1972 CFL season

The 1972 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 19th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 15th Canadian Football League season.

CFL News in 1972

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame was officially opened on November 28, 1972, in Hamilton. The Grey Cup game was played on astroturf at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Regular season standings

Final regular season standings

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points

**Western Football Conference**
Team	GP	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	16	10	6	401	300	20
Edmonton Eskimos	16	10	6	380	368	20
Saskatchewan Roughriders	16	8	8	330	283	16
Calgary Stampeders	16	6	10	331	394	12
BC Lions	16	5	11	254	380	10

**Eastern Football Conference**
Team	GP	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	14	11	3	372	262	22
Ottawa Rough Riders	14	11	3	298	228	22
Montreal Alouettes	14	4	10	246	353	8
Toronto Argonauts	14	3	11	254	298	6

Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
Winnipeg and Hamilton have first round byes.

Grey Cup playoffs

Note: All dates in 1972

Conference Semi-Finals

**Eastern Semi-Finals**
Montreal Alouettes @ Ottawa Rough Riders
Date	Away	Home
November 11	Montreal Alouettes 11	Ottawa Rough Riders 14

**Western Semi-Finals**
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Edmonton Eskimos
Date	Away	Home
November 12	Saskatchewan Roughriders 8	Edmonton Eskimos 6

Conference Finals

**Western Finals**
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Date	Away	Home
November 19	Saskatchewan Roughriders 27	Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24

This game was especially notable for its final play. The game was tied and Saskatchewan attempted a last-second field goal to win, or at least score a single. The kick missed wide, and was recovered by Winnipeg in the end zone. As they were unable to run it out, they punted. The Saskatchewan player who fielded the punt attempted to score a single (winning the game) by punting it through the end zone again, but was unsuccessful, and the punt was fielded by Winnipeg, who punted it out again. The Saskatchewan returner was tackled, ending the play and presumably the game, but a Winnipeg penalty negated the play and gave Saskatchewan another chance. The second Saskatchewan field goal attempt, with no time on the clock, was successful.^[1]^[2]

**Eastern Finals – Game 1**
Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Ottawa Rough Riders
Date	Away	Home
November 18	Hamilton Tiger-Cats 7	Ottawa Rough Riders 19

**Eastern Finals – Game 2**
Ottawa Rough Riders @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Date	Away	Home
November 26	Ottawa Rough Riders 8	Hamilton Tiger-Cats 23

Hamilton won 2 game total-point series by 30–27. The Tiger-Cats will advance to the Grey Cup Championship game.

Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Division Final

60th Grey Cup

E2

Ottawa Rough Riders

19-8

E2

Montreal Alouettes

11

E1

Hamilton Tiger Cats

7-23

E3

Ottawa Rough Riders

14

E1

Hamilton Tiger Cats

13

W3

Saskatchewan Roughriders

10

W3

Saskatchewan Roughriders

27

W3

Saskatchewan Roughriders

8

W1

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

24

W2

Edmonton Eskimos

6

^[3]

Grey Cup Championship

December 3 60th Annual Grey Cup Game: Ivor Wynne Stadium – Hamilton, Ontario
Western Champion	Eastern Champion
Saskatchewan Roughriders 10	Hamilton Tiger-Cats 13
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are the 1972 Grey Cup Champions
Chuck Ealey (QB), Hamilton Tiger-Cats – Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player. Ian Sunter (K), Hamilton Tiger-Cats – Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.

CFL Leaders

1972 CFL All-Stars

Offence

QB – Don Jonas, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
RB – George Reed, Saskatchewan Roughriders
RB – Mack Herron, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
RB – Dave Buchanan, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
TE – Peter Dalla Riva, Montreal Alouettes
TE – Tony Gabriel, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
WR – Garney Henley, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
WR – Jim Young, BC Lions
C – Bob Swift, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
OG – Bob Lueck, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
OG – Jack Abendschan, Saskatchewan Roughriders
OT – Bill Frank, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
OT – Ed George, Montreal Alouettes

