BALTIMORE STALLIONS WIN GREY CUP ! ! !

THE CUP STOPS HERE:
STALLIONS ARE CFL CHAMPS !
BALTIMORE BECOMES FIRST U.S. TITLEHOLDER, TOPPING CALGARY, 37-20. WIN IS 13TH IN A ROW LINES DOMINATE, HAM SHEDS 'BIG GAME' LABEL

By Gary Lambrecht
Baltimore Sun, Nov. 20, 1995

They are not sure if they have a place to put it, but the Baltimore Stallions are bringing the Grey Cup back home.
The Stallions became the first American team ever to take the Canadian Football League's most coveted prize, and they left no doubts about their supremacy, as they systematically whipped the Calgary Stampeders, 37-20, before 52,564 at Taylor Field. Several players took turns pouring champagne into the Cup, as the Stallions locker room erupted with hugs and high-fives. Offensive tackle Shar Pourdnesh proudly puffed on a cigar. Assistant general manager Jim Popp could hardly speak, since he had pretty much lost his voice. Coach Don Matthews wore an expression of relief and managed a smile. It was a fitting scene that followed a job well done, a victory that was Baltimore's most complete of the year, a win the finished the "Unfinished Business" the Stallions had preached about since the opening of training camp. The slogan was a reference to their last-second, 26-23 loss to British Columbia in last year's Grey Cup. Yesterday, there would be no such suspense, not with the way the Stallions dissected the class of the Northern Division. "Every time you come to a championship game, that's the pinnacle of your emotional being as an athlete and as a coach. Winning this is exactly that. It's a championship that will be the memory of a lifetime," Matthews said. "Every aspect of this football team contributed to the win today, and that's what is so satisfying about it. That's what makes this so sweet." Who didn't take part in this, the 13th consecutive victory, the one that gave Baltimore an 18-3 record, the best in CFL history? First of all, Tracy Ham, 0-2 in previous Grey Cups, shed the "can't win the big one" label by doing it with style to earn the game's Most Outstanding Player award. Running back Mike Pringle, three days removed from winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Player honors, put an exclamation point on his season by gaining 137 yards against the league's top rushing defense. The Stallions have played the best special teams of anyone in the CFL all year, and that unit put on another show with the title on the line. Rookie Chris Wright set the tone with an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown - a Grey Cup record - 2:26 into the game. O.J. Brigance blocked a second-quarter punt that Alvin Walton took in for a 4-yard touchdown. Kicker Carlos Huerta kicked five goals. Punter Josh Miller averaged 45.5 yards on four attempts. He did it in the face of gusty, 40-mph winds. The defense, led by Brigance (10 tackles), did the rest. The only time the Calgary offense asserted itself was early in the third quarter, when Flutie engineered an 11-play, 75-yard march that he finished with a 1-yard run that cut Baltimore's lead to 24-20. That was it for the league's most vaulted offense. "I said it all week, they can't block us up front," rush end Elfrid Payton said. "All I kept hearing all week around here was Flutie this, Flutie that. He's the greatest player who ever lived, right? What will they say now?" They'll say that Flutie met his match. "We moved the ball well, [but] couldn't finish off drives," Flutie said. "Our guys weren't getting open when Baltimore dropped nine guys in coverage. We needed to run the ball, but got stuffed." And it wasn't only the Stampeders' offensive line that was overmatched in the trenches. Baltimore's offensive linemen also dominated, knocking Calgary backward all night. They gave Ham outstanding pass protection, and they gave Pringle room to bolt through holes and punish Calgary tacklers downfield, accumulating 137 yards on 31 carries. Ham's finest moment came in the third quarter, after Flutie made his statement, and after Baltimore, despite gaining only six first downs in the first half, used its defense and special teams magic to take a 23-13 lead at the break. Ham, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 213 yards, answered Flutie in the game's crucial sequence. After Flutie's touchdown, the Stallions started their next drive at their 17, thanks to a clipping penalty on the kickoff return. But Ham reacted coolly, directing a 93-yard drive with all-around mastery. He completed five of six passes for 77 yards, then finished the march with a brilliant, 13-yard scramble for a touchdown that gave the Stallions a 31-20 cushion with 2:23 left in the third quarter. "I play the game hard. I'm just a blue-collar quarterback," Ham said. "I've been hearing 'can't win the big one' for so long. I just tune it out. I'm just happy that I've had the chance to play with guys like this, and win a championship with guys like this." After Ham's heroics, the Stallions turned to their ace in the hole in Pringle, who pounded the Stampeders in the fourth quarter, as Baltimore padded its lead and controlled the clock. "The fourth quarter is my quarter. I own the fourth quarter," Pringle said. "When the ball has to be moved, we cannot be denied. You might stop us for a little while, but you can't stop us for long. "To finish the season like this is very satisfying. Everybody worked so hard to win this. We're just a complete team." "We beat the best so that makes us undoubtedly the best team in the CFL," Baylis added. Defense and special teams carried the Stallions through most of their winning streak, and Baltimore's defense and special teams made the loudest noise in the first half. Wright, still smarting from his second-place finish in the league's Rookie of the Year voting among media members, reminded observers how he broke Gizmo Williams' single-season kick return yardage record the first time he touched the ball. Calgary's first drive stalled after making a first down, and Wright caught Tony Martino's punt at the Baltimore 28, ran right, then cut sharply up the middle past De Wayne Patterson. After that, all Wright had to do was beat Martino, which he did easily while completing a Grey Cup-record 82-yard return to give the Stallions an early 7-0 lead. Calgary came back to score 13 unanswered points, including a touchdown that was set up by Ham's errant lateral to Gerald Alphin early in the second quarter. But the Stallions regained a 17-13 lead, when Brigance broke through to block Martino's punt, and Walton picked up the ball at the 4 and fell into the end zone with 7:39 left in the half. Baltimore never trailed again, to finish its business for 1995.

