The 1981 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 24th season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 32nd overall. The Tiger-Cats finished in first place in the East Division for the second consecutive year with an 11–4–1 record. They lost the East Final to the heavy underdog Ottawa Rough Riders team that finished 5–11–0. In the first season of full inter-division play, the Tiger-Cats finished with a 6–0 record against the East Division, outscoring their opponents 197 to 71.
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record A June 7 at Montreal Alouettes W 27–21 1–0 B June 13 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 3–15 1–1 C June 18 at Toronto Argonauts W 23–16 2–1 D June 27 vs. Montreal Alouettes L 24–38 2–2
Regular season Season standings
Season schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record 1 July 5 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 33–23 1–0 2 July 11 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 47–10 2–0 3 July 17 at Calgary Stampeders L 6–26 2–1 4 July 25 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 57–13 3–1 5 Aug 1 at Edmonton Eskimos L 5–41 3–2 6 Aug 8 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 28–16 4–2 7 Aug 16 at BC Lions W 37–23 5–2 8 Bye 9 Aug 29 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 16–11 6–2 10 Sept 7 vs. Edmonton Eskimos T 34–34 6–2–1 11 Sept 12 at Montreal Alouettes W 26–10 7–2–1 12 Sept 20 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 25–13 8–2–1 13 Sept 26 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 30–16 9–2–1 14 Oct 4 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 30–26 10–2–1 15 Oct 12 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 12–28 10–3–1 16 Bye 17 Oct 25 vs. BC Lions L 7–34 10–4–1 18 Oct 31 at Toronto Argonauts W 21–11 11–4–1
Postseason Schedule Game Date Opponent Result East Final Nov 15 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders L 13–17
Roster 1981 Hamilton Tiger-Cats final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen G G T G T C
Defensive linemen DT DE DT DE/DT DE Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams K/P
Injured list C
Italics indicate American players
Awards and honours 1981 All-Stars David Shaw, Defensive back Harold Woods, Defensive back Ben Zambiasi, Linebacker
References