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Saskatchewan Roughriders

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Saskatchewan Roughriders
Founded1910
Based inCanada Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Home fieldMosaic Stadium at Taylor Field
Head coachKent Austin
General managerEric Tillman
Owner(s)Community owned
DivisionWest Division
ColoursGreen, white, black and silver
Nickname(s)Riders, Roughies, The Green and White
Mascot(s)Gainer the Gopher
Websitewww.riderville.com

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan, founded in 1910. The Roughriders have won the league's Grey Cup championship twice, in 1966, and 1989. They play their home games at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. The team draws fans from across the province and country who are affectionately known as the "Rider Nation". The fans are known for their loyalty and "Rider Pride", and it is not odd to find a group of Rider fans following the team on their road games across the country. The Roughriders play in the CFL's West Division.

Team facts

Websites: Saskatchewan Roughriders Official Site
Formerly known as: Regina Rugby Club 1910 to 1923, Regina Roughriders 1924 to 1947
Helmet design: Green helmet with a Black and white "S" and stalks of wheat on each side with a Black background with Silver and Green stripes behind the "S" like yard lines from a football field.
Retro helmet design: Green helmet with logo of a green wreath surrounding a green "S" on a white background
Uniform colours: Green and White with Black accents
Western regular season championships: 6 — 1951, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1976
Grey Cup final appearances: 16; — 1923 (lost), 1928 (lost), 1929 (lost), 1930 (lost), 1931 (lost), 1932 (lost), 1934 (lost), 1951 (lost), 1966 (won), 1967 (lost), 1969 (lost), 1972 (lost), 1976 (lost), 1989 (won), 1997 (lost), 2007 (TBD)
Grey Cup wins: 2 — 1966, 1989
Hosted the Grey Cup 2 times: 1995 (83rd Grey Cup), 2003 (91st Grey Cup)
Main Rivals: Winnipeg Blue Bombers (see Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl); Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders, British Columbia Lions
2007 Regular Season Record: 12 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties. 24 Points

Franchise history

The team was founded as the Regina Rugby Club in 1910. They changed their name to the Regina Roughriders in 1924 and officially to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1948, the same year the team changed their team colours from red and black to green and white. The formation of what became the CFL brought them into the same league as the similarly named, but differently spelled, Ottawa Rough Riders. The team name comes from the North-West Mounted Police (based in Regina), who were called Roughriders because they rode wild broncos while on duty.[citation needed] The Ottawa team was named for the log rollers of the region's rivers. The presence of two teams whose names were pronounced the same in one league came about only when two leagues merged, and the teams were reluctant to change (and allowed to keep) their established nicknames.

The Roughriders' darkest day came in 1956 when four members of the team were killed in a plane crash while returning from the CFL All-Star game in Vancouver. Gordon Sturtridge, Mel Beckett, Ray Syrnyk, and Mario DeMarco were killed when Flight 810 crashed into Slesse Mountain near Chilliwack, British Columbia. All four players had their number retired by the team shortly thereafter.

To date the franchise has won two Grey Cup Championships; a 29-to-14 victory over the now-defunct Ottawa Rough Riders in 1966, and a thrilling 43-to-40 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1989. Four times, the Roughriders and (Ottawa) Rough Riders met in Grey Cup finals, prompting joking predictions from sportswriters that 'the riders' would win it all. Led by Hall of Fame quarterback Ron Lancaster, a string of 11 straight appearances in the Western finals 1966−76 remains a CFL record.

Shares in the team are available for purchase. As of October 2006 shares were available for $250 Canadian. Class A voting shares grant the owner one vote per share (up to 20 votes). Other benefits of shares include discounts on season tickets, the option to buy preferred parking, access to exclusive Shareholder events, 15% off all Rider merchandise at the Rider Store as well as access to Rider Share Wear clothing line (which is exclusive to Shareholders), priority in upgrading season tickets, and automatic entry into Shareholder contests.[1]

In 2007 the Riders jumped out to a 7-2 start, their best since 1976. A notable victory was a last minute victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the annual Labour Day Classic. In this game for the first time the Riders wore retro uniforms and helmets harkening back to their glory days. This delighted Rider fans who bought them up and sold them out within days. The 2007 season has brought along with it the Roughriders' first home playoff game since 1988, which was played at Mosaic Stadium on November 11th, against the Calgary Stampeders. The Riders once again wore their popular retro uniforms and took a close victory against Calgary 26-24. The win against Calgary also gave Saskatchewan their first home playoff win since 1976. This was followed up on November 18th by a 26-17 win at BC Place over the BC Lions in the West Division final, to give the Roughriders a berth in their first Grey Cup final since 1997. On November 25, 2007 the Riders will play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 95th Grey Cup. This marks the first time that two Labour Day Classic opponents play each other in a Grey Cup game.

