The 1983 Toronto Argonauts season was the 94th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 12–4 record and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Argonauts defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Final and qualified for the Grey Cup for the second year in a row. Toronto defeated the BC Lions in the first ever Grey Cup match between the two teams, winning their 11th Grey Cup championship by a score of 18–17. The win ended a 31-year championship drought, which is the longest drought in Canadian Football League history.

During the regular season, receiver Terry Greer set a professional football record (NFL and CFL) for most receiving yards with 2003 yards. He also set a record for most 200-yard ball games in a year with three.

Offseason The Toronto Argonauts drafted the following players in the 1983 CFL draft. Round Pick Player Position SchoolTTKelvin PruensterTCal Poly329Kevin AdamsDBWaterloo435Boyd YoungDLOttawa544Bryan BlackGGuelph653Joel TynesTBSt. Francis Xavier762Dave WaudLBWilfrid Laurier871Rick Van MaanenDLWestern Ontario Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A Fri, June 10 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 24–6 1–0 Exhibition Stadium 28,520 B Wed, June 15 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 24–35 1–1 Ivor Wynne Stadium 11,505 C Fri, June 24 vs. Rough Riders W 31–15 2–1 Exhibition Stadium 28,107 D Tue, June 28 at Montreal Concordes W 25–24 3–1 Olympic Stadium 9,700

Regular season

Standings

Schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 Thu, July 7 at Calgary Stampeders W 45–30 1–0 McMahon Stadium 25,124 2 2 Thu, July 14 vs. Lions W 17–14 2–0 Exhibition Stadium 39,437 3 3 Sat, July 23 vs. Montreal Concordes W 28–13 3–0 Exhibition Stadium 35,490 4 4 Fri, July 29 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 40–21 4–0 Taylor Field 25,734 5 5 Sat, Aug 6 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 18–31 4–1 Exhibition Stadium 43,568 6 6 Sat, Aug 13 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 16–32 4–2 Winnipeg Stadium 27,796 7 7 Fri, Aug 19 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 27–17 5–2 Lansdowne Park 30,006 8 8 Fri, Aug 26 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 36–15 6–2 Exhibition Stadium 35,414 9 Bye 10 9 Sat, Sept 10 at BC Lions W 32–14 7–2 BC Place Stadium 52,656 11 10 Sun, Sept 18 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 50–16 8–2 Ivor Wynne Stadium 25,128 12 11 Sat, Sept 24 vs. Calgary Stampeders L 20–49 8–3 Exhibition Stadium 35,679 13 12 Sun, Oct 2 at Montreal Concordes W 30–17 9–3 Olympic Stadium 20,046 14 13 Sun, Oct 9 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 19–15 10–3 Exhibition Stadium 37,746 15 Bye 16 14 Sun, Oct 23 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders L 19–20 10–4 Exhibition Stadium 36,526 17 15 Sat, Oct 29 at Edmonton Eskimos W 22–15 11–4 Commonwealth Stadium 53,577 18 16 Sat, Nov 5 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 33–9 12–4 Exhibition Stadium 32,921

Postseason Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record East Final Sun, Nov 20 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 41–36 1–0 Exhibition Stadium 54,530 Grey Cup Sun, Nov 27 at BC Lions W 18–17 2–0 BC Place Stadium 59,345

Grey Cup

November 27 @ BC Place Stadium (Attendance: 59,345) Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalBC Lions 7 10 0 0 17Toronto Argonauts 0 7 2 9 18 Roster 1983 Toronto Argonauts final roster Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen G/C C/T G C T G T T

Defensive linemen DE DT DE DE DE DTLinebackers

FB

Defensive backs

Special teams K/P

Injured list RB

Italics indicate International player

Awards and honours

1983 CFL All-Stars Terry Greer, Wide receiver Rick Mohr, Defensive end Carl Brazley, Defensive back

Canadian Football Hall of Fame Condredge Holloway, quarterback (1998) Dan Ferrone, guard (2013) Hank Ilesic, kicker/punter (2018) Terry Greer, wide receiver (2019)

References