FOR HAM, VINDICATION HAS A NICE RING TO IT
After 2 losses, QB shows he can win big game

By Gary Lambrecht
Baltimore Sun, Nov. 20, 1995

During the post-game hoopla that surrounded Baltimore's 37-20 Grey Cup victory over Calgary yesterday, quarterback Tracy Ham eventually moved from the locker room to a separate interview area to deal with the horde of reporters who wanted to hear from him. Maybe that was fitting, since Ham's appreciation for winning the Grey Cup runs especially deep. The victory, and Ham's resulting Most Outstanding Player award, capped a career that was chock full of accomplishments before yesterday. After all, you don't throw for 29,092 yards (ninth best in CFL history), 201 touchdowns (fifth) and run for 6,266 yards (fifth) without unusual talent. But something was missing before yesterday - a championship ring. Ham's first two Grey Cup appearances were forgettable. He quarterbacked Edmonton in 1990, when the Eskimos were blown out by Winnipeg, 50-11. Then there was last year's debacle against British Columbia, when Ham committed three costly turnovers that helped the Lions hang around long enough to pull out a 26-23 victory. Ham redeemed himself, shedding the "can't win the big one" label against Calgary by throwing for 213 yards, rushing for 24 yards and a touchdown, and directing the Baltimore offense flawlessly in the second half. That's the way teammate Elfrid Payton saw it. "Everybody kept talking about how Ham couldn't win the big one," Payton said. "Tracy Ham is our leader, and he showed it." Ham showed it by rebounding from a costly mistake. Early in the second quarter, he tossed a lateral slightly behind slotback Gerald Alphin, who failed to make a difficult catch. The fumble was returned 35 yards by Calgary's Will Johnson to the Baltimore 2. Doug Flutie then threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Pope, giving the Stampeders a 13-7 lead. Did memories of past Grey Cup failures creep into his mind? "If I listened to all of the guys who said I couldn't win the big one, I'd get nervous out there, but I approached this game like I've approached every other ballgame. I just try to maintain my composure," Ham said. The Stallions turned the game to their advantage in the second quarter behind their defense and special teams. Alvin Walton recovered a blocked punt by O.J. Brigance for a touchdown and Carlos Huerta kicked three field goals, as the Stallions led 23-13 at half-time. Ham's finest moments came in the third quarter, after Flutie drove the Stampeders 75 yards for a touchdown that cut Baltimore's lead to 24-20. Starting on his 18, Ham began carving up Calgary's zone defense. First, he hit wide-out Robert Clark along the right sideline for 16 yards. Then he found Alphin over the middle for 18. A pass to fullback Peter Tuipulotu netted nine, and on third-and-one, Ham barely gained the first down on a sneak. Ham then connected with Alphin for 22 yards and another 12 to Tuipulotu, who made a diving catch. After a 1-yard run by Pringle that moved the ball to the Calgary 13, Ham dropped back, stood in the pocket seemingly forever while the Calgary secondary held firm, then took off to his right for a 13-yard touchdown run that put Baltimore back on top 31-20. The Stallions were never seriously threatened after that. "Tracy did not have to answer the questions around here that other people put to him," coach Don Matthews said. "He's been a winner all his life. He doesn't have to justify himself as a football player." "You don't get a whole lot of shots [at championships], and I don't know when I'll be back," Ham said. "I've really enjoyed playing with this team. It's a treat to see so many guys come up with plays when they have to. It's a shame you have to change your team makeup every year in this league because I could play forever with these guys.

