The 1979 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 22nd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 30th overall. The Tiger-Cats finished in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 6–10 record, but lost the Eastern Semi-Final to the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Star quarterback Tom Clements was acquired from the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a mid-season trade and went on to lead the league in passing. Additionally, University of Western Ontario quarterback Jamie Bone attended Tiger-Cats training camp but was cut. He took the Tiger-Cats to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, alleging that he was never given a fair chance to compete for a quarterback position because he was Canadian. During the proceedings, the Tiger Cats admitted that they had made up their mind on who the starters would be. Bone won his case, and the tribunal awarded him $10,000. The Tiger-Cats were awarded to give him a 14-day tryout in 1980.
Roster 1979 Hamilton Tiger-Cats final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
K
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen G T G T G/DT C
Defensive linemen DT DE DT DE Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams K
Injured list TE LB RB DE RB WR
Italics indicate American players
Regular season
Season standings + Eastern Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsMontreal Alouettes 16 11 4 1 351 284 23Ottawa Rough Riders 16 8 6 2 349 315 18Hamilton Tiger-Cats 16 6 10 0 280 338 12Toronto Argonauts 16 5 11 0 234 352 10 1979 Regular Season Standings CFL.ca Official Site of the Canadian Football League
Season schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 July 11 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 19–30 0–1 2 2 July 18 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 11–18 0–2 3 3 July 25 at Montreal Alouettes W 24–20 1–2 4 4 Aug 1 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 8–21 1–3 5 5 Aug 8 at Toronto Argonauts L 0–25 1–4 6 6 Aug 14 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 21–27 1–5 7 7 Aug 21 vs. BC Lions L 16–22 1–6 8 8 Sept 3 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 16–9 2–6 9 9 Sept 8 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 4–44 2–7 10 10 Sept 16 vs. Montreal Alouettes L 14–21 2–8 11 11 Sept 23 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 21–22 2–9 12 12 Sept 29 at Toronto Argonauts W 17–16 3–9 13 13 Oct 8 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 42–3 4–9 14 14 Oct 14 at Calgary Stampeders W 26–16 5–9 15 15 Oct 21 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 21–3 6–9 16 Bye 17 16 Nov 5 at Montreal Alouettes L 20–41 6–10 1979 Hamilton Tiger-Cats - The Pro Football Archives
Post-season Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record Eastern Semi-Final Nov 11 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 26–29 0–1
Awards and honours Tom Clements, All-Eastern Quarterback Ben Zambiasi, Linebacker, CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award Garney Henley was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a Player, on June 30, 1979. Peter Neumann was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a Player, June 30, 1979.
References