Lions vs Argos - Aug 1st, 1991....

[jcalhoun]

Hey all,

Let's sock it to the Rocket!

Do you remember those incredibly exciting days of 1991, when Jon Volpe was carrying the rock, Jay "the Stork" Christensen was going over the middle and the Lions' O-line averaged a whopping 285 pounds? Doug Flutie was thrilling fans all across the country, hitting Ray Alexander, Raymond 'the Missle' Ethridge, and the Montana Connection: Mike Trevathan and Matt Clarke. That year we had two, count 'em, *two* crowds in excess of 50,000. The first came on Aug 1st, 1991 in what I will nominate as the greatest regular season game in the history of the club.

I've uploaded part I (of 5) to youtube. The rest will follow.

Cheers,

James

[video][/video]

[Robbie]

The YouTube clip of that game can already be found on this thread:
http://lionbackers.com/bc_lions/viewtop ... 24&t=15041

Others may disagree with me but I'd take the 1999 and especially 2000 season over the 1991 which I consider to be rather pathetic, disappointing, and frustrating in that all the hard work that Doug Flutie and the offence put up all went for nothing as the terrible defence allowed the opponents to catch up and often win the game. That is most apparent in the 1991 WDSF when the Lions offence worked hard to give them a 31-15 lead at halftime only for the pathetic defence to give the Calgary offense 4 touchdowns in the third quarter and win that playoff game 43-41. And just when the Lions needed a great offensive output when they needed it in the regular season finale to clinch first place and host the 1991 WDF against a last place 3-14 Hamilton team, the Lions could only put on 17 points in the 26-17 loss resulting in third place finish.

[jcalhoun]

Part 2:

Note: you'll hear a whistling sound in the crowd when the Argos have the ball: in his column in the Province newspaper, Jim Taylor suggested Lions' owner Murray Pezim hand out little plastic slide whistles --called 'Flutie Flutes'. I was first in line to get into the stadium that day, so as not to miss out on the giveaway.

Oh, and to respond to Robbie --those other Youtube videos are clips. This is the whole game.

[video][/video]

[jcalhoun]

Part 3:

Sorry, but this part is currently stuck in Youtube processing purgatory, but hopefully will be ready by tomorrow.


Part 4:

[video][/video]

And Part 5:

[video][/video]

[dupsdell1]

Yes this game was on a Thursday night of all nights and people say they do not want to go to games on Thursday nights, I was there is was a very warm night out also.

52,000 was there.

[sj-roc]

Yes this game was on a Thursday night of all nights and people say they do not want to go to games on Thursday nights, I was there is was a very warm night out also.

52,000 was there.

Seems things have changed here quite a bit since that night nearly 25 years ago.

I don't know offhand about the whole LM, but the population of Vancouver back then was about 472k, compared to well over 600k today. Most of that growth has been ESL Asians and other visible minority immigrants for whom gridiron football is a pretty esoteric sport, and much of the growth has been downtown as that area has become densified. With lower density back then there was a lot less congestion on the roads and a lot more parking available downtown. This was also before the Canucks began building their downtown arena that they moved into in 1995.

All of the summer games that year were on Thu nights:

Thu Jul 4; Ssk; 38-35 win; 21,973 (preseason)
Thu Jul 11; Cgy; 39-34 loss; 24,722
Thu Jul 25; Edm; 37-36 win; 31,747
Thu Aug 1; Tor; 52-41 OT win; 53,527
Thu Aug 15; Cgy; 37-28 loss; 45,489

The 1991 regular season average was 40,889.

The small preseason crowd I would think represents an upper bound on the season ticket holder count, which suggests Flutie was attracting huge walkups. Had he stayed with the team it might have translated into more season tickets in 1992 but of course this didn't happen. The preseason game in 1992 drew 20,183, which suggests the season ticket count probably didn't drop all that much but the walkup crowd certainly disappeared as the season average plummeted 38% to 25,319 that year.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions had a reported 26,000 season tickets in 1991. The crowd at the Argo game was twice that size, and most of the extra fans were there to see the B.C. Place debut of Rocket Ismail of the Argos.

By Kent Spencer
The Province

The Rocket was a dud.

