1997 Toronto Argonauts season

The 1997 Toronto Argonauts season was the 108th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 15–3 record and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The defending champion Argonauts defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 85th Grey Cup to defend their title. Toronto defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 47–23, winning their 14th Grey Cup championship, and repeated as Grey Cup champions.

1997 Toronto Argonauts season
Head coach	Don Matthews[1]
General manager	Eric Tillman
Home field	SkyDome[2]
Results
Record	15–3
Division place	1st, East
Playoff finish	Won Grey Cup

Offseason

CFL Draft

Rd	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	1	Chad Folk	OL	Utah
1	9	Mathew DuBuc	SB	Texas Tech
2	17	Steve Salter	OL	Ottawa
3	18	Aldi Henry	CB	Michigan State
3	24	Dave Mudge	OT	Michigan State
4	33	Jayson Hansen	OL	Texas Tech
5	41	Mark Giardetti	DE	Evangel College
6	48	Kris Kershaw	QB	Salisbury State

Ottawa Rough Riders Dispersal Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Pos
1	9	Sammie Brennan	DB
2	17	Travis Anderson	WR
3	25	Joe Mero	CB

[3]

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Location	Final Score	Attendance	Record
A	June 13	Tiger-Cats	SkyDome	W 18 – 14	13,452	1–0
B	June 18	@ Alouettes	Olympic Stadium	W 40 – 0	6,394	2–0

[4]

Regular season

Season standings

East Division

Team	GP	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
Toronto Argonauts	18	15	3	0	660	327	30
Montreal Alouettes	18	13	5	0	509	532	26
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	18	4	14	0	443	548	8
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	18	2	16	0	362	549	4

[5]

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Location	Final Score	Attendance	Record
1	June 27	Blue Bombers	SkyDome	W 38 – 23	16,551	1–0
2	July 6	@ Tiger-Cats	Ivor Wynne Stadium	W 20 – 15	14,033	2–0
3	July 12	@ Roughriders	Taylor Field	L 27 – 23	22,956	2–1
4	July 17	Tiger-Cats	SkyDome	W 27 – 20	17,222	3–1
5	July 24	@ Lions	BC Place Stadium	W 34 – 20	23,330	4–1
6	July 31	Alouettes	SkyDome	W 46 – 8	16,213	5–1
7	August 7	@ Stampeders	McMahon Stadium	L 45 – 35	25,311	5–2
8	August 14	Eskimos	SkyDome	W 38 – 14	18,031	6–2
9	August 21	Roughriders	SkyDome	W 27 – 1	17,330	7–2
10	September 1	@ Tiger-Cats	Ivor Wynne Stadium	W 46 – 3	18,377	8–2
11	September 7	@ Blue Bombers	Canad Inns Stadium	W 66 – 25	21,080	9–2
12	September 14	Tiger-Cats	SkyDome	W 34 – 9	20,234	10–2
13	September 20	@ Eskimos	Commonwealth Stadium	W 25 – 24	38,619	11–2
14	September 28	@ Blue Bombers	Canad Inns Stadium	W 41 – 9	20,004	12–2
15	October 4	Lions	SkyDome	W 46 – 3	17,019	13–2
16	October 11	Alouettes	SkyDome	W 28 – 21	17,355	14–2
17	October 18	Stampeders	SkyDome	W 48 – 17	24,083	15–2
18	October 26	@ Alouettes	Olympic Stadium	L 43 – 38	10,801	15–3

[4]

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Location	Final Score	Attendance
East Final	November 9	Alouettes	SkyDome	W 37–30	32,085
Grey Cup	November 16	Roughriders	Commonwealth Stadium	W 47–23	60,431

[4]

Grey Cup

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Toronto Argonauts	7	13	21	6	47
Saskatchewan Roughriders	3	6	0	14	23

[6]

Awards and records

• Doug Flutie, Most Outstanding Player Award[7]
• Mike Kiselak, Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award [8]
• Derrell Mitchell, Outstanding Rookie Award[9]

[10]

1997 CFL All-Stars

• QB – Doug Flutie
• FB – Robert Drummond
• SB – Derrell Mitchell
• C – Mike Kiselak
• DT – Rob Waldrop
• DB – Johnnie Harris
• DS – Lester Smith
• P/K – Mike Vanderjagt
• ST – Mike "Pinball" Clemons
• WR -{ Terrance Lawrence}

[10]

References

1. "All-Time Coaching". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
2. "Toronto Argonauts Stadium History". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
3. "All-Time Draft List". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
4. "1997 Toronto Argonauts". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
5. "1997 Regular Season Standings". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
6. "1997 – Toronto Argonauts 47, Saskatchewan Roughriders 23". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
7. "Most Outstanding Player". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
8. "Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
9. "Most Outstanding Rookie". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
10. 2010 Toronto Argonauts Media Guide (PDF). Toronto Argonauts. 2010. p. 168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.