western participation (1922–1932)

For many years, teams from western Canada were not as strong as those from the east. The first western team to play was the Edmonton Eskimos in 1921, but they lost to the Toronto Argonauts. It wasn’t until 1923 that a western team, the Winnipeg 'Pegs (now the Blue Bombers), won the Grey Cup by beating the Hamilton Tigers.

Progress towards professionalism (1933–1956)

University teams stopped playing for the Grey Cup in 1933 because they couldn’t match the skill of professional teams. By the 1950s, the league was fully professional. During World War II, military teams played the Grey Cup from 1942 to 1944. After the war, civilian teams returned, and the league kept growing.

Canadian Football League kicks off (1957–1969)

In the early years of the Canadian Football League (CFL), the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were very successful. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers often played them in the championship games. One famous game was the 1962 "Fog Bowl," where thick fog made it hard to see, and the game finished the next day.

Eskimos' dynasty (1970–1988)

The Edmonton Eskimos became one of the most successful teams in the 1970s and 1980s, winning many championships. They had a famous winning streak of five titles in a row from 1978 to 1982. In 1981, they came back to win against the Ottawa Rough Riders.

CFL USA (1989–1995)

In the early 1990s, the CFL tried to expand into the United States but had many problems. The most successful team was the Baltimore Stallions, which was the only American team to win the Grey Cup in 1995 before moving back to Canada.

Renaissance (1996–present)

After the failed expansion into the United States, the CFL had money problems. But the Grey Cup game stayed popular and helped the league survive. In 2012, the Toronto Argonauts won the 100th Grey Cup. The game kept growing in popularity, with exciting matches over the years.

Trophy

The Grey Cup is a famous trophy given to the winners of the Canadian Football League's championship game. It was made in 1909 and is made of sterling silver. It stands about 33 centimetres tall. Over the years, the trophy has been dropped and broken during celebrations, but it has always been repaired.

The trophy has also been stolen a few times, but it was always returned. Today, the trophy’s base lists the names of all the winning teams and their players. After each game, the trophy is given to the winning team to keep for a year before it goes back to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Languages

English and French are the official languages of the Grey Cup game. Important parts of the game, like the national anthem and announcements, are done in both languages.

In 2023, some people were upset because the signs at the stadium in Hamilton were only in English. After that, the CFL made changes. They added more French signs for the Grey Cup in Vancouver and decided that the national anthem would be sung in both languages for certain teams. The Grey Cup in Winnipeg in 2025 also used both languages. A player named Marc-Antoine Dequoy praised these changes.

Grey Cup festival

Each year, the host city plans fun events for the Grey Cup festival. There are concerts, parties, and fan festivals in the days before the big championship game. The CFL gives out its yearly awards during the festival, and there is always a parade.

The game starts with the Canadian national anthem, usually sung in both English and French. There is also a halftime show with famous Canadian musicians, like Nickelback who performed in 2011. Sometimes, a special guest helps flip the coin to start the game.

The Grey Cup party began in 1948 when fans from Calgary, called the Stampeders, went to Toronto for the first time. They brought chuckwagons and horses and made a pancake breakfast for people in Toronto, just like they do at the Calgary Stampede. This fun tradition continues every year with a pancake breakfast at the championship.

Many Canadians think the Grey Cup is the most important event to attend each year. Fans from all teams come together, and the event brings money to the host city.

Champions

Main article: List of Grey Cup champions

The Toronto Argonauts have won the most Grey Cup championships with 19. The Edmonton Elks are next with 14, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have 12. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been in the Grey Cup the most times, with 29 games. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have not won the Grey Cup since 2000. The Elks, once called the Eskimos, have won 11 championships since 1958 and been in the Grey Cup 19 times. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have lost the Grey Cup the most, with 17 losses. The current champions are the Saskatchewan Roughriders. They won the 112th Grey Cup in 2025, their first title in 12 years.

Three players have each won seven Grey Cups: Jack Wedley, Bill Stevenson, and Hank Ilesic. Anthony Calvillo holds the record for the most Grey Cup games played by a quarterback, with eight, and has won three times. Five coaches have each won five Grey Cup championships: Wally Buono, Don Matthews, Frank Clair, Hugh Campbell, and Lew Hayman.

Two special awards are given after each Grey Cup game. The Most Valuable Player award goes to the best player. There is also an award for the most valuable Canadian player, called the Dick Suderman Trophy. Dave Sapunjis and Don Sweet have each won this award three times. In the 107th Grey Cup, Andrew Harris won both the Most Valuable Player award and the Dick Suderman Trophy while playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Venue

Host cities

Toronto has hosted the most Grey Cup games, with 48 games including 30 of the first 45. The first game was held in 1909 at Rosedale Field. Early games were also in Hamilton, Ottawa, Sarnia, and Kingston. The game first left Ontario in 1931 when Montreal hosted, and the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers won the 19th Grey Cup. The game finally left central Canada in 1955 for Vancouver, which later hosted 16 games. The most attended games were at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

The 1940 Grey Cup was a two-game series, with Toronto and Ottawa each hosting one game.

Stadiums

22 different stadiums have hosted the Grey Cup. The list below includes all stadiums that have hosted the event, with future games noted in italics.

^ ^: Stadium is now demolished.
^ †: The original stadium, which hosted the Grey Cup, was demolished and replaced with a new stadium of the same name

The 1940 Grey Cup was a two-game series. Varsity Stadium and Lansdowne Park each hosted a game.

Broadcasting

Main article: List of Grey Cup broadcasters

The Grey Cup game was first shown on the radio in 1928. For many years, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) broadcast the game on the radio until 1986.

When television started, the first Grey Cup game shown on TV was in 1952. Soon, most people in Canada were watching the game on TV. The Grey Cup is still one of Canada’s biggest sports events. In 1962, the game was shown on TV in the United States for the first time.

For a time, both the CBC and another network, CTV Television Network, showed the game together. Later, different networks took turns showing the game. In 2009, a special sports channel began showing the game, and many people watched it.