Based on last night's performance at B.C. Place Stadium, the Toronto Argonauts Raghib (Rocket) Ismail should hand back his $250,000 US pay for the night's work.

On second thought, better not. There were 53,527 fans to watch the B.C. Lions beat the Toronto Argonauts 52-41 in overtime. It was the largest crowd in the CFL this season.

With the win, the Lions moved into a first-place tie with the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos in the Western Division. Each team has six points, but Calgary has a game in hand.

The Lions also handed the Argonauts their first loss of the season.

Most of the fans came to see the much-ballyhooed Rocket, of course.

But Ismail was contained on kickoff returns and Lions cornerback Norm Jefferson shut Ismail down as a pass receiver; he caught only one ball.

The only thing Ismail did all night was run around right end for a 13-yard touchdown in the first quarter. He finished with two carries for 12 yards.

He also fumbled the ball on a kickoff return (the Argos recovered) and allowed the Lions Andrew Thomas to recover an onside kick in overtime. Ismail was too slow getting to the ball, allowing Thomas to sneak in.

By Charlie Anderson
The Province

The B.C. Lions sold 54,000 tickets in advance yesterday, garnishing a near-sellout and their largest non-playoff crowd since the 1986 season.

Fuelled by a desire to see Rocket Ismail, the Toronto Argonauts' $18-million man, the curious joined diehard fans in adding to a hoopla rarely witnessed in the cathedral-like solemnity of B.C. Place.

Lions owner Murray Pezim made a bid to uphold his self-proclaimed title as "the greatest promoter" in the face of the even-larger Argo co-owner John Candy.

As they settled into their stadium seats, some fans said the showmanship was too much.

"Its too hyped. I think it's too much like a circus," said Bob Mussato of Delta.

But it was the hype that pulled in Jason Merk, 21, of New Westminster

"I came because of all the publicity - mainly to see the Rocket," Merk said.

"Because of John Candy and the Hollywood feel, the Argos are a celebrity team," he added.

Joe Price, 65, who came from Victoria, described himself as a long-suffering Argos fan.

"I'd like to see the Rocket take off," said the retired clergyman. "I'd like to see him earn some of his $18 million."

An hour-and-a-half before the game, scalpers were asking $50 for a prime seat.

Keith Malkosky, 21, of Richmond, paid $20 to a scalper for a six-dollar seat.

"It's great that they've got the Rocket into the league because it brings more hype and that's what the league needs," Malkosky said.

[sj-roc]

Wow, just six bucks for a seat back then? (End zone?) That wouldn't cover your first beer today. And $50 for a "prime" seat at scalper rates? That would barely get you into the building these days through legit channels.

[dupsdell1]

Yes this game was on a Thursday night of all nights and people say they do not want to go to games on Thursday nights, I was there is was a very warm night out also.

52,000 was there.

Seems things have changed here quite a bit since that night nearly 25 years ago.

I don't know offhand about the whole LM, but the population of Vancouver back then was about 472k, compared to well over 600k today. Most of that growth has been ESL Asians and other visible minority immigrants for whom gridiron football is a pretty esoteric sport, and much of the growth has been downtown as that area has become densified. With lower density back then there was a lot less congestion on the roads and a lot more parking available downtown. This was also before the Canucks began building their downtown arena that they moved into in 1995.

All of the summer games that year were on Thu nights:

Thu Jul 4; Ssk; 38-35 win; 21,973 (preseason)
Thu Jul 11; Cgy; 39-34 loss; 24,722
Thu Jul 25; Edm; 37-36 win; 31,747
Thu Aug 1; Tor; 52-41 OT win; 53,527
Thu Aug 15; Cgy; 37-28 loss; 45,489

The 1991 regular season average was 40,889.

The small preseason crowd I would think represents an upper bound on the season ticket holder count, which suggests Flutie was attracting huge walkups. Had he stayed with the team it might have translated into more season tickets in 1992 but of course this didn't happen. The preseason game in 1992 drew 20,183, which suggests the season ticket count probably didn't drop all that much but the walkup crowd certainly disappeared as the season average plummeted 38% to 25,319 that year.

Season ticket base was 22,000 that year I was a ticket holder , I remember Murray Pezum wanting to hit the 25,000 mark , but yes there was a lot of tickets sold prior to each game, plus a huge walk up , you also have to remember that Pezum lifted the blackout twice during that season the game against the Argos and the ticates for first place in October were they got 48,000 for that game. were every other home game was blacked out.