STAMPEDERS SAY THEY LET DOWN CANADA
Grey Cup loss continues their postseason woes

Associated Press
Baltimore Sun, Nov. 20, 1995

It wasn't the way Matt Finlay wanted it to end. It's not the way the Calgary Stampeders want to be remembered. A teary-eyed Finlay announced his retirement yesterday moments after the Stampeders became the first team to lose the Grey Cup to a United States-based CFL team. By losing, 37-20, to the Baltimore Stallions, Calgary remained a very good football team that has won just one Grey Cup after three appearances in five years. Finlay, 33, sat hunched over at his locker, painfully peeling off his uniform for the last time. The feeling in his left arm was gone because of a pinched nerve in his neck but the heartache throbbed. "We let the country down," said Finlay, a Toronto native who broke into the CFL as a rookie with the Montreal Alouettes in 1986. "Everyone wanted to keep the Cup in Canada. I've loved the CFL my whole life, and it's a sad day for Canada." An eerie silence shrouded the Stampeder dressing room as dreams of a dynasty silently died. Defensive tackle Srecko Zizakovic, who blocked a field goal attempt, sat motionless with his head buried in his locker. A stunned Marvin Pope, who caught a 2-yard touchdown pass, stared at the floor. Players spoke in whispers, if at all. Since winning the Grey Cup in 1992 the Stampeders have won 45 of 54 regular-season games but were upset twice in the west final before yesterday's Grey Cup loss. "We've had the opportunities but didn't capitalize," said Finlay. "We're a great team that hasn't got it done. "It's sad, very sad." A season of adversity ended in frustration for quarterback Doug Flutie. He helped get the monkey off Calgary's back by leading the Stampeders to a 37-4 whipping of the hated Edmonton Eskimos in the Northern final, then had a mediocre game in the Grey Cup. His temper flared when asked if the team will be criticized in the off-season. "It shouldn't, but it probably will," said Flutie, who completed 23 of 49 passes for 287 yards, scored a touchdown and threw an interception. "The [garbage] comes from you and the rest of the media. We played our [butt] off all year long, played our [butt] off in the playoffs and played hard today. You lose some games. That's just the way it happens." The former Heisman Trophy winner from Boston College shrugged off losing to an American team. "That's not as big a factor to me as the Cup not being in Calgary," he said. Slotback Dave Sapunjis, named the game's outstanding Canadian after making eight catches for 113 yards, called the loss a huge disappointment. "They beat us in every facet game," said Sapunjis, who also won the award in Calgary's 1991 loss to Toronto and its 1992 victory over Winnipeg. "They beat us defensively. When they wanted to run the ball, they could. It was a frustrating loss for this club." The Stallions' winning the Grey Cup may be frustrating for Canada but good for the CFL, he said. "It's sad but also great for CFL football in the States, and maybe it will spark a little more interest down south"