Defence

DT – Jim Stillwagon, Toronto Argonauts
DT – John Helton, Calgary Stampeders
DE – Bill Baker, Saskatchewan Roughriders
DE – Wayne Smith, Ottawa Rough Riders
LB – Dave Gasser, Edmonton Eskimos
LB – Ray Nettles, BC Lions
LB – Jerry Campbell, Ottawa Rough Riders
DB – Al Brenner, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
DB – Johnny Williams, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
DB – Grady Cavness, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DB – Dick Adams, Ottawa Rough Riders
DB – Marv Luster, Toronto Argonauts

1972 Eastern All-Stars

Offence

QB – Chuck Ealey, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
RB – Ike Brown, Montreal Alouettes
RB – Moses Denson, Montreal Alouettes
RB – Dave Buchanan, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
TE – Peter Dalla Riva, Montreal Alouettes
TE – Tony Gabriel, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
WR – Garney Henley, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
WR – Eric Allen, Toronto Argonauts
C – Paul Desjardins, Toronto Argonauts
OG – Ed Chalupka, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
OG – Jon Hohman, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
OT – Bill Danychuk, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
OT – Ed George, Montreal Alouettes

Defence

DT – Jim Stillwagon, Toronto Argonauts
DT – Rudy Sims, Ottawa Rough Riders
DE – George Wells, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
DE – Jim Corrigall, Toronto Argonauts
DE – Wayne Smith, Ottawa Rough Riders
LB – Mike Widger, Montreal Alouettes
LB – Gene Mack, Toronto Argonauts
LB – Jerry Campbell, Ottawa Rough Riders
DB – Al Brenner, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
DB – Johnny Williams, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
DB – Rod Woodward, Ottawa Rough Riders
DB – Dick Adams, Ottawa Rough Riders
DB – Marv Luster, Toronto Argonauts

1972 Western All-Stars

Offence

QB – Don Jonas, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
RB – George Reed, Saskatchewan Roughriders
RB – Mack Herron, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
RB – Tom Campana, Saskatchewan Roughriders
TE – Tyrone Walls, Edmonton Eskimos
WR – Gerry Shaw, Calgary Stampeders
WR – Jim Thorpe, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
WR – Jim Young, BC Lions
C – Bob Swift, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
OG – Bob Lueck, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
OG – Jack Abendschan, Saskatchewan Roughriders
OG – Larry Watkins, Edmonton Eskimos
OT – Bill Frank, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
OT – Charlie Turner, Edmonton Eskimos

Defence

DT – Joe Critchlow, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DT – John Helton, Calgary Stampeders
DT – John LaGrone, Edmonton Eskimos
DE – Bill Baker, Saskatchewan Roughriders
DE – Jim Heighton, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
LB – Dave Gasser, Edmonton Eskimos
LB – Ray Nettles, BC Lions
LB – Mickey Doyle, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DB – Frank Andruski, Calgary Stampeders
DB – Bruce Bennett, Saskatchewan Roughriders
DB – Grady Cavness, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DB – Dick Dupuis, Edmonton Eskimos
DB – Gene Lakusiak, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DB – Larry Robinson, Calgary Stampeders

1972 CFL Awards

CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Garney Henley (WR), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Jim Young (WR), BC Lions
CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award – John Helton (DT), Calgary Stampeders
CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – Chuck Ealey (QB), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
CFL's Coach of the Year – Jack Gotta, Ottawa Rough Riders
Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy (Eastern MVP) – Garney Henley (WR), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy (Western MVP) - Mack Herron (RB), Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Gruen Trophy (Eastern Rookie of the Year) - Bob Richardson (OL), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy (Western Rookie of the Year) - Walt McKee (K/P), Winnipeg Blue Bombers
DeMarco–Becket Memorial Trophy (Western Outstanding Lineman) - John Helton (DT), Calgary Stampeders

References

Preceded by 1971 CFL season	CFL seasons	Succeeded by 1973 CFL season

[1] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=r38AyQBBff0#t=537

[2] ttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/nov-19-1972-abendschan-boots-blue-in-stadiums-greatest-game-130836488.html

[3] "1972".

[4] "CFLapedia".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e 1972 CFL season by team
Western	BC Calgary Edmonton Saskatchewan Winnipeg
Eastern	Hamilton Montreal Ottawa Toronto
See also	1972 CFL Draft 60th Grey Cup