Edmonton Eskimos

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Edmonton Eskimos

Division	West Division
Founded	1949
Home field	Commonwealth Stadium
Based in	Edmonton, Alberta
Colours	Green and Gold
League	Canadian Football League
Head coach	Danny Maciocia
General manager	Hugh Campbell

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian Football League team based in Edmonton, Alberta.

Contents

1 Team facts
2 Franchise history

2.1 Origin of Uniform
2.2 Wall of Honour

3 Players of note

3.1
3.2 Current squad
3.3 Not to be forgotten

4 See also
5 External links

Team facts

Founded: 1949, although other teams named the Edmonton Eskimos existed 1895 to 1923 and 1929 to 1939.

Formerly known as: Esquimaux 1897 to 1910

Helmet design: Yellow background, with a gold "EE" monogram on a green oval

Uniform colours: Green, Gold, Black and White.

:Past uniform colours: Blue and White 1938 to 1939, Black and Yellow 1907 to 1937

Stadium: Commonwealth Stadium (1978-present)

:Past stadium: Clarke Stadium (1954-1978),

Grey Cup Championships: 13 — 1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2005

:Runner-up: 9 — 1952, 1960, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1986, 1990, 1996, 2002

Western Division championships (regular season): 22 — 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003

Main Rivals: Calgary Stampeders, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Montreal Alouettes

2006 Regular Season Record: 2 wins, 2 losses, 0 ties (See 2006 CFL season).

Franchise history

Edmonton played its first series of organized games with the formation of the Alberta Rugby Football Union in 1895. In 1897 the name Esquimaux was adopted. In 1910 the club was officially named the Edmonton Eskimos. Since 1978 the Eskimos have played their home games in Commonwealth Stadium, which is now the only natural grass field in the CFL. They are one of the most successful teams in Canadian football history, having won the Grey Cup more than any other team except the Toronto Argonauts, and being the run-away leader in attendance for many years.

The team holds many impressive records, including five consecutive Grey Cup wins (1978 to 1982), and 34 consecutive years and counting in the playoffs (1972 to 2005), a record no other North American professional team (regardless of sport) has equalled. Former Eskimos have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two provincial premiers (E. Peter Lougheed and Donald Getty), a mayor of Edmonton (Bill Smith), and a lieutenant-governor (Norman Kwong).

During the glory years of the late 70's and early 80's, the Edmonton Eskimos won five Grey Cup championships in a row. No other team in the CFL, since Edmonton re-entered the CFL in 1949, has even won three in row, let alone five.

Origin of Uniform

The current uniform colours, green and gold, were adopted when they received uniforms from the University of Alberta Golden Bears football team, which was dormant due to a lack of competition in 1949. The colours have remained since that time, and the Golden Bears maintain them to this day as well.

Wall of Honour

The Eskimos have a policy of honouring the players who have best represented the team on the field; similar to a team retiring a number, the Eskimos keep the number in circulation, although the number is hung on the edge of the cement separating the upper and lower decks of Commonwealth Stadium for all to see and admire.

Numbers so honoured as of 2006:

#12 Tom Wilkinson (1982)
#24 Johnny Bright (1983)
#95 Normie Kwong (1983)
#94 Rollie Miles (1983)
#91 Jackie Parker (1983)
#65 Dave Fennell (1984)
#53 Frank Morris (1984)
#51 Frank Anderson (1985)
#76 George McGowan (1985)
#26 Dave Cutler (1986)
#42 Danny Kepley (1987)
#66 Roger Nelson (1987)
#77 Tommy Joe Coffey (1988)
#66 John LaGrone (1988)
#70 Brian Kelly (1989)
#30 Danny Bass (1992)
#27 Don Getty (1992)
#36 Oscar Kruger (1992)
#22 Tom Scott (1993)
#13 Larry Highbaugh (1996)
#1 Warren Moon (2001)
#2 Henry "Gizmo" Williams (2002)
#39 Willie Pless (2004)
#67 Rod Connop (2005)

Players of note

Tommy Joe Coffey
Danny Bass
Johnny Bright
Dave Cutler
Matt Dunigan
Dave "Doctor Death" Fennell
Ron Estay
Larry Highbaugh
Brian Kelly
Danny Kepley
Normie "The China Clipper" Kwong
George McGowan
Rollie Miles
Warren Moon
Frank Morris
Roger Nelson
Jackie "Ole Spaghetti Legs" Parker
James "Quick" Parker
Willie Pless
Tom Scott
Tom Wilkinson
Henry "Gizmo" Williams

Current squad

3 Robert Leblanc, SB

6 Pat Woodcock, WR

5 Reggie Durden DB

7 Steven Jyles, QB

8 Dahrran Diedrick, RB

10 Malcolm Frank, DB

11 Sean Fleming, K

13 Steven Marsh, LB

14 Tony Tompkins, WR

15 Ricky Ray, QB

16 Jason Johnson, QB

18 William Loftus, S

19 Mike Maurer, FB

22 Mike Bradley, RB

23 Shannon Garrett, DB

24 Ron McClendon, RB

25 Jonte Buhl, DB

26 Donny Brady, DB

27 Singor Mobley, LB

28 Keyou Craver, DB

29 Gerald Dixon, DB

30 Mathieu Bertrand, FB

31 Kelly Wiltshire, DB

32 Troy Davis, RB

34 Michael Botterill, LB

40 Marcus Winn, LB

43 J.R. Larose, DB

45 Quincy Stewart, LB

47 Sherrod Coates, LB

50 Rhett McLane, OL

52 Taylor Inglis, DL

55 Jean-Philippe Abraham, LB

53 Joe Montford, DE

56 Patrick Kabongo, OL

61 Glen Carson, OL

63 Joe McGrath, OL

64 Tim Bakker, OL

65 Kevin Lefsrud, OL

67 Dan Comiskey, OL

68 Mark Shantz, C

76 Randy Spencer, DL

77 A.J. Gass, LB

81 Ed Hervey, WR

83 Jason Tucker, WR

85 Trevor Gaylor, WR

86 Richard Alston, WR

87 Derrell Mitchell, SB

88 Andrew Nowacki, SB

89 Deitan Dubac, FB

90 Antico Dalton, DL

91 Adam Braidwood, DE

92 Jabari Issa, DL

94 Robert Brown, DT

95 Charles Alston, DL

96 Andre Sommersell, LB

98 Steve Charbonneau, DT

Not to be forgotten

Frank "Guts" Anderson
Joe Hollimon
Oscar Kruger
John LaGrone
Mike Pringle
Don Warrington
Larry Wruck
Danny Buggs
Glen Young

External links

[Edmonton Eskimos Official Site]
[Canadian Football League Official Site]
[University of Alberta Golden Bears football history (PDF)] - origin of Eskimos current uniform

Canadian Football League

East Division: Hamilton | Montreal | Toronto | Winnipeg

West Division: British Columbia | Calgary | Edmonton | Saskatchewan

Suspended for 2006 season: Ottawa

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