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The Canadian Football League (French: Ligue Canadienne de Football) is a professional league located entirely in Canada that plays Canadian football. The league's top trophy, the Grey Cup, was donated by Governor-General Earl Grey in 1909 to the team winning the Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada. Both the trophy and the championship game have become known as the Grey Cup. Since 1954, when the Ontario Rugby Football Union stopped challenging for the Grey Cup, the trophy has been awarded only to professional teams with the championship generally being an East vs. West competition. This is also the year the British Columbia Lions started play as the ninth professional team, so although the CFL was not technically founded until the late 1950's, 1954 is often referred to as the start of the "modern era" of Canadian professional football. It is also considered to be the year the CFL was founded in substance if not in name.The first Canadian football teams played under the auspices of the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU), founded in 1884. The CRFU was an umbrella organization that several leagues were part of. From the 1930s to the 1950s the two senior leagues of the CRFU (the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the Western Interprovincial Football Union) gradually evolved from amateur to professional leagues. They found they had less and less in common with the amateur leagues and consequently in 19561956 is a leap year starting on Sunday. see link for calendar) Events January January 1 End of Anglo- Egyptian Condominium in Sudan. January 16 President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine January 26 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in they left the CRFU and formed a new umbrella organization, the Canadian Football Council. It was renamed the Canadian Football League in 1958Events January January 1 Treaty of Rome founding the EU is implemented January 4 Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4 1957) January 8 14 year old Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship January 18 Armed Lumbee Nat. In 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du the Montreal AlouettesThe Montreal Alouettes ( French, Alouettes de Montreal refers to a team in the Canadian Football League based in Montreal, Quebec. This article also generally covers the history of Montreal's CFL history, including the current club's early history when it folded and were subsequently replaced the same year by a new franchise named the ConcordesThe Montreal Alouettes ( French, Alouettes de Montreal refers to a team in the Canadian Football League based in Montreal, Quebec. This article also generally covers the history of Montreal's CFL history, including the current club's early history when it. In 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa the ConcordesThe Montreal Alouettes ( French, Alouettes de Montreal refers to a team in the Canadian Football League based in Montreal, Quebec. This article also generally covers the history of Montreal's CFL history, including the current club's early history when it were renamed the Alouettes to attract more fan support, however the team folded the next year. In 1993 the league admitted its first U.S. franchise, adding the Sacramento Gold Miners in an attempt to broaden Canadian football's popular appeal and boost league revenues. After three seasons of American teams, the CFL returned to an all-Canadian format in 1996 with nine teams, however the Ottawa Rough Riders folded following the season. In 2002 the league expanded to nine teams with the Ottawa Renegades. Commissioner Tom Wright has announced that the league is looking into adding a 10th team in the Atlantic provinces or Quebec City.
Although the Canadian Football League is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, the league competes with the American National Football League for the best players. In the days when sports teams were financed almost entirely by ticket sales the two leagues were on equal footing and the CFL could sign top U.S. college football stars such as Rocket Ismail and Heisman Trophy winners Doug Flutie and Johnny Rodgers . However, in recent decades the advent of television revenue has allowed the NFL to far outspend the CFL. The CFL sets a limit on the number of non-Canadian born players on Canadian teams.
The CFL is highly popular west of Ontario, and its franchises there enjoy a greater level of support than Ontario teams. Montreal has been gaining in popularity with its recent success, and Southern Ontario is now recovering from the bankruptcy that plagued the Toronto and Hamilton teams in the 2003 season.