[Coast Mountain Lion]

That was my first ever game at BC Place after I moved here, and it was electric. I think much of it was the buzz created by the ownership team of McNall, Candy and Gretzky and the highly touted Rocket Ismail. Ismail didn't accomplish much in that game, being overshadowed by Pinbal and Darrell Smith, not to mention one of the Lions best ever receiving corps.

I still think the Lions got a break (and Ismail got jobbed) on that fumbled kickoff in OT. And Flutie dodged an intentional grounding call in the third quarter.

[Belize City Lion]

Big shoulder pads in them days.

A lot more rushing than I remember, especially for an era of high scoring games.

Joe Galat was a terrible colour guy. Talks all over Whitman, stupid jokes.

Pinball certainly got the last laugh... HOF, Order of Canada, one of the best loved athletes in Toronto ever, 3 Grey Cup rings, multiple team and career records, and while he never got an $18 million dollar contract at least his paycheques didn't bounce.

A lot of talent on that BC Lions team. I was at the August 21 game in Regina where the Lions scored 23 points in the 4th quarter (I think 21 came in the final 3 minutes) for a 50-47 come from behind win. Imagine, they had Flutie throwing for over 6,600 yards and Volpe running for over 1,300. Talk about a balanced offence!

[Robbie]

I don't know offhand about the whole LM, but the population of Vancouver back then was about 472k, compared to well over 600k today. Most of that growth has been ESL Asians and other visible minority immigrants for whom gridiron football is a pretty esoteric sport, and much of the growth has been downtown as that area has become densified.

Good point and agreed. You don't often see ESL Asians wear BC Lions jerseys much and there's a limited amount of those who attend Lions games. There's only been limited success in trying to market to Greater Vancouver's huge (and in some cases wealthy)Asian community.

The preseason game in 1992 drew 20,183, which suggests the season ticket count probably didn't drop all that much but the walkup crowd certainly disappeared as the season average plummeted 38% to 25,319 that year.

And the 1992 season holder crowd were extremely disappointed with the Lions abysmal 3-15 record.

Wow, just six bucks for a seat back then? (End zone?) That wouldn't cover your first beer today. And $50 for a "prime" seat at scalper rates? That would barely get you into the building these days through legit channels.

Yeah, in 1989-1991 Safeway had a "Catch the Savings" promotion in which they sold upper bowl end zone tickets at $5.99 + tax but the had to be bought in pairs, i.e. $11.98 + tax.

and the highly touted Rocket Ismail. Ismail didn't accomplish much in that game, being overshadowed by Pinbal and Darrell Smith,

Yeah, Ismail had limited impact in that game although he did manage to score his first CFL touchdown in that game. In retrospect, would say that Raghib "Rocket" Ismail was one of the biggest free agent busts in CFL history? No doubt that 1991 was good as he managed to get 1991 GC MVP, but in 1992 his team went 6-12 and was best remembered for his brawl in a game against Calgary. And after completing 2nd of his 4 year contract he bolted to the NFL where he had limited success.

not to mention one of the Lions best ever receiving corps.

Which was unfortunately completely ruined by one of the Lions worst defensive corps.

Pinball certainly got the last laugh... HOF, Order of Canada, one of the best loved athletes in Toronto ever, 3 Grey Cup rings, multiple team and career records, and while he never got an $18 million dollar contract at least his paycheques didn't bounce.

While he always an opponent for the Lions, I have respect for him as he was very hard working and humble in the CFL.

I was at the August 21 game in Regina where the Lions scored 23 points in the 4th quarter (I think 21 came in the final 3 minutes) for a 50-47 come from behind win.