ALL-AMERICAN STALLIONS HAVE THAT CFL KNACK

By Ed Tait
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Nov. 20, 1995

REGINA - The game may have come home, but the cup is now leaving the country. The dominating, confident and brash Baltimore Stallions have quickly evolved into everything the Canadian Football League brass feared when taking that first controversial expansion step across the border three years ago. Sunday's 37-20 win over the Calgary Stampeders was a harbinger of things to come for the CFL - an all-American lineup has mastered the little nuances that make the Canadian game unique. The Stallions discovered the importance of, and then perfected, special teams play. And backed by a lickety-split front seven and an offensive line featuring five guys as big as Frigidaires, the Stallions pushed the Stamps all around Taylor Field like a team of 98-pound weaklings. (Or a team of Artists Formerly Known as Prince.) "We dominated them in every aspect of the game ... offense, defense and special teams," said Baltimore defensive end Elfrid Payton. "Everybody was saying what Doug Flutie was going to do to us. But if they can't keep us off him, how can they win?" Payton, now speaking even louder and with more emphasis in the euphoria of the Stallions locker room, then put an exclamation mark on his beliefs, poking reporters in the chest while he preached. "They do not have a running game, ZERO RUNNING GAME," shouted Payton. "They couldn't consistently drive the ball on our defense. "We were in Doug Flutie's face all day. He was getting popped. He was getting blows to his body, head ... we hit him anywhere we could hit him. "This game was won in the trenches. Everybody saw that. They could not stop our running game. Our offensive line blew them off the ball. Before guys were touching him he was already five yards down the field. "And all we heard about was their receivers. Our defensive backfield shut them down. it wasn't even close." Officially, Baltimore registered just one quarterback sack. But the heat from the defensive line prevented Flutie from working his magic. Couple two special teams scores - Chris Wright on a Grey Cup record 82-yard punt return and the other off a blocked punt - and a bulldozer running game and the Stallions have a championship formula that is virtually unstoppable under the current system. Yes, folks, we're talking about the Canadian player ratio. Baltimore finished the season with 13 straight wins and the victories will continue if Canadians continue to wrestle Americans in the trenches. That's the truth. Period. "We thought they were going to run a lot more against us than just a vanilla defense," said Stallions offensive lineman Mike Withycombe. "We actually expected them to do a lot more against us than they did. "We wanted it to be windy today. We actually wanted to have a better running game than we did. We wanted to get Mike Pringle 200 yards today." That's what is most appalling about the Stallions' championship run. They are the antithesis of what Canadian teams have used as a Grey Cup blueprint. They rank near the bottom of the loop in passing statistics - Tracy Ham threw for only 213 yards yesterday - and their smash-mouth approach is completely unique in the CFL. "I guess Calgary believed the same things everybody else was saying all week," said Pringle. "We have 11 other people on offense and all the focus was on me. Fooled you. "I guess they were taken by surprise. I'm surrounded by talent." And the Grey Cup finally has a red, white and blue tint.

