1995 Baltimore Stallions season

Owner| Jim Speros
General manager| Jim Popp
Head coach| Don Matthews
Home field| Memorial Stadium
Local radio| WCBM
Results
Record| 15–3
Division place| 1st, South
Playoff finish| Won Grey Cup
Team MVP| Mike Pringle
Team ROY| Chris Wright
Uniform

* <- 1994 (CFLers)
* Baltimore Stallions seasons

The 1995 Baltimore Stallions season was the second and final season in the history of the Baltimore CFL franchise. The team became the first (and to date, only) American-based football team to win the Grey Cup. Despite the Stallions success, attendance dropped. The club only sold 9,000 season tickets.[1] The 1994 and 1995 Stallions radio flagship station was WJFK, 1300AM in Baltimore. Owned by Infinity Broadcasting, Bruce Cunningham of Fox45 TV served as play-by-play announcer, with former NFL Baltimore Colts stars Joe Washington, Bruce Laird, and Tom Matte providing analysis, and Mark Thoner of WLIF-FM as Producer.

As it turned out, the 83rd Grey Cup would be the last game the Stallions would ever play. A week before the Grey Cup, the Cleveland Browns announced they were moving to Baltimore. Owner Jim Speros balked at the prospect of competing with an NFL team and opted to move elsewhere. When it became apparent that the CFL was giving up its attempt to gain a foothold in the United States, he opted to move his team to Montreal as the Montreal Alouettes. In doing so, Speros canceled his franchise in Baltimore and revived the 1946–86 Alouettes franchise. As a result, the 1995 season is officially the last season of Stallions history, and the Stallions are officially one of only two Grey Cup champions in the modern era to fold.

## Preseason

[edit]

Game  | Date  | Opponent  | Results  | Venue  | Attendance

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Score  | Record
1  | Sat, June 17  | Ottawa Rough Riders | W 45–11  | 1–0  | Memorial Stadium | 20,642
2  | Sat, June 24  | Birmingham Barracudas | W 37–0  | 2–0  | Miami Orange Bowl | 20,216

[2]

## Regular season

[edit]

* After the 1994 season, a name-the-team fan poll was held to decide a new team name. After the team's first week of the season being known as the Baltimore Football Club, the fan poll ended and Jim Speros announced to the Baltimore faithful that their team would be known as the Baltimore Stallions.
* Mike Pringle's rushing totals were 1,791 yards. Compared to his stats in the 1994 season, his yards-per-carry fell by .6 from 6.4 to 5.8. Despite the reduction, his statistics were still the best any back posted in the CFL that year.

### Season standings

[edit]

South Division

* view
* talk
* edit

Team  | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk |
Baltimore Stallions | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 541 | 369 | 6–1 | W10 | Details
San Antonio Texans | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 630 | 457 | 5–3 | W3 | Details
Birmingham Barracudas | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 548 | 518 | 3–4 | L2 | Details
Memphis Mad Dogs | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 346 | 364 | 4–3 | L1 | Details
Shreveport Pirates | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 465 | 514 | 0–8 | L2 | Details

[3]

### Season schedule

[edit]

