The 1972 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 15th season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 23rd overall. The Tiger-Cats finished in first place in the Eastern Conference with an 11–3 record and won the Grey Cup over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Ralph Sazio became Tiger-Cats President in 1972, the year in which Hamilton hosted and won the Grey Cup. In 1972, Tony Gabriel improved his receiving numbers to 49 catches for 733 yards, finishing second in the East in passes caught. It would be Tommy Joe Coffey's final season with the Tiger-Cats. Ellison Kelly would be in his final season with the Tiger-Cats. During his 13-year career, he never missed a game, playing in 175 consecutive regular season games. Joe Zuger left the Tiger-Cats to play for the Detroit Lions of the NFL.Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Volume 4, p.490, Bob Ferguson, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., Markham, ON and Allston, MA,
Regular season
Season standings + Eastern Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsHamilton Tiger-Cats 14 11 3 0 372 262 22Ottawa Rough Riders 14 11 3 0 298 228 22Montreal Alouettes 14 4 10 0 246 353 8Toronto Argonauts 14 3 11 0 254 298 6
Season schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 July 31 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 20–17 1–0 2 2 Aug 8 at BC Lions L 17–19 1–1 2 3 Aug 11 at Edmonton Eskimos L 27–30 1–2 3 4 Aug 19 vs. Montreal Alouettes L 23–25 1–3 4 5 Aug 24 at Montreal Alouettes W 25–12 2–3 5 6 Sept 4 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 17–16 3–3 6 7 Sept 10 at Toronto Argonauts W 22–18 4–3 7 8 Sept 16 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 30–22 5–3 8 9 Sept 24 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 41–14 6–3 9 10 Oct 1 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 25–20 7–3 10 11 Oct 7 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 50–24 8–3 11 12 Oct 14 at Montreal Alouettes W 31–26 9–3 12 13 Oct 21 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 18–3 10–3 14 14 Nov 5 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 26–16 11–3
Post-season Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record Eastern Final #1 Nov 18 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 7–19 0–1 Eastern Final #2 Nov 26 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 23–8 1–1 Grey Cup Dec 3 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 13–10 2–1
Grey Cup Teams 1 Q 2 Q 3 Q 4 Q Final Hamilton Tiger-Cats 10 0 0 3 13 Saskatchewan Roughriders 0 10 0 0 10
Awards and honours CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Garney Henley (WR) CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – Chuck Ealey (QB) Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player, Chuck Ealey (QB) Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian, Ian Sunter (K)
References