STALLIONS TROT OUT OF CANADA
WITH GREY CUP

From ESPNet Online
Nov. 19, 1995

REGINA, Saskatchewan -- Eighty-three years of Canadian Football League history will be clearing customs when the Baltimore Stallions take the Grey Cup south for the first time. Chris Wright returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and Alvin Walton ran back a blocked punt 5 yards for a score as the Baltimore Stallions beat the Calgary Stampeders 37-20 to become the first U.S. team to win the Grey Cup. Baltimore, which finished with 13 straight wins, was an expansion team without a nickname in 1994 when it fell to the B.C. Lions 26-23 in the Grey Cup at Vancouver, British Columbia. The team was nicknamed "Stallions" before this season and rolled to the title, going 15-3 in the regular season and closing it out with playoff wins over Winnipeg and San Antonio. Mike Pringle rushed for 137 yards on 21 carries for the Stallions, who are expected to move after this season. The Cleveland Browns are headed for Baltimore and Stallions owner Jim Speros has said won't try to compete with the NFL. "Most teams could have crumbled the last two weeks with all the things that have gone on,'' Speros said. "I'm just so proud of this team because we're champions.'' Baltimore usually plays like champions when Pringle breaks loose. The Stallions are 18-1 over the last two seasons when Pringle runs for 100 or more yards. "We couldn't ask for anything better," said Pringle, who had a 200-yard game against Winnipeg in the first-round game. "The Grey Cup is coming to the other side of the border and we're going to take real good care of it." Wright's punt return gave the Stallions a 7-0 lead 2:26 into the game before a pair of field goals by Mark McLoughlin brought Calgary within 7-6 by the end of the first quarter. Walton's return of the block midway through the second quarter made it 17-13 and gave Baltimore the lead for good. Anthony Martino had his punt blocked by O.J. Brigance and Walton grabbed the bounding ball at the 5 before taking it in. Doug Flutie connected with Marvin Pope on a three-yard scoring pass 55 seconds into the second quarter to give Calgary a 13-7 lead, but Carlos Huerta booted a 30-yard field goal less than two minutes later to the deficit to 13-10. Huerta, who kicked a CFL playoff record seven field goals last week in Baltimore's 21-11 win over San Antonio in the Southern Division final, kicked field goals of 45 and 53 yards before the half as Baltimore held a 23-13 lead at the intermission. Huerta, whose 53-yarder broke the Grey Cup record by a yard, finished the game with five field goals. After a single off an 80-yard punt by Josh Miller, Flutie ran a yard for a score midway through the third quarter to edge Calgary within 24-20. But Tracy Ham scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown off a broken play to increase Baltimore's advantage to 31-20. Ham was 17 of 29 for 213 yards and was not intercepted, hitting Robert Drummond three times for 47 yards. "We tried to get physical," said Ham, who added 24 yards on seven carries. "We tried to get aggressive and make Doug Flutie run around a little bit." Flutie was 23 of 49 for 287 yards and one interception. He also rushed for 45 yards on 10 carries. Dave Sapunjis had 113 yards on eight catches for the Stampeders, who were outgained 352-340 and gave up 150 yards rushing. Calgary turned over the ball three times while forcing just one turnover. "We moved the ball well (but) couldn't finish off drives,'' Flutie said. "Our guys weren't getting open when Baltimore dropped nine guys in coverage. We needed to run the ball, but got stuffed.'' Huerta added his fourth field goal of the game, a 42-yarder with 7:31 left, and booted an 18-yarder with 80 seconds remaining to make the final margin. Calgary appeared in its seventh Grey Cup and first since 1992, when it defeated Winnipeg 24-10. The title was the third different pro football championship won by a team from Baltimore as the NFL Colts won the Super Bowl in 1971 and the Baltimore Stars were USFL champions in 1985.

BALTIMORE BECOMES FIRST U.S. TEAM TO WIN CFL GREY CUP TITLE

From Sports Illustrated Online
Nov. 19, 1995

The team with no name got a title. The Baltimore Stallions, who lost the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup Game last year without a moniker, used a pair of huge plays on special teams today to become the first United States team in the league's 106-year history to win the championship, defeating the Calgary Stampeders 37-20 in Regina, Saskatchewan. The victory -- the 13th straight for the Stallions -- was aided by 137 yards rushing from Mike Pringle and 213 passing yards and a 13-yard scoring run by Tracy Ham. But there were two key plays that sprung the victory. Chris Wright returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and Alvin Walton ran back a blocked punt five yards for a score in the first half for Baltimore, which might have to move with the impending relocation of the NFL's Cleveland Browns to Memorial Stadium. Stallions owner Jim Speros said he has been talking about a new home but recently also said he would be willing to share Memorial Stadium with the Browns. As an expansion team, Baltimore lost to the B.C. Lions, 26-23, in the 1994 Grey Cup at Vancouver. The Stallions were 15-3 in the regular season and defeated Winnipeg and San Antonio in the playoffs. The 21-11 victory over San Antonio came via a playoff-record seven field goals from Carlos Huerta, who booted five today. Calgary, which was also 15-3 in the regular season, got 287 passing yards from former Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, who recently returned to the lineup following an elbow injury. Calgary appeared in its seventh Grey Cup and first since 1992, when it defeated Winnipeg, 24-10.