Week  | Game  | Date  | Opponent  | Results  | Venue  | Attendance

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Score  | Record
1  | 1  | Fri, June 30  | at BC Lions | L 34–37[4] | 0–1  | BC Place | 23,999
2  | 2  | Sat, July 8  | San Antonio Texans | W 50–24  | 1–1  | Memorial Stadium | 31,016
3  | 3  | Sat, July 15  | at San Antonio Texans  | W 28–23  | 2–1  | Alamodome | 18,112
4  | 4  | Sat, July 22  | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 43–7  | 3–1  | Memorial Stadium  | 30,641
5  | 5  | Sat, July 29  | at Birmingham Barracudas | W 36–8  | 4–1  | Legion Field | 30,729
6  | 6  | Wed, Aug 2  | at Edmonton Eskimos | W 19–12  | 5–1  | Commonwealth Stadium | 30,698
6  | 7  | Sun, Aug 6  | at Calgary Stampeders | L 15–29  | 5–2  | McMahon Stadium | 24,463
7  | 8  | Sat, Aug 12  | Memphis Mad Dogs | L 15–25  | 5–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 31,221
8  | 9  | Sat, Aug 19  | at Memphis Mad Dogs  | W 16–13  | 6–3  | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 18,249
9  | 10  | Sat, Aug 26  | Toronto Argonauts | W 41–14  | 7–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 27,853
10  | 11  | Sat, Sept 2  | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 41–14  | 8–3  | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 23,120
11  | 12  | Sat, Sept 9  | Birmingham Barracudas  | W 28–20  | 9–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 29,013
12  | 13  | Fri, Sept 15  | at Shreveport Pirates | W 24–17  | 10–3  | Independence Stadium | 12,445
13  | 14  | Sat, Sept 23  | Shreveport Pirates  | W 42–32  | 11–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 27,321
14  | 15  | Sun, Oct 1  | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 28–24  | 12–3  | Taylor Field | 30,738
15  | 16  | Sat, Oct 7  | Saskatchewan Roughriders  | W 29–27  | 13–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 31,421
16  | Bye
17  | 17  | Sat, Oct 21  | BC Lions  | W 28–26[4] | 14–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 33,208
18  | 18  | Sun, Oct 29  | Hamilton Tiger-Cats  | W 24–17  | 15–3  | Memorial Stadium  | 29,310

[5]

## Playoffs

[edit]

Mike Pringle ran for 484 playoff yards and four touchdowns in three games. The result was that the Baltimore Stallions made their second straight appearance in the Grey Cup.

Round  | Date  | Opponent  | Results  | Venue  | Attendance

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Score  | Record
South Semi-Final  | Sat, Nov 4  | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 36–21  | 1–0  | Memorial Stadium | 21,040
South Final  | Sun, Nov 12  | San Antonio Texans | W 21–11  | 2–0  | Memorial Stadium  | 30,217
83rd Grey Cup | Sun, Nov 19  | Calgary Stampeders  | W 37–20  | 3–0  | Taylor Field | 52,564

### Grey Cup

[edit]

The 83rd Grey Cup was played between the Baltimore Stallions and the Calgary Stampeders at Taylor Field in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Stallions won the game by a score of 37–20.[6] It marked the only time that an American-based team won the Grey Cup. Not one television station from Baltimore sent a crew to Regina to cover the Grey Cup game.[7] Only 200 fans showed up for the Stallions Grey Cup celebration.[7] As for the Grey Cup game itself, Chris Wright scored a then CFL record 82 yard punt return touchdown.[8] The aforementioned record stood until the 2018 Grey Cup, with Terry Williams returning a punt for 97 yards to conclude the first half. [8]

## Awards and honors

[edit]

After the season, other Baltimore Stallions' received awards and accomplishments in the CFL, which are:

Divisional Awards

* Most Valuable Player of the East Division – Mike Pringle (RB)
* Most Outstanding Rookie of the East Division – Chris Wright (WR)
* Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award of the East Division – Mike Withycombe (OG)

CFL Awards

* CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Mike Pringle[9] (RB)
* CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award – Mike Withycombe[10] (OG)
* CFL's Coach of the Year – Don Matthews
* Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player – Tracy Ham (QB)

|

1995 Southern All-Stars

Offense

* Mike Pringle (RB)
* Chris Armstrong (SB)
* Mike Withycombe (OG)
* Shar Pourdanesh (OT)
* Neal Fort (OT)

Defense

* Jerald Baylis (DT)
* Elfrid Payton (DE)
* Tracy Gravely (LB)
* O. J. Brigance (LB)
* Irvin Smith (CB)
* Charles Anthony (DB)

Special Teams

* Josh Miller (P)
* Chris Wright (ST)

1995 CFL All-Stars

Offense

* Mike Pringle (RB)
* Mike Withycombe (OG)
* Neal Fort (OT)

Defense

* Jerald Baylis (DT)
* O. J. Brigance (LB)
* Irvin Smith (CB)
* Charles Anthony (DB)

Special Teams

* Josh Miller (P)
* Chris Wright (ST)

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## Relocation to Montreal

[edit]

In late 1995, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced his intention to relocate his NFL club to Baltimore, where they would be rechristened the Baltimore Ravens. This would have made the Stallions the only CFL club ever to directly compete with the NFL, whose season overlaps with the last three months of the CFL season.