That was the game in which, after winning the exciting game at home over the Argonauts, suffered a pair of overtime losses both to the Stampeders and the Lions had to rebound. I was at the second loss in which, in typical fashion with Calgary, the Lions jumped out to a 17-4 lead only to allow Calgary to tie the game in regulation and showed how they had the better defence by intercepting a Flutie pass which was lateraled to all-star Junior Thurman who returned it for a TD. Allowing the opponent to score 47 points usually results in a loss but in that game the Lions were lucky to score 50 points. But the Lions were not so lucky in many other games that season including exactly a month later on September 21 when the Roughriders got their revenge when they played in BC where the Lions put on 47 points - usually good enough to win games - but Saskatchewan scored 49 points in their 49-47 win. On October 12 in a home overtime game against the Eskimos Flutie almost broke the then-CFL record by yardage in a game at 582 yards which was just 4 yards behind the then-record of 586 yards. Which such great offensive stats one would think the Lions would win.....but no as Edmonton won 45-38. Finally as I've stated countless times putting on 41 points is usually enough to win games...but not if the defence allows 28 points in the 3rd quarter and scores 43 points which is what happened in the WDSF.

A lot of talent on that BC Lions team.

If you score 50% in a test, is that a good score? No. That's how I grade the 1991 Lions. I won't deny how great the Lions offence was, but a good team comprises of a good offence AND a good defence plus special teams. The Lions did not have any all-stars in defence and at most they had two western all-stars in defence, Stewart Hill and O.J. Brigance, but they were nothing compared to the two defensive players who were lost to their Alberta rivals - Alondra Johnson and Stewart Hill. A team that has an extremely pathetic and horrific defence that allows more points than their hard-earned good offence is hardly a team I would consider a good, talented team.

[Lui05]

I remember that game well. I didn't see it. But I heard it on the radio in Naramata, BC. I was a kid on a family vacation. The excitement of the game was palpable even through the radio and we listened to the game eating great food in the warm evening of the Okanagon. In hindsight, the memories of the season are bittersweet over what could have been if the defense was better and what could have been if Pezim was bright enough to keep Flutie. But, just remembering the game at the time, it was an exciting time to be a fan and probably ranks as the most exciting regular season game I recall. For me, that memory pales in comparison to the 1994 Western Final against Calgary where another Flutie shone brightly, but that's a story for another day.

[Robbie]

From that game, it looks like Rickey Foggie started and an unknown Willie Gillus finished the game for the Argonauts and I'll make a comment about an observation on Toronto Argonauts quarterbacking history. First and foremost, despite leading the league in most Grey Cup titles the team has only retired four player numbers, and only one of them was I able to recognize - #31 Clemons and the other three were pre-1965 and only one of them, Joe Krol (1945-52) is a quarterback:


When a team has a very explosive offence, one would usually immediately associate with the quarterback for the team, i.e. Doug Flutie and the 1991 Lions. But there are always notable exceptions and that seems to be the case for the Argonauts history. In 1990 season the Argonauts had an explosive offence putting on 689 points for....but do we remember and attribute it to QB Matt Dunigan? Unlikely as he only played 8 games and shared duties with Rickey Foggie and instead, we remember Darrell K. Smith and Mike Clemons. Again in 1991 with the great offence, Matt Dunigan only played 8 games and the offence was helped by the Rocket and statistically in the 1991 Grey Cup his statistics were not outstanding and instead we remember the Rocket. With the other Argonauts quarterbacks who won the GC - Joe Barnes in 1983, Doug Flutie in 1996 and 1997, Damon Allen in 2004 with an MOP in 2005, and even Ricky Ray in 2012 in that they were just good but short-term Argonauts and as such, won't get such recognition with a number retirement and a long-term dedicated Argonaut. I wonder among Argos fans....if they had to list their favorite Argo QB...who would it be?

Obviously certain games are very memorable but that doesn't make all the players associated with that game as forever memorable. Most people would agree that the 1987 Grey Cups was one of the most memorable one and most remember that for the Eskimos Matt Dunigan started and was injured and Damon Allen came in relief with his MVP performance and both of them are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. But I wonder who remembers who started for the Argonauts........someone who soon went to complete obscurity......Gibert Renfroe.

Likewise...in an exciting, memorable game one would remember and respect the opponent's players like Mike Clemons, Darrell Smith, and the Rocket. But who really remembers and respects Rickey Foggie tremondously even though he was Lions incumbent backup QB for 2.5 years, and I dare say very few remember who finished for the Argonauts in that memorable game. Willie Gillus, Jr. is now an assistant coach for the Elizabeth State University Vikings football team: http://www.ecsuvikings.com/sports/m-foo ... lie00.html