The 1979 Ottawa Rough Riders finished in second place in the Eastern Conference with an 8–6–2 record. Prior to the 2015 season, the 1979 season was the last time that an Ottawa-based CFL team had a winning season.
In May 1979, Tom Clements was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Clements-Holloway quarterback combination would be no more. From 1975–78, under Holloway and Clements, the Rough Riders compiled a 38–24–2 record, which included two Eastern Division championships and a Grey Cup win in 1976 over Saskatchewan. This lent to the credence of the "two number-ones" stratagem and both quarterbacks' team-first attitude.
Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A June 12 at Montreal Alouettes L 20–36 0–1 B June 18 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 13–12 1–1 C June 24 at Edmonton Eskimos W 30–27 2–1 D July 4 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 13–18 2–2
Regular season
Standings + Eastern Football Conference Team GP W L T PF PA PtsMontreal Alouettes 16 11 4 1 351 284 23 Ottawa Rough Riders 16 8 6 2 349 315 18 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 16 6 10 0 280 338 12 Toronto Argonauts 16 5 11 0 234 352 10
Schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 July 11 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 30–19 1–0 2 2 July 24 at Toronto Argonauts W 31–2 2–0 3 3 July 31 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 16–18 2–1 4 4 Aug 8 at Calgary Stampeders L 17–27 2–2 5 5 Aug 14 vs. Edmonton Eskimos T 24–24 2–2–1 6 6 Aug 20 at Montreal Alouettes L 14–32 2–3–1 7 7 Aug 29 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 31–29 3–3–1 8 8 Sept 3 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 9–16 3–4–1 9 9 Sept 8 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 44–4 4–4–1 10 10 Sept 15 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 22–19 5–4–1 11 11 Sept 30 vs. Montreal Alouettes T 29–29 5–4–2 12 12 Oct 7 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 20–19 6–4–2 13 13 Oct 14 vs. BC Lions W 28–26 7–4–2 14 14 Oct 21 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 3–21 7–5–2 15 15 Oct 27 at Montreal Alouettes L 8–24 7–6–2 16 16 Nov 3 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 23–6 8–6–2
Postseason Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record East Semi-Final Nov 11 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 29–26 9–6–2 East Final Nov 17 at Montreal Alouettes L 6–17 9–7–2
Player stats
Passing Player Attempts Completions Completions Percentage Yards Touchdowns Interceptions Condredge Holloway238128 53.81965178
Receiving Player Games Played Receptions Yards Average Long Touchdowns Jeff Avery1527 40214.9534Tony Gabriel16 48 76115.9448
Awards and honours Ron Foxx, Linebacker, CFL All-Star Tony Gabriel, Tight End, CFL All-Star Roster 1979 Ottawa Rough Riders final rosterQuarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
DB
Tight ends
Offensive linemen G T T T G T C
Defensive linemen DE DT DE DT Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams K/P Injured list WR
Italics indicate International player
References