In late November, Jim Speros had a Save our Stallions campaign, with January 5 as the deadline to sell 20,000 season tickets.[7] It was revealed that the team was $800,000 in debt.[7]

Stallions owner Jim Speros realized that despite the Stallions' popularity, they could not possibly compete with the NFL. After deals with Norfolk, Virginia and Houston fell through, Speros moved the Stallions to Montreal and revived the old Alouettes name for the 1996 season.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.199, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
2. ^ "1995 Baltimore Stallions (CFL) - Pro Football Archives".
3. ^ "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League 2". Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
4. ^ a b "British Columbia Lions historical Canadian Football League (CFL) scores, schedules, and analytics". Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
5. ^ "Baltimore Stallions". Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
6. ^ "Canadian Football League (CFL)". The Canadian Encyclopedia
7. ^ a b c d Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.200, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
8. ^ a b "Williams sets Grey Cup record with 97-yard punt return TD - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
9. ^ "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on April 22, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
10. ^ "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on April 22, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.

* v
* t
* e

Baltimore Stallions 83rd Grey Cup champions

* 1 Shannon Culver
* 2 Robert Drummond
* 3 Karl Anthony
* 4 Alvin Walton
* 6 Carlos Huerta
* 7 Tracy Gravely
* 8 Tracy Ham
* 9 Charles Anthony
* 10 Shawn Jones
* 11 Melvin Crawford
* 12 Toby Cates
* 13 Dan Crowley
* 14 Jason Bryant
* 16 Reggie Perry
* 17 Douglass Craft
* 21 Irvin Smith
* 22 Josh Miller
* 25 Courtney Griffin
* 27 Mike Pringle
* 28 Chris Wright
* 31 Maurice Gravely
* 32 Peter Tuipulotu
* 33 Ken Watson
* 35 Kareem Bacon
* 36 Lester Smith
* 39 Matt Goodwin
* 51 Nick Subis
* 54 Grant Carter
* 56 Elfrid Payton
* 57 O. J. Brigance
* 58 Reggie Givens
* 61 John James
* 62 Robert Meeks
* 63 John Earle
* 64 Mark Dixon
* 65 Mike Withycombe
* 66 Neal Fort
* 68 Shar Pourdanesh
* 69 Rob Davis
* 80 Gerald Alphin
* 81 Chris Armstrong
* 83 Mark Orlando
* 84 Mike Cook
* 86 Robert Clark
* 93 Greg Tucker
* 98 Jearld Baylis
* 99 Demetrious Maxie

* Head coach: Don Matthews
* Assistant coach: Donald Hill-Eley

* v
* t
* e

Baltimore Stallions

* Founded in 1994
* Moved to Montreal in 1996
* Based in Baltimore, Maryland

Franchise|

* Franchise
* Records
* Players
* Seasons
* Head coaches

Stadiums|

* Memorial Stadium

Lore|

* CFL USA
* Only American based team to win the Grey Cup

Important figures|

* Karl Anthony
* Tracy Ham
* Neal Fort
* Rob Davis
* Mike Pringle

Key personnel|

* Owner: Jim Speros
* General Manager: Jim Popp
* Head Coach: Don Matthews

Grey Cup
Championships (1)|

* 1995

Division
Championships (2)|

* 1994
* 1995

Seasons (2)|

* 1994
* 1995

See also|

* CFL USA
* Montreal Alouettes

* v
* t
* e

1995 CFL season by team

North|

* BC
* Calgary
* Edmonton
* Hamilton
* Ottawa
* Saskatchewan
* Toronto
* Winnipeg

South|

* Baltimore
* Birmingham
* Memphis
* San Antonio
* Shreveport

See also|

* 1995 CFL Draft
* 83rd Grey Cup
* CFL USA

*[GP]: Games Played
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[Pts]: Points
*[PF]: Points For
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[Div]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[Stk]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template