The Roughriders have had various mascots over the years. During the 1980s, an unofficial mascot for the Roughriders was a man known as "The Flame." Each time the Roughriders scored, a 12 to 15 foot flame would shoot up from his helmet. The current official Rider mascot is Gainer the Gopher.

Players of note

Current Roster

Active Roster

Reserve List

Developmental Squad

Injured List

Nine Game Injured List

Suspended List

Canadian Football Hall of Famers

Retired numbers

Not to be forgotten

Recent Regular Season/Playoff Results

The 1990s

Legend:
F = For, A = Against

Season Coach Won Lost Tied Points F A Home Away Division Standing Playoff Results
1990 John Gregory 9 9 0 18 557 592 - - 4-6 3rd Lost West Semi-Final 43-27 to Edmonton
1991 Gregory/Matthews 6 12 0 12 606 710 - - 3-7 4th Missed Playoffs
1992 Don Matthews 9 9 0 18 505 545 - - 6-4 3rd Lost West Semi-Final 22-20 to Edmonton
1993 Don Matthews 11 7 0 22 511 495 - - 5-5 3rd Lost West Semi-Final 51-13 to Edmonton
1994 Matthews/Jauch 11 7 0 22 512 454 - - 4-6 4th Lost West Semi-Final 36-3 to Calgary
1995* Ray Jauch 6 12 0 12 422 451 - - 5-7 6th* Missed Playoffs
1996 Jim Daley 5 13 0 10 360 498 - - 3-7 4th Missed Playoffs
1997 Jim Daley 8 10 0 16 413 479 - - 5-5 3rd Won West Semi-Final 33-30 over Calgary

Won West Final 31-30 over Edmonton

Lost Grey Cup 47-23 to Toronto

1998 Jim Daley 5 13 0 10 411 525 4-5 1-8 2-8 4th Missed Playoffs
1999 Cal Murphy 3 15 0 6 370 592 3-6 0-9 1-9 4th Missed Playoffs
Totals - 73 107 0 146 4667 5341 - - - - -

* For the 1995 Season, all 8 Canadian teams were featured in the Northern Division.

The Danny Barrett Era

Season Won Lost Tied Points* F A Home Away Division Standing Playoff Results
2000 5 12 1 11 516 626 2-6-1 3-6 3-6-1 4th Missed Playoffs
2001 6 12 0 12 308 416 2-7 4-5 3-7 4th Missed Playoffs
2002 8 10 0 18* 435 393 7-2 1-8 4-6 4th Crossover: Lost East Semi-Final 24-14 to Toronto
2003 11 7 0 22 535 430 7-2 4-5 7-3 3rd Won West Semi-Final 37-21 over Winnipeg

Lost West Final 30-23 to Edmonton

2004 9 9 0 18 476 444 6-3 3-6 4-6 3rd Won West Semi-Final 14-6 over Edmonton

Lost West Final 27-25 to B.C. in OT

2005 9 9 0 18 441 433 5-4 4-5 6-4 4th Crossover: Lost East Semi-Final 30-14 to Montreal
2006 9 9 0 18 465 434 6-3 3-6 4-6 3rd Won West Semi-Final 30-21 over Calgary

Lost West Final 45-18 to B.C.

Totals 57 68 1 117* 3176 3176 35-27-1 22-41 31-38-1 - -

* From 2000-2002, the CFL awarded a single point to teams losing in overtime. The Riders had two such losses during the 2002 season.

The Kent Austin Era

Season Won Lost Tied Points F A Home Away Division Standing Playoff Results
2007 12 6 0 24 517 393 6-3 6-3 6-4 2nd Won West Semi-Final 26-24 over Calgary

Won West Final 26-17 over B.C.

Grey Cup vs. Winnipeg

See also


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