The 1996 Toronto Argonauts season was the 107th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 15–3 record and qualified for the playoffs after missing out during the previous season when they finished 4–14. The 11-win improvement was the greatest single-season turnaround in franchise history. Furthermore, the team's 15 regular season wins was the most ever recorded by an Argonaut team until it was surpassed by the 2023 squad 27 years later, which finishing their season with a 16–2 record.
In the playoffs, the Argonauts defeated the newly relocated Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 84th Grey Cup. Toronto defeated the Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 43–37, the second highest scoring Grey Cup game in history, and won their 13th Grey Cup championship.
Offseason
CFL draft Round Pick Player Position School 1 2 Kelly Wiltshire CB James Madison 3 20 L.J. Eiben WR Humboldt State 4 36 Tom Hipsz DE Toronto 6 46 Tim Biakabutuka RB Michigan 7 55 Craig Poole WR Windsor
Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A June 13 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 27–37 0–1 SkyDome 13,247 B June 19 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–6 1–1 Frank Clair Stadium 14,024
Regular season
Season standings
Regular season Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 June 27 at Montreal Alouettes W 27–24 1–0 Olympic Stadium 24,653 2 2 July 4 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 36–38 1–1 SkyDome 26,333 3 3 July 11 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 35–14 2–1 Winnipeg Stadium 24,882 4 4 July 17 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–4 3–1 SkyDome 17,288 5 5 July 26 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 40–16 4–1 Taylor Field 24,902 6 6 Aug 1 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 40–31 5–1 SkyDome 20,302 7 7 Aug 8 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 24–21 6–1 SkyDome 20,030 8 8 Aug 15 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 42–19 7–1 Frank Clair Stadium 15,220 9 9 Aug 24 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 28–21 8–1 SkyDome 17,186 10 10 Sept 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 38–7 9–1 Ivor Wynne Stadium 27,517 11 11 Sept 8 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 31–13 10–1 SkyDome 17,576 12 12 Sept 14 at BC Lions L 11–35 10–2 BC Place 15,323 13 13 Sept 21 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 23–22 11–2 SkyDome 27,209 14 Bye 15 14 Oct 5 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 28–12 12–2 SkyDome 17,310 16 15 Oct 14 at Calgary Stampeders L 23–30 12–3 McMahon Stadium 27,436 17 16 Oct 20 at Edmonton Eskimos W 24–17 13–3 Commonwealth Stadium 27,567 18 17 Oct 27 vs. BC Lions W 25–21 14–3 SkyDome 20,657 19 18 Nov 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 47–14 15–3 Ivor Wynne Stadium 23,001
Postseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record East Final Sun, Nov 17 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 43–7 1–0 SkyDome 28,390 Grey Cup Sun, Nov 24 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 43–37 2–0 Ivor Wynne Stadium 38,595 Roster 1996 Toronto Argonauts final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers
Offensive linemen G C G/T T T G
Defensive linemen DT DE DE/DT DE DE DE DTLinebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams K/P
Injured list SB DE LB
Italics indicate International player
Awards and records Doug Flutie, Most Outstanding Player Award Doug Flutie, Terry Evanshen Trophy Mike Kiselak, Outstanding Offensive Lineman
1996 CFL All-Stars QB – Doug Flutie FB – Robert Drummond C – Mike Kiselak OT – Chris Perez DT – Rob Waldrop ST – Jimmy Cunningham WR- Terrance Lawrence
References