Toronto Rifles
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The Toronto Rifles were a minor-league professional American football team active between 1964 and 1967. It was based in Toronto, Ontario. The team's home fields were Maple Leaf Stadium (1965)[1] and Varsity Stadium from 1966 to 1967.[2] The team was owned by Montreal businessman Johnny Newman.
As the Quebec Rifles, the team was the first professional American football team to be based in Canada. It played the 1964 season in Montreal, Quebec in the original United Football League. When that league dissolved and the Continental Football League formed in its place, the Quebec Rifles moved to Toronto and played three years in the ContFL before folding after 4 games into the regular season in 1967. The team finished second in the league in 1965, losing to the Charleston Rockets in the league championship. In 1967, however, the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts signed away the Rifles' head coach, Leo Cahill, quarterback Tom Wilkinson and running back Joe Williams. Meanwhile, Alan Eagleson took over the franchise. The team declared bankruptcy 4 games into the 1967 season and the league folded the franchise at the same time as the Akron Vulcans.
The Rifles had a Canadian-based rival, the Montreal Beavers, when in the Continental Football League.
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Seasons [edit]
| Year | Wins | Losses | Ties | Points | OPP | Playoffs | Championships | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 5 | 9 | 0 | out of playoffs | as the Quebec Rifles of the UFL | |||
| 1965 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 412 | 258 | Lost league championship to Charleston Rockets | team moved to Toronto and first season in the CFL | |
| 1966 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 344 | 280 | lost East division playoffs to Philadelphia Bulldogs | ||
| 1967 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 52 | fails to make playoffs | moved to Atlantic North division, team folds after 4 games into the regular season |
Source: THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 10, No. 5 (1988) - The Continental Football League: A mini tragedy of five acts, Sarge Kennedy[3]
Roster [edit]
- Tom Wilkinson QB 1966
- Robert Blakley RB 1965-1966
- Allen Ray Aldridge LB 1966
- Charlie Baillie 1964 - with the Quebec Rifles
- Phil Chiarella LB 1964 - with the Quebec Rifles
- Bob Vokey punter, receiver and safety 1964 - with the Quebec Rifles, now a golf club craftsman
- Dick Limerick Flanker
- Milt Crain Centre
- Joe Williams RB
- Rich Lucka Guard
- Ernie Wade Tackle
- Leo Mavity Safety
- Ed Harrington, DE
Source: THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 10, No. 5 (1988) - The Continental Football League: A mini tragedy of five acts, Sarge Kennedy[4]
Head coaches [edit]
- 1964 Sam Etcheverry
- 1965-1966 Leo Cahill Head Coach and GM, future CFL coach with the Toronto Argos[5]
- 1967 Jackie Parker, former CFL player with the Toronto Argos and Edmonton Eskimos[6]
Other Staff [edit]
- John Moore therapist[7]
External links [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Craig Wallace, Slip in the Rain, the True Story of the 1967-72 Toronto Argonauts, p. 17
- ^ http://virology-online.com/Store/store001/8141-section219/Continental-Football-League--1965-69----Toronto-Rifles.html
- ^ http://docs.google.com/gview?q=cache%3AkuNOqC3u5BEJ%3Awww.profootballresearchers.org%2FCoffin_Corner%2F10-05-347.pdf%20Continental%20Football%20League%201967%20season&docid=efaac0a9c9f13563dcef8474c6b5a255&chan=EwAAALuw2LY9Cg%2FNM%2F8yIZUWMlPnHwanRFzd97%2BidzccHPmb&a=bi&pagenumber=1&w=800
- ^ http://docs.google.com/gview?q=cache%3AkuNOqC3u5BEJ%3Awww.profootballresearchers.org%2FCoffin_Corner%2F10-05-347.pdf%20Continental%20Football%20League%201967%20season&docid=efaac0a9c9f13563dcef8474c6b5a255&chan=EwAAALuw2LY9Cg%2FNM%2F8yIZUWMlPnHwanRFzd97%2BidzccHPmb&a=bi&pagenumber=1&w=800
- ^ http://virology-online.com/Store/store001/8141-section219/Continental-Football-League--1965-69----Toronto-Rifles.html
- ^ http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=1a4b62c4-a6c5-4ff7-a051-299feff03dc5&k=0
- ^ http://www.athletictherapy.org/en/history.aspx
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