GREY CUP NOTEBOOK

By Gary Lambrecht
Baltimore Sun, Nov. 20, 1995

CARROLL CO. NATIVE FLUTIE STILL HAS WARM FEELINGS FOR HOMETOWN, ORIOLES
By Friday, Doug Flutie had grown tired of answering questions about the health of his right elbow and how well he would play in cold weather. But Calgary's superstar quarterback perked up when asked about his Baltimore roots. Flutie was born in Manchester in Carroll County. His family moved to the Boston area when he was 5, although that did not cut Flutie's ties with Baltimore. "We used to go down to Ocean City every year on vacation, and every now and then, we would pop up and catch an O's game at the old ballpark," said Flutie, who still visits two close friends of his family in Catonsville once in a while. "One time - I think I was about 10 - we went to Memorial Stadium to a Yankees game. We got there early enough for batting practice," Flutie said. "Thurman Munson hits one into the left-field bleachers. I dove into a crowd of guys and knocked the ball out of this kid's glove. It rolled down about three or four rows." There, Flutie's younger brother Darren, a receiver for the British Columbia Lions, recovered the fumble.

WINDS GUST FANS FROM SEATS
There was some pre-game concern about the high wind yesterday at Taylor Field, and not just from the football teams. Because winds were gusting from 40 to 55 miles per hour, stadium officials delayed fan access to the 27,000 temporary seats for nearly an hour. The league announced before the game that if gusts exceeded 55, fans would be removed from the temporary stands until the wind died down. The winds diminished by the second half, after sunset.

A NICE PAYDAY
Besides competing for the Grey Cup trophy, the Stallions and Stampeders were going after a decent chunk of change. The championship Stallions received a playoff share of $12,000 Canadian, about $9,000 in American money. The losing Stampeders got a share of $6,000 Canadian, or about $4,000 in American currency.

STALLIONS FIRST TO WIN 18
Going into yesterday's game, the winner was guaranteed to make history. No CFL team had ever won 18 games in a season. The Stallions and Stampeders each entered the Grey Cup with 17-3 records.

SPEROS MOUNTS TICKET DRIVE
Baltimore owner Jim Speros said the Stallions are planning to kick off a season-ticket drive Dec. 4. Speros hopes 15,000 sign up, as a gesture to the city and the state that the Stallions are worth keeping around, even with the Cleveland Browns poised to bring the NFL back to Baltimore. Speros also has issued layoff notices to most of his full-time staff at Memorial Stadium, pending his decision to take the Stallions out of Baltimore. He stopped short of saying he had fired executive vice president Tom Matte. Speros said Matte will remain as one of the team's limited partners, but will be reassigned as a co-chairman of the 1997 Grey Cup committee. Baltimore is scheduled to host the game, but that obviously would change if the Stallions leave town. "His role has changed within the organization," Speros said. "Tom has been a good ambassador for the team, one of my best salespeople out there in the community." After the game, Speros lauded his players for playing throughout the distractions for a possible move. "Most teams could have crumbled the last two weeks with all the things that have gone on," Speros said. "I'm just so proud of this team because we're champions."

ROOTING FOR BAYLIS
The Stallions were in enemy territory, as Calgary went into the game as the overwhelming favorite of the local fans. Not everyone up here was rooting against Baltimore, however. Edward Hodgkinson, 34, a cook at Regina Airport, said he thought Calgary would win the Grey Cup because "Doug Flutie is deadly." But Hodgkinson, a lifelong Saskatchewan fan, was pulling for the Stallions. "I hope Baltimore wins, because Jearld Baylis [former Roughrider] is one of the greatest guys you'll every meet, and because I think it would be good for the league," he said.

PRINGLE CLOSES WITH RUSH
Stallions running back Mike Pringle, the league's outstanding player of 1995, was held to 42 yards rushing in the opening half, but finished with 137 on 21 carries as Baltimore controlled the ball in the last quarter. "Everybody stayed focused. Everybody believed," Pringle said. "Nobody was going to beat us today."

MISCELLANEOUS
One of Carlos Huerta's field goals was a 53-yarder, breaking the Grey Cup record by 1 yard....The win made Baltimore the first city to win an NFL title (Colts), a USFL title (Stars) and a CFL title (Stallions).