It’s a moment frozen in time, and with good reason. For the first Grey Cup kick-off in Winnipeg, in 1991, it was minus 16 degrees. My bride and I were sitting in the south end zone, 10 rows up. If the seats weren’t metal, they felt metal. The wind was blowing so hard not even the temporary stands constructed to inflate capacity to 51,985 at Winnipeg Stadium could stop it. The wind chill was minus 35.
The second half of the coldest Grey Cup game ever was witnessed by no fewer than 51,983 spectators. We were gone, to watch from the comfort of our nearby hotel room. That was my 16th Grey Cup, and I could never have imagined leaving one. But I did.
On Sunday, Winnipeg will host its fifth Grey Cup and, while the temperature isn’t likely to dip to 1991 levels — thank you, global warming — it’s likely to be below freezing, and potentially lowered by the north wind.
While Winnipeggers are known for defending their frigid existence, that wasn’t always the case. During the telecast of the 1991 game, play-by-play broadcaster Don Wittman’s natural references to how cold it was led to years of what one of his peers (Bob Irving) still calls “undeserved aggravation.”
Cold, folks, is cold and cannot be denied.
That inaugural Winnipeg Grey Cup is remembered for many reasons that have little to do with thermometers. It was the first Grey Cup for Wally Buono the coach. Eight more would follow and while Buono, a winner in many ways, lost his debut with the Calgary Stampeders — 36-21 to the Toronto Argos — he went on to be the winningest coach in CFL history. Ironically, Buono’s teams won the next two Grey Cups played in Winnipeg (1998 and 2006), the only place he won two of his five championships.
Despite the elements, it was also the biggest crowd ever to attend a game in Manitoba’s capital, and that’s not going to change on Sunday, with a sold-out gathering of about 40,000. This, in a more modern Princess Auto Stadium that’s now 12 years old that is still, well, subject to the weather.
It was also the only Grey Cup for Bruce McNall, John Candy and Wayne Gretzky. These three amigos from Hollywood owned the Argos and this was surely the high point of McNall’s career as a notorious sports entrepreneur. The trio coped with the obvious climate change from California by investing in Canadian fur coats.
And it was a record-setting day for players from both teams.
Toronto quarterback Matt Dunigan played with a broken collarbone, on his throwing side. Until a ground-breaking doctor created a way for him to cope with the pain the night before the game, Dunigan had no hope of playing. He threw 29 passes, one for a 58-yard touchdown, and won his only Grey Cup.
Calgary quarterback Danny Barrett threw twice as many passes, still the most ever, as were his 34 completions.
Rocket Ismail returned a kick-off 87 yards, also a record. With Toronto ahead by a point in the fourth quarter, that touchdown was determined to be the game’s biggest play… even when watching on TV in a hotel room.
