ticatfan
12-01-2004, 12:12 PM
The pre-season game planned for next June 11 between the Argonauts and a yet-to-be-determined opponent in Halifax is not a unique venture.
In fact, the CFL has staged 15 pre-season games at neutral sites since 1958.
But only one regular-season game has ever been played outside the hometown of one of the participating teams.
That took place Sept. 14, 1958, when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough Riders met at Philadelphia's massive Municipal Stadium.
A pair of ticket stubs currently available on eBay indicates the admission price was $5 (U.S.).
According to the Bank of Canada inflation calculations, it would cost $34 to buy that ticket today.
The game was the brainchild of Ticat president and general manager Jake Gaudaur and a Philadelphia promoter named Bud Dudley, who earned a living by arranging charity events.
The proceeds of the game were to go to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Rehabilitation Center at Philadelphia.
Gaudaur had come to know Dudley from scouting U.S. college bowl games.
"He called me early in the '58 season," recalled Gaudaur this week. "He said: `How about playing a pre-season game down here in Philadelphia next year?'
"I replied: `How about a regular-season game this year?'
"I was having a problem with the Hamilton parks and recreation board in negotiations for a new rental lease at Civic Stadium (now Ivor Wynne). I thought this might give me a little leverage.
"I made the comment on a whim, but he (Dudley) replied `fantastic.'"
Having the Ticats play in Philadelphia was particularly appealing in that head coach Jim Trimble had been fired by the NFL Eagles following the 1955 season. Also playing for the Ticats was star defensive back Ralph Goldston, another former Eagle.
Gaudaur earned $50,000 (U.S.), which was his "up-front" asking price to bring the CFL teams to Philly.
"I told (Dudley) that would have been the gross gate for a sellout at Civic Stadium," said Gaudaur.
What he didn't tell Dudley was that a sellout at Civic Stadium was anything but a sure thing.
Gaudaur, who would later serve 17 years as CFL commissioner, chortled at the loosely knit CFL rules at the time, which would allow two teams to suddenly switch venues to another site, and one outside of Canada at that.
Famed Ticat defensive tackle Angelo Mosca, a CFL Hall of Fame member who was a Ticat rookie that season, recalled playing in the game.
"It was 95 degrees (Fahrenheit)," said Mosca. "It was bloody hot. There were 20,000 people in the huge stands and they were all able to sit close to the 55-yard line."
Municipal Stadium's seating capacity was 110,000.
"I remember Hardiman Cureton (an all-star defensive lineman with Ottawa and later Hamilton) couldn't come down to play in the game because he had come to Canada as a draft dodger," said Mosca.
"I also remember that it was one of the greatest kicking games I ever saw Cam Fraser have."
The Ticats won that game 24-18 on their way to the second of three consecutive Eastern Division championships.
In fact, the CFL has staged 15 pre-season games at neutral sites since 1958.
But only one regular-season game has ever been played outside the hometown of one of the participating teams.
That took place Sept. 14, 1958, when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough Riders met at Philadelphia's massive Municipal Stadium.
A pair of ticket stubs currently available on eBay indicates the admission price was $5 (U.S.).
According to the Bank of Canada inflation calculations, it would cost $34 to buy that ticket today.
The game was the brainchild of Ticat president and general manager Jake Gaudaur and a Philadelphia promoter named Bud Dudley, who earned a living by arranging charity events.
The proceeds of the game were to go to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Rehabilitation Center at Philadelphia.
Gaudaur had come to know Dudley from scouting U.S. college bowl games.
"He called me early in the '58 season," recalled Gaudaur this week. "He said: `How about playing a pre-season game down here in Philadelphia next year?'
"I replied: `How about a regular-season game this year?'
"I was having a problem with the Hamilton parks and recreation board in negotiations for a new rental lease at Civic Stadium (now Ivor Wynne). I thought this might give me a little leverage.
"I made the comment on a whim, but he (Dudley) replied `fantastic.'"
Having the Ticats play in Philadelphia was particularly appealing in that head coach Jim Trimble had been fired by the NFL Eagles following the 1955 season. Also playing for the Ticats was star defensive back Ralph Goldston, another former Eagle.
Gaudaur earned $50,000 (U.S.), which was his "up-front" asking price to bring the CFL teams to Philly.
"I told (Dudley) that would have been the gross gate for a sellout at Civic Stadium," said Gaudaur.
What he didn't tell Dudley was that a sellout at Civic Stadium was anything but a sure thing.
Gaudaur, who would later serve 17 years as CFL commissioner, chortled at the loosely knit CFL rules at the time, which would allow two teams to suddenly switch venues to another site, and one outside of Canada at that.
Famed Ticat defensive tackle Angelo Mosca, a CFL Hall of Fame member who was a Ticat rookie that season, recalled playing in the game.
"It was 95 degrees (Fahrenheit)," said Mosca. "It was bloody hot. There were 20,000 people in the huge stands and they were all able to sit close to the 55-yard line."
Municipal Stadium's seating capacity was 110,000.
"I remember Hardiman Cureton (an all-star defensive lineman with Ottawa and later Hamilton) couldn't come down to play in the game because he had come to Canada as a draft dodger," said Mosca.
"I also remember that it was one of the greatest kicking games I ever saw Cam Fraser have."
The Ticats won that game 24-18 on their way to the second of three consecutive Eastern Division championships.