Also, the city of Baltimore had its first Super Bowl title since the Baltimore Colts' triumph thirty years prior and became the first city to win major professional football championships with four franchises, the others being the Colts (before their move to Indianapolis in 1984), the 1985 Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League and the 1995 Baltimore Stallions of the Canadian Football League. In the years after the Colts left, Baltimore made two serious bids to get another NFL team. After the 1995 season, the CFL decided to disband all American franchises with the exception of the Stallions and Texans. “I was going to finish the season, but I’d grown tired of not getting the look and time I felt I deserved.”. Among other accomplishments, he earned the league's leading rushing title with a record 1,972 yards and thirteen touchdowns. Wikipedia, The Sarnia Imperials were a football team from Sarnia, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League and contested for the Grey Cup until 1955. That didn't slow down the Stallions, as they opened the game with a Chris Wright 82-yard punt return touchdown (a Grey Cup record) just 2:20 into the game. The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the “Baltimore Football Club” and previously as the “Baltimore CFL Colts” in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Wikipedia, The Kingston Granites were a football team from Kingston, Ontario and a member of the Quebec Rugby Football Union and the Ontario Rugby Football Union, which were leagues that preceded the Canadian Football League. The current Alouettes franchise was established in 1996 by the owners of the Baltimore Stallions. Wikipedia, To begin play in 1984 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. After the 1994 season, a name-the-team fan poll was held to decide a new team name. Stallions – Jim Speros initially called the team the “Baltimore CFL Colts.” However, the NFL went to court and successfully obtained a legal injunction against the franchise’s use of any version of “Colts” in their name just hours before the team was to play its first game. $14.99 +$5.00 shipping. Wikipedia, The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. The pandemic has delayed the start of the season. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; Another major factor in Baltimore's success at the gate was the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, which wiped out the last two months of the Orioles' season. Wikipedia, The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the “Baltimore Football Club” and previously as the “Baltimore CFL Colts” in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Wikipedia, Third year franchise of the Legends Football League. This vaulted them to the Grey Cup final for the second straight season. Currently over … By keeping the same players from the '94 season, optimism and Grey Cup expectations were high for the Stallions. Our teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. In 1993, an ownership group failed to win an NFL expansion franchise, the Baltimore Bombers. Sports Memorabilia, Fan Shop & Sports Cards. In the playoffs, Baltimore hosted the Toronto Argonauts in the East semifinals at Memorial Stadium and won the game, 34–15. This vaulted them to the Grey Cup final for the second straight season. While the Stallions had been a runaway hit, Speros knew they could not hope to go head-to-head with an NFL team and announced plans to move. The Stallions franchise was dissolved, thus becoming one of three Grey Cup champions in the modern era to subsequently fold (the others being the Ottawa Rough Riders and the original Alouettes). This is our Team App homepage. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Soon after the expansion effort failed, an entrepreneur and former Washington Redskins assistant Jim Speros was granted a CFL expansion franchise for Baltimore that would play in Memorial Stadium, the Colts’ old home. The move was aborted after three years; the Baltimore Stallions were the most successful of the numerous Americans teams to play in the CFL, winning the 83rd Grey Cup. Wikipedia, The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Local fans tended to continue referring to the team as the “Baltimore Colts” anyway, and team officials tacitly encouraged this. Playoff wins over Winnipeg and San Antonio sent Baltimore into a Grey Cup showdown with the Calgary Stampeders. Wikipedia, The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta, competing in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). CFL commissioner Larry Smith believed the defending CFL champions would be a better vehicle for bringing the CFL back to Montreal rather than what would have essentially been